MANHATTAN – Whatever expectations veteran Moundridge coach Vance Unrau had for Wednesday’s Class 2A state quarterfinal showdown with 2022 runner-up St. Marys, one thing is certain.
 
“Not this,” Unrau admitted.
 
Indeed, nobody really saw this one coming – a 63-31 Moundridge clinic that sent the Wildcats (21-3) into Friday’s 6 p.m. semifinal against TMP-Marian (22-2).
 
Moundridge clicked in nearly every phase of the game and turned a tight game early into a runaway win. The offense was efficient. The defense was stifling. And Moundridge played loose and free despite making its first state appearance in a decade. 
 
It added up to a blowout victory that brought back painful flashbacks for the Bears, who were blitzed early and often the last time they were on the floor of Bramlage Coliseum, last year’s 60-32 championship game loss to Hillsboro.
 
And though Unrau didn’t necessarily envision that kind of performance out of his team against St. Marys, he wasn’t altogether shocked either.
 
“Here’s what I told the kids: ‘We need to be us. Let’s be us. Let’s show people what we are,’” Unrau said. “And the last couple of games through sub-state and now the first round of the state tournament, I thought we were us.”
 
Moundridge was certainly the best version of itself in the second half after taking a 27-19 halftime lead.
 
Offensively, the Wildcats were almost flawless in the second half. After a solid first-half performance where they made 46% of their shots, the Wildcats hit an astonishing 13 of 17 second-half shots (76.4%). In the fourth quarter alone, Moundridge connected on 8 of 9 shots in a 22-point quarter.
 
Logan Churchill scored 15 of his game-high 22 points in the second half, while Barrett Moddelmog finished with 13 points and Henry Hecox added 12.
 
“I’ve said this coming into the year and it’s played out to be true, this is the best offensive firepower as a team that I’ve ever coached in 36 years,” Unrau said. “We’ve had maybe better scorers or better shooters, but not four of them on the floor at one time.”
 
But facing a St. Marys’ team that boasts one of the state’s most prolific scorers in senior guard Keller Hurla, getting into a shootout wasn’t something Unrau was interested in. His team’s effort on the defensive end assured that wouldn’t happen.
 
After giving up seven quick points to Hurla to start the game, the Wildcats locked down. Hurla only scored four more points the rest of the way and finished the game an icy 4 of 23 from the field, including 1 of 12 from 3-point range.
 
Moundridge held St. Marys to just 29.2% shooting in the first half. The second half was even better as the Bears made just 5 of 29 shots (17.2%) after halftime.
 
“Obviously the Hurla boys are the key,” Unrau said of not only Keller, but sophomore Brady Hurla, who finished with 11 points as well, but on 5-of-14 shooting. “I just thought Henry Hecox and Landon Kaufman just did an outstanding job on those two. And then we decided to put Logan on (Keller) and let him shoot over 6-7. Logan can guard somebody like that. … And that worked out pretty well.”
 
  

WICHITA INDEPENDENT 55, PITTSBURG ST. MARY'S COLGAN 46 -- Every time Pittsburg Colgan made a charge at Wichita Independent, the top-seeded Panthers had an answer.

None was bigger than their final one.

When Colgan's Colin Hite buried a 3-pointer with 1:45 left in the fourth quarter of Wednesday's opening quarterfinal, Independent was suddenly tied and the pressure was on. For a team making just the third state-tourney appearance and still seeking its first state victory, Independent might have buckled.

Instead, the Panthers buckled down. Leyton Merrill calmly responded with a 3-pointer of his own 15 seconds later and after Colgan missed a one-and-one front end, Sir Ryan Dennis delivered another 3-pointer with just under a minute left that proved to be the dagger.

Independent hit 5 of 6 free throws in the final 30 seconds, finishing the game on a 13-3 run.

Joseph Recalde-Phillips scored 14 points to lead Independent (22-2) while Bryce Casanova came off the bench with 13 points, 11 coming in the first half. Four other Panthers scored at least 6 points and the Panthers got 7 of their 8 3-point makes from the bench.

Colgan (11-12) was led by Jack Schremmer's 16 points, but went just 3 of 13 beyond the arc.
 

MEDICINE LODGE 56, BENNINGTON 45 -- Medicine Lodge didn't need an exclamation point to punctuate its fourth-quarter dominance in its semifinal clash with Bennington.

But Derrek Randels provided one anyway.

With the Indians already riding high after an 11-0 run to start the final period erased a three-point deficit at the end of the third quarter. Randels sent the Indians and their fans into a frenzy. The 5-foot-10 junior got a breakaway, soared in for a dunk and flushed it home through contact.

