DODGE CITY – The Lyndon Tigers were hoping to make history when they took on reigning Class 2A champion Moundridge in the title game of the 2024 tournament at United Wireless Arena on Saturday night.

The magic that seems to surround the Wildcats if they make the championship game was back in full force as first-year coach Dustan Kanitz led his charges to a resounding 58-44 victory over Lyndon. In the process, Moundridge won its eighth state championship in nine tries.

A victory would have capped off an unbeaten basketball season for the Tigers after they accomplished a perfect record of 13-0 last November in winning the 8-Player Division I football crown over 2022 state champion Wichita County.

The potential win over Moundridge would have been the first time a school won both championships with wins over defending champions in the two sports.

But someone didn't explain to Moundridge that it was considered by many to be the underdogs despite being the most recent title holder. The win capped a 23-3 season for the 'Cats while Lyndon finished 25-1 and still is without a state championship in its storied history.

The only year the 'Cats didn't claim the title while playing for it came in 1989 when they lost 47-45 to Garden Plain. What followed then was a four-year reign from 1990 to 1993 that was the second through fifth championships. The school's first title came in 1971 under Bob Smyth with a 75-61 win over Yates Center. In that year's semifinal, Moundridge eliminated Lyndon, 44-43.
 

New coach Dustan Kanitz was just enjoying the blissful moment in the minutes after the final buzzer sounded and medals and the trophy were presented to his players.

"I think one thing that fuels the school's success is the energy we get from the community," Kanitz said. "The whole town shows up. I thought our kids really stepped up defensively despite getting into some early foul trouble. We had to go to the bench and those guys stepped in and gave us a lot of quality minutes."

At halftime, the Wildcats led 21-17 and after holding Lyndon standout Tanner Heckel scoreless in the first period. The 6-foot senior southpaw scored eight of his team's 10 points in the second.

"We put Kaizer (sophomore, coach's son) on him and then switched up and he got some help," Coach Kanitz said of the game plan to slow down Heckel. "You don't completely shut down a player who is that good, but we tried to make it tough for him to get good looks. I thought, overall, defensively we did the kind of job you need to win a game like this."

That halftime score was as close as Lyndon would come to the Wildcats with Moundridge scoring the first seven points of the third quarter. The Wildcats knocked down three dagger 3-pointers to expand the lead to 15, 40-25.

 "It was just one thing after another," Lyndon coach Michael Massey said. "We weren't nearly as aggressive as we needed to be in this kind of game. We didn't do a good enough job on screens and moving the ball."
 

Heckel was silenced again in that third quarter fallout, but came back with 13 points in the final quarter to keep the Tigers on the edge of making a run. But it was never enough to overcome the hot-shooting of the Wildcats, who finished 18 of 34 (52.9%) and were 6 of 10 from behind the arc.

"We just never really got into a good rhythm the whole game, and you've got to credit Moundridge for a lot of that," Massey said.
Kanitz said that his team had gotten better as the season progressed with some new twists to his system.

"It's great to see all the hard work these kids put in pay off," Kanitz said. "It just feels amazing. I can't even really explain the feelings at the moment. They're tough kids and I'm proud of that. They might not pass the muster look when they walk into the gym, but they have a great feel for playing the game."

Barrett Moddelmog led the winners with 14 points with Kreighton Kanitz (the lone senior on the roster) adding 13 and Henry Hecox chipping in with 11. The 'Cats struggled at the line in their semifinal win over Sterling, but knocked down 16 of 21 against Lyndon to help their cause.

And the teamwork that Kanitz has preached showed in the assist category as the Wildcats recorded 13 of those of the 18 made baskets. Hecox had five. Heckel's 21 points came off 8-of-16 field goals and 4 of 6 at the line. Moundridge had a narrow 21-18 rebounding edge.

Both teams struggled to score early as the Wildcats took the lead in the first, owning a 12-7 advantage. Heckel got his game in gear and scored 8 of his team's 10 points in the second, but missed two critical free throws near the end of the period.

The victory added to Moundridge’s rich state tournament history. The 1990 to 1993 quartet of titles under coach Vance Unrau came at the expense of Uniontown (1990, 75-50), La Crosse (1991, 47-42), Wabaunsee-Alma (1992, 64-47) and Valley Falls (1993, 76-55). Unrau added titles in 1997 (Inman, 76-57) and waited 25 years for his final championship just a year ago in his final season as head coach with a 66-46 triumph over Wichita Independent.
 
