AUGUSTA, Kan. – McPherson High School’s Boys Basketball team fell to Augusta on the road after a thrilling fourth quarter, 61-59, on Friday, Feb. 20.
Friday’s matchup was Augusta’s Winter Homecoming, which saw the Orioles overcome a 13-point Bullpup lead in the first half to eventually hit the go-ahead shot with seven seconds left in the game. McPherson led 33-20 with about four minutes remaining in the second half, but Augusta ended the second quarter on a 10-0 run to make the score 33-30 at halftime.
Augusta carried the momentum into the third quarter, eventually leading 37-33. McPherson found a way to bounce back to eventually tie the game at 43 apiece through three quarters. The final eight quarters kept the fans in red & white, as well as the home fans in orange & black, on the edges of their seats.
Augusta led 55-51 with around three minutes remaining, but McPherson pushed back to take a 57-55 lead on a Jett Pyle three-pointer with just over one minute remaining. Augusta’s Brecken Albert answered back on a corner three to give Augusta the lead, 58-57, which was his fifth three-pointer of the game, out of the team’s 12 on the game.
Albert would end up fouling out in the following possession, sending Pyle to the free-throw line. Pyle ended up missing both foul shots, but freshman Eli Reasoner grabbed the offensive rebound and made a layup to give McPherson the lead back, 59-58, with around 30 seconds remaining. Augusta came back, however, thanks to a go-ahead three-point shot hit by sophomore Brody Chappell to take a 61-59 lead with seven seconds remaining. McPherson had a chance to tie or win, but Ashton Malm’s game-tying shot missed at the buzzer, giving Augusta their first win over McPherson in five years.
Pyle led McPherson with 18 points, while Cade Strathman tied a career-high with 15 points, hitting five three-pointers. Augusta was led by Albert’s 20 points. Brody Haskell added 16 for Augusta, and Chappell’s game-winner closed him with 10 points.
McPherson falls to 12-9 on the season, while Augusta improves to 13-8. Both are now 6-2 in AVCTL-3 play, putting themselves in a three-way tie with Buhler for the top spot in the league standings with two games remaining. McPherson will host Mulvane for Senior Night on Tuesday, Feb. 24, before closing the regular season at Winfield the following Thursday.
While McPherson has played both Augusta and Buhler twice, splitting with both teams, Augusta and Buhler will face off in the final game of the season on Thursday, Feb. 26. Meanwhile, Augusta will host Circle and Buhler will face Winfield on Tuesday.
SCORING BREAKDOWN
McPherson: 16-17-10-16 — 59
Augusta: 9-21-13-18 — 61
McPherson:
- Team: 22 FG Made, 6 3PT Made, 9-14 FT
- Individual: Pyle 18 (7 FG, 1 3PT, 3-5 FT), Strathman 15 (5 3PT), Reasoner 12 (4 FG, 4-5 FT), Ingels 5 (2 FG, 1-2 FT), Harrison 4 (2 FG), Malm 2 (1 FG), Becker 2 (1 FG), Cooper 1 (1-2 FT).
Augusta:
- Team: 20 FG Made, 12 3PT Made, 9-10 FT
- Individual: Albert 20 (7 FG, 5 3PT, 1-2 FT), Haskell 16 (6 FG, 2 3PT, 2-2 FT), Chappell 10 (2 3PT, 4-4 FT), Roberts 9 (3 3PT), Carrell 2 (1 FG), Martin 2 (1 FG).