It was that kind of period for the Indians, who outscored Bennington 22-7 in the final quarter.

Medicine Lodge had started the game nearly as hot, opening with an 8-0 burst. But Bennington weathered that storm, outscoring the Indians 11-2 the rest of the period to take a lead they held through three quarters.

But the fourth was all Medicine Lodge. A 3-pointer by Jace Cox with 5:54 left put the Indians up for good and came in that decisive 11-0 spurt. After a steal and layup by Bennington's Sean Garrett halted Medicine Lodge's momentum and made it a five-point game with 3:49 left, Randels and Medicine Lodge put the Bulldogs away.

Randels finished with 16 points, tying Carter Cunningham for team-high honors. The Indians (18-6), making their first state appearance since 2009, will face top-seeded Wichita Independent in Friday's 2 p.m. semifinal.

Bennington, which finished 19-5, was led by 15 points and 14 rebounds from Mister Smith and Garrett added 12 off the bench. But double-double machine Eli Lawson was harassed all game by the smaller Indians and finished with just 7 points before fouling out.
 

TMP-MARIAN 52, HORTON 27 -- With 6-foot-8 standout barely breaking a sweat before picking up his second foul and sitting the remainder of the first half, TMP-Marian was missing a key offensive weapon.

But the Monarchs' defense was still there. And it was good.

Up just 14-10 at the end of the first quarter, TMP held Horton to just three points in the second quarter and four in the third, outscoring the Chargers 21-7 over that span to take control of their quarterfinal.

Werth was scoreless in the first half, but was unstoppable in the second half, finishing with a game-high 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor. Kade Harris added 10 points.

Horton, at state for the first time since 2008, hung with the Monarchs for a quarter and came a half-second late of being down just one at the end of the first period -- a late 3-pointer waved off at the buzzer.

The Chargers could have used it as they hit just 1 of 9 shots in the second quarter and duplicated that performance in the third quarter. Horton finished 15-9 and was led by Cooper Wischropp's 6 points.


CLASS 2A BOYS QUARTERFINALS

WICHITA INDEPENDENT 55, PITTSBURG ST. MARY'S COLGAN 46

St. Mary's Colgan ... 8 ... 13 ... 12 ... 13 ... -- ... 46

Wichita Independent ... 14 ... 15 ... 9 ... 17 ... -- ... 55

Pittsburg Colgan (11-12) -- Harrell 3-12 0-1 6, Hite 3-4 0-0 7, Schremmer 5-13 4-4 16, Keller 3-6 1-2 7, Voss 3-10 0-1 6, Lopez 0-0 0-0 0, Jacquinot 1-2 2-2 4, VanBecelaere 0-1 0-0 0, Simmons 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-48 7-10 46..

Wichita Independent (22-2) -- Dean 3-4 0-0 6, Recalde-Phillips 6-12 2-2 14, Harris 0-5 3-6 3, Combs 0-1 0-0 0, VBeadles 2-6 2-2 7, Casanova 5-12 0-0 13, Dennis 2-4 0-0 6, Merrill 2-3 0-0 6. Totals 20-47 7-10 55.

3-point goals -- Colgan 3-13 (Schremmer 2-4, Hite 1-1, Harrell 0-5, Keller 0-2, VanVBecelaere 0-1); Independent 8-27 (Casanova 3-10, Dennis 2-4, Merrill 2-3, Beadles 1-5, Recalde-Phillips 0-2, Harris 0-2, Combs 0-1). Rebounds -- Colgan 28 (Voss 8); Independent 30 (Recalde-Phillips 10). Assists -- Colgan 6 (Hite 3); Independent 14 (Recalde-Phillips 7). Turnovers -- Colgan 9, Independent 10.. Total fouls -- Colgan 12, Independent 13. Fouled out -- none.


MEDICINE LODGE 56, BENNINGTON 45

Medicine Lodge ... 10 ... 9 ... 15 ... 22 ... -- ... 56

Bennington ... 11 ... 11 ... 16 ... 7 ... -- ... 45

Medicine Lodge (18-6) -- Ruiz 4-10 0-0 8, Gerdes 1-4 0-0 3, Cunningham 5-9 5-5 16, Randels 6-11 4-7 16, Hrencher 3-8 2-6 10, Cox 1-3 0-0 3, Nittler 0-1 0-0 0, Fisher 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 20-48 11-18 56.

