By Grant Barrett, Ad Astra Radio
McPHERSON, Kan. – Class 4A Sub-State Basketball tipped off at the Roundhouse on Tuesday, as the McPherson High Boys moved one game closer to the State Tournament after defeating the Chapman Fighting Irish 71-39.
Cory Muehler quickly gave the Pups a 4-0 lead, opening the game with back-to-back layups in the first 15-seconds. The Bullpups were just as dangerous from the perimeter, shooting 12/19 from the field in the first quarter.
Kreighton Kanitz and Mason Miller combined for 15 points in the first quarter to lead 27-11.Chapman kept it close, settling in from long-range, and after going 3/3 from beyond the arc in the first period, the Fighting Irish shot 6/7 from downtown at the half. They outscored the Pups in the second quarter 15-12, and the McPherson lead was cut to 39-26, after Chapman scored just before time expired on the half.
“Against a team that you think is going to turn it over, you get yourself out of position, taking chances, being in poor position and end up giving easy and wide-open shots. I kind of feel like that’s what we did in the first half.” explained Head Coach Kurt Kinnamon.
He mentioned that he told his team, “It’s a hard game to play, because it’s a game that you know most likely you should win, even if you don’t play your best,” He added the importance of playing the right way and sharing the basketball.
In the third quarter, Owen Pyle would knock down two three-pointers from deep, and later, Hayden Hoxie would extend the Bullpup lead to 56-30 after collecting three the ‘old-fashioned’ way.
All 12 Bullpups that suited up showed up in the scoring column, and after just five turnovers, Coach Kinnamon was pleased with his team’s performance following the 71-39 win, saying, “These guys are all good teammates.” He said, “Nobody got worn out tonight, everybody got to play quite a few minutes and we’re happy with that.”
Kinnamon discussed the two potential opponents that he might prefer to face when asked between Andale and Rose Hill, he said, “We already have our scouts done on both of them, so we’ll just be watching the scores tonight to see who it is.” he added, “Sometimes it’s good to play somebody who hasn’t seen you and the way that you play,” he said, “We know what we’re going to get with Andale. They’re so well-coached, and they’re going to play match-up zone. We’re going to have to be better than four for fourteen from three to win that game and go onto the state tournament.”
He concluded by saying, “It’d be nice to see the Roundhouse, hopefully, at capacity Friday night with people supporting a group that’s a lot of fun to watch.”
McPherson will host Andale in the Sub-State Championship on Friday, for a chance to punch their ticket to Tony’s Pizza Event Center in Salina for the State Tournament next week. Tip-off from the Roundhouse on Friday, is set for 7 p.m.
Notable Stats:
O. Pyle 10 pts, 3 ast, 2 stl
C. Muehler 6 pts, 2 stl, 1 ast
K. Thompson 2 pts, 6 ast, 3 stl
Kr. Kanitz 14 pts, 2 ast, 1 stl
M. Miller 14 pts, 5 reb, 2 stl
H. Hoxie 9 pts, 2 reb, 2 stl
G. Pyle 5 pts, 4 ast, 2 reb, 2 stl
H. Boese 6 pts, 1 reb
G. Wedel 2 pts, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl
I. Razak 3 pts, 1 ast