THIRD PLACE

SACRED HEART 58, STERLING 51

Trailing by two entering the fourth quarter, Sacred rallied for a 58-51 victory in the third-place game to complete a 22-4 season. Sterling finished with the same mark.

It was a close game throughout, with Sterling up 15-13 at the end of the first quarter and in front 22-20 at halftime. The teams played to a third-quarter standoff at 17 points each to make it a 39-37 score heading to the fourth period.

The free throw line played a pivotal role in the outcome, with the Knights hitting 20 of 26 at the charity stripe while the Black Bears were just 3 of 8.

Max Ehrlich, who didn't make a single 2-point shot, hit a pair of treys and then went 13-of-15 at the line to finish with a game-high 23 points. Evan Bogart tacked on 13 points to the winning effort.

For Sterling, Boston Ekart led the way with 14 points and Blake Smith added 11. Gabe Riffel pulled down 15 rebounds for the Bears. Michael Matteucci had 9 boards for the Knights.
 

 
CLASS 2A BOYS CHAMPIONSHIP BOXSCORES

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

MOUNDRIDGE 58, LYNDON 44

Moundridge ... 12 ... 9 ... 19 ... 18 ... – … 58
Lyndon ... 7 ... 10 ... 8 ... 19 ... – … 44

Moundridge (23-3) -- Kai. Kanitz 3-6 2-2 8, Kre. Kanitz 3-6 6-7 13, Churchill 1-2 2-2 4, Hecox 3-6 4-6 11, Adolf 1-2 0-0 2, Dixon 2-5, 2-2 6, Moddelmog 5-7 2-3 14. Totals 18-34 16-21 58.

Lyndon (25-1) -- Miller 2-7 0-0 4, J. Massey 3-5 2-2 8, Heckel 8-16 4-6 21, Wirth 1-3 0-0 2, Marcotte 1-2 0-0 3, K. Massey 2-3 2-4 6. Totals 17-36 8-12 44.

3-point goals--Moundridge 6-10 (Kai. Kanitz 2-2, Kre. Kanitz 1-1, Hecox 1-3, Adolf 0-1, Dixon 0-1, Moddelmog 2-2); Lyndon 2-8 (Miller 0-1, Massey 0-2, Heckel 1-2, Wirth 0-1, Marcotte 1-2). Rebounds--Moundridge 21 (Hecox 4), Lyndon 18 (K. Massey 5). Assists--Moundridge 13 (Hecox 5); Lyndon 5 (Wirth 2). Turnovers--Moundridge 8, Lyndon 12. Total Fouls--Moundridge 17, Lyndon 21. Fouled Out--Lyndon (J. Massey).
 
THIRD-PLACE GAME

SACRED HEART 58, STERLING 51

Sterling ... 15 ... 7 ... 17 ... 12 ... – … 51
Sacred Heart ... 13 ... 7 ... 17 ... 21 ... – … 58

Sterling (22-4) -- Smith 4-11 1-4 11, Farney 1-3 0-0 2, Newberry 1-2 0-0 3, Gray 2-3 0-0 4, Briar 0-3 0-0 0, Beagley 3-11 2-2 9, Ekart 6-15 0-0 14, Riffel 4-7 0-2 8. Totals 21-55 3-8 51.

Salina-Sacred Heart (22-4) -- Matteucci 2-10 4-4 8, Wi. Tuttle 1-2 1-1 3, Adami 2-5 0-0 4, Bogart 4-10 2-4 13, Samuelson 1-2 0-2 2, Ehrlich 4-9 13-15 23, Marrs 2-7 0-0 5. Totals 16-45 20-26 58.

3-point goals--Sterling 6-24 (Smith 2-6, Farney 0-1, Newberry 1-1, Briar 0-2, Beagley 1-6, Ekart 2-7, Riffel 0-1); Sacred Heart 6-22 (Matteucci 0-2, Wi. Tuttle 0-1, Bogart 3-7, Ehrlich 2-6, Marrs 1-6). Rebounds--Sterling 38 (Riffel 15); Sacred Heart 32 (Matteucci 9). Assists--Sterling 13 (Farney 4); Sacred Heart 15 (Matteucci 6). Turnovers--Sterling 13, Sacred Heart 8. Total Fouls--Sterling 19; Sacred Heart 12. Fouled Out--Sterling (Ekart).