Bennington (19-5) -- Wilson 2-7 0-0 5, Pickering 1-8 2-3 4, Rodenbeek 1-3 0-0 2, Smith 7-8 1-5 15, Lawson 3-7 1-5 7, McDowell 0-2 0-0 0, Garrett 6-10 0-0 12, Matthews 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-45 4-13 45.

3-point goals -- Medicine Lodge 5-13 (Hrencher 2-6, Gerdes 1-3, Cunningham 1-12, Cox 1-2, Fisher 0-1); Bennington 1-16 (Wilson 1-5, Pickering 0-6, Rodenbeek 0-1, Smith 0-1, McDowell 0-2, Garrett 0-1). Rebounds -- Medicine Lodge 22 (Ruiz 8); Bennington 29 (Smith 14). Assists -- Medicine Lodge 14 (Randels 5); Bennington 11 (Pickering 4). Turnovers -- Medicine Lodge 10, Bennington 13.. Total fouls -- Medicine Lodge 16, Bennington 22. Fouled out -- Bennington: Lawson.


TMP-MARIAN 52, HORTON 27

Horton ... 10 ... 3 ... 4 ... 10 ... -- ... 27

TMP-Marian ... 14 ... 7 ... 14 ... 17 ... -- ... 52

Horton (15-9) -- Masqua 1-2 3-4 5, McAfee 1-11 2-4 5, Becker 1-6 1-2 4, Wischropp 3-7 0-0 6, Smith 2-4 0-0 4, Moman 0-3 2-4 2, Knudson 0-0 0-0 0, Lockwood 0-1 1-2 1, Ottman 0-0 0-0 0, Kahbeah 0-0 0-0 0, Allen 0-1 0-1 0, LaCroix 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 8-36 9-17 27.

TMP-Marian (22-2) -- Harris 4-13 0-1 10, Schumacher 1-6 0-0 3, Rome 2-3 2-2 6, Rozean 2-4 2-2 6, Werth 6-10 2-3 14, Eck 0-1 0-0 0, Mindrup 3-6 0-0 8, Becker 0-1 0-0 0, Dinkel 0-0 0-0 0, Lowe 1-1 2-3 4, Liles 0-0 0-0 0, Balthazor 0-3 1-2 1. Totals 19-48 9-13 52.

3-point goals -- Horton 2-12 (McAfee 1-8, Becker 1-3, Wischropp 0-1); TMP 5-19 (Harris 2-6, Mindrup 2-5, Schumacher 1-5, Rozean 0-1, Eck 0-1, Becker 0-1). Rebounds -- Horton 23 (Masqua 6); TMP 28 (Harris 7). Assists -- Horton 6 (Becker 2, Wischropp 2); TMP 15 (Schumacher 6). Turnovers -- Horton 17, TMP 8.. Total fouls -- Horton 14, TMP 15. Fouled out -- none.


MOUNDRIDGE 63, ST. MARYS 31

St, Marys ... 9 ... 10 ... 6 ... 6 ... -- ... 31

Moundridge ... 15 ... 12 ... 12 ... 24 ... -- ... 63

St. Marys (16-8) -- B. Hurla 5-14 0-0 11, Gomez 1-6 0-0 2, K. Hurla 4-23 2-2 11, Hutley 0-2 0-0 0, Deiter 1-4 0-0 3, Gallegos 0-0 0-0 0, Rezac 1-2 2-2 4, Sommars 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 12-53 4-4 31.

Moundridge (21-3) -- Huddle 2-2 1-1 5, Kaufman 3-4 3-3 9, Hecox 5-7 2-2 12, Churchill 9-18 1-1 22, Moddelmog 5-10 0-0 13, Burge 0-0 0-0 0, H. Churchill 0-0 2-2 2, Schmidt 0-0 0-0 0, Adolf 0-0 0-0 0, Durst 0-0 0-0 0, Ward 0-0 0-0 0, Dixon 0-0 0-0 0.

3-point goals -- St. Marys 3-27 (K. Hurla 1-12, B. Hurla 1-5, Deiter 1-3, Gomez 0-4, Hutley 0-2, Sommars 0-1); Moundridge 6-12 (L. Churchill 3-4, Moddelmog 3-6, Kaufman 0-1, Hecox 0-1). Rebounds -- St. Marys 25 (B. Hurla 6); Moundridge 25 (L. Churchill 8). Assists -- St. Marys 3 (B. Hurla, K. Hurla, Deiter); Moundridge 14 (Huddle 7). Turnovers -- St. Marys 7, Moundridge 6.. Total fouls -- St. Marys 11, Moundridge 10. Fouled out -- none.