By Grant Barrett, Ad Astra Radio
McPHERSON, Kan. – It was two very efficient performances for the McPherson High School Basketball teams Friday Night, as they played host to the Winfield Vikings for ‘Think Pink’ at the Roundhouse.
The Bullpup Girls sported their new, special occasion pink uniforms, and got off to an 8-0 start, with each of the four baskets coming from different players. “It was a fun night,” said Head Coach Chris Strathman, “I thought our girls really played well in spite of some sloppy play on the other end.”
Mac would take a 20-6 lead after a quarter, and following the game, Coach Strathman talked about his team not playing down to the level of the Vikings, saying, “I thought we were able to stay above that, and credit to our team for keeping our focus that way.”
Alexis Dukes would pour in back-to-back threes in the second quarter to give the Pups a 32-8 lead, she was the second leading scorer, finishing 5/6 from the field for 13 points.
The Pups continued to get easy baskets in transition, led by Jordan Sears, who finished the night with 27 points. “In the open floor she’s very difficult.” said Strathman, “She is a very tough guard for anyone to match up with, whether it’s a guard or a post.”
McPherson would go into the locker room leading 47-9, as Winfield’s only baskets in the quarter came from the free throw line, and the Pups continued to fill the stat sheet in the second half, as four players finished in double figures. 27 made shots came courtesy of 21 assists, as the Bullpups moved to 14-2 on the season, with a 70-17 win.
With a deep postseason run in mind, Strathman looks to remain focused on the task at hand and challenging his team moving forward saying, “We have to have good practices first and foremost. That is where we’re prepping for the postseason.” He talked about the lopsided margins of victory against league opponents and said, “Our best competition sometimes can be on the practice court, so we need to push each other as best we can.”
Strathman added, “Our toughest opponent the next four league games is honestly ourselves, and so we’re just going to have to stick together, share the basketball like we did tonight, defend like I know we can. I really like our chances, but we’ve got to stick together.”
He highlighted the Think Pink Ceremony and the Women and Children Combating Cancer program, saying, “Very special halftime again, I love seeing all of our programs out there, it’s so cool, and then to have a couple of relatives of some of our players, very special stories to always honor those ladies, and honoring ladies in the past that we’ve had before here.” Strathman concluded by talking about those who have been affected, and concluded by saying, “Just a lot of thoughts and prayers out to them.”
Notable Stats:
J. McLeod 10 pts, 3 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk
K. Alvord 6 pts, 3 stl, 1 ast
C. Clevenger 10 pts, 7 ast, 4 reb, 3 stl
J. Sears 27 pts, 8 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl
A. Dukes 13 pts, 7 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl
M. Moors 2 pts, 1 ast
Al. Romero 3 reb
Av. Romero 2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl
R. Eilrich 2 reb, 2 pts
The Bullpup Boys threatened the century mark on a very dominant Friday Night, beginning the game scoring the first 10 points, while shooting 11/17 from the field, and led 25-9 after a quarter.
In the second quarter, Hayden Hoxie would make his impact on the game, scoring 7 of his 13 points in the period. “You can go right down the list of guys that played well,” said Kinnamon, “I thought Hayden Hoxie had his best game without question.”
Kinnamon talked about his rotation coming up down to the final four games of the regular season, and said, “I thought our bench played great,” He talked about the way the minutes were divided, and added, “It’s always nice when you can get guys in the game and they do a good job.”
After taking a 51-19 lead into the half, the Pups came out and had their best quarter, outscoring the Vikings 31-6. Mason Miller opened the quarter with three straight baskets and was almost automatic on his way to a season-high 20 points. He finished one rebound shy of a double-double.
There were a handful of impressive individual performances in the 97-29 win. Kyden Thompson was 9/10 from the field leading the team with 23 points and 4 steals. Cory Muhler was held to just two points but had 8 rebounds and 8 assists. Ten Bullpups found the scoring column including 32 points off of the bench.
“We have certain goals that we want to reach and we reached every single one of those goals.” Coach Kinnamon explained that the number one thing he wrote on the board was ‘play the right way’ he said, “In a game like that it’s easy to go out and get your own, and not share the ball, those types of things, and I thought we did a good job of not doing that.”
The Bullpup Boys move to 13-3 overall on the season, and looking ahead at the schedule, Coach Kinnamon said in conclusion, “There’s nothing that I should have to say to get us ready for Buhler at the Sports Arena.”
Due to court maintenance at Buhler High School, Tuesday’s doubleheader will be played at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
The Girls will tip off at 6 p.m. The Boys will follow at approximately 7:30 p.m.
Notable Stats:
O. Pyle 9 pts, 3 ast, 1 stl
C. Muehler 2 pts, 8 reb, 8 ast, 2 stl
K. Thompson 23 pts, 4 reb, 4 stl, 3 ast
Kr. Kanitz 11 pts, 3 reb, 2 stl, 1 ast
M. Miller 20 pts, 9 reb, 2 blk, 1 ast
Ka. Kanitz 2 pts
J. Pyle 1 ast
J. Malvo 3 pts, 1 reb
H. Hoxie 13 pts, 3 reb, 1 ast
G. Pyle 10 pts, 2 stl, 1 blk, 1 ast
H. Boese 1 stl
G. Wedel 4 pts, 5 reb
I. Razak 4 reb, 1 stl
Photos By Kendall Shaw
