It was Mac, back-to-back in Salina as McPherson claimed its second straight Class 4A boys state championship by defeating Rock Creek 53-44.
There were no buzzer-beating heroics needed Saturday, but the Bullpups would not have been in the championship game without two Gabe Pyle game winners in the tournament.
Had Pyle not lifted McPherson over Baldwin with a runner at the buzzer in the opening round, the Bullpups would have watched the rest of the tournament from their living rooms. Pyle saved the day not just once, but twice, knocking down a jumper in double overtime to down top-seeded Ottawa in the semifinals.
“In sports, it’s such a razor’s thin edge between elation and just total devastation,” McPherson coach Kurt Kinnamon said. “And to end up with great elation tonight is very rewarding.”
The championship lacked the drama of McPherson’s previous two games. The Bullpups were in command the whole way on Saturday. They set the tone with a 15-7 first-quarter lead and locked the game up when they held Rock Creek to just five points in the third period.
The Bullpups limited Rock Creek to just 34 percent from the field while they hit an efficient 16 of 32 at the offensive end.
McPherson coach Kurt Kinnamon hugs sophomore Ashton Malm after the Bullpups won their second consecutive Class 4A state championship.
Pyle hit 6 lf 8 shots and finished 13 points. After the game, he took time to reflect on the tournament run.
“My shots … they were big, but there’s plays earlier in the game my teammates made to get me there,” Pyle said. “I’m so proud of all our guys for being able to fight through all three of those tough games. We had to run through a gauntlet. All three of our games, just super tough.”
“Gabe is just such a tremendous competitor,” Kinnamon said. “He’s a winner. He cares about winning. He cares about doing the right things and playing the right way, and he pulls everybody along.”
Pyle’s cousin, Jett Pyle, recorded 13 points and eight rebounds to lead the team. Ashton Malm added 10 points and led the team with seven assists.
“Kinnamon told us we needed to start off strong because we haven’t been starting off strong with our last few games,” Jett Pyle said. “We just started off strong and never let them come back.”
Rock Creek was led by Elijah Bell with 15, Coley Burgess with 11 and Gavin Rosa with 10. The Mustangs, who entered the tournament as the second seed, finished the year with a mark of 22-2.
“We always knew the target was on our back after being undefeated state champion last year,” Gabe Pyle said. “But we took each game by itself. We didn’t look ahead to anybody. We just knew we needed to take it one game at a time to get the job done.”
“We’ve been battling all year,” Jett Plye added. “We had four losses, but those losses don’t mean anything. It’s Kinnamon’s first time winning a state with four losses. We just took the challenge and came through.”
Saturday’s title was Kinnamon’s eighth state championship at McPherson and second time to repeat. He said difficulty comparing them was a good problem to have.
“Every one is different. You can’t compare championships,” Kinnamon said. “People in McPherson have the luxury of being able to do that, but every one is special.
“I told the (coaches) as we were walking out ‘Guys, we’ve got to recognize how lucky we are. There are great coaches who never make it to the state tournament, who will never win a state championship. We need to thank our lucky stars for the athletes that we’ve been given and the situation that we’ve been given to coach at McPherson High School.’”
McPherson players celebrate in the lockerroom following their Class 4A state championship game win over Rock Creek.
THIRD PLACE
OTTAWA 61, ANDALE 36 – Ottawa gained a measure of revenge for its double-overtime loss to McPherson that spoiled the Cyclones’ perfect season.
The Cyclones took out their frustration on third-seeded Andale in the consolation game Saturday. They harassed the Indians into 21 turnovers en route to a 61-36 victory.
Ottawa was caught in a chess match with McPherson Friday that culminated in 15 minutes of stalling by both teams that netted zero points until the final seconds of the second overtime. They bounced back Saturday, determined to remind everyone who was the top seed in the tournament.
The third-place game – the first of the day at the Tony’s Pizza Event Center in Salina – was interrupted for about 30 minutes by a fire alarm. The building was cleared for about 18 minutes.
The interruption didn’t throw Ottawa off its pace. In the fourth period, the Cyclones built a lead of 27 points before reserves took the floor with 1:12 left.
Leading Ottawa’s second-half rally was sophomore Jayce Mourning, who tossed in 17 of his 24 points after halftime. Seniors Aiden McCullough and Cole McGrath added 15 and 12 respectively.
Ottawa, which missed the tournament the past four seasons, finished the season with a 23-1 mark.
Senior Austin Baalman scored 13 points to lead Andale, which finished the season 20-4.
CLASS 4A BOYS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME BOXSCORES
MCPHERSON 53, ROCK CREEK 44
McPherson … 15 … 10 … 11 … 17 … – … 53
Rock Creek … 7 … 12 … 5 … 20 … – … 44
McPherson (20-4) – Strathman 0-3 1-2 1, J. Pyle 3-6 6-9 13, Brown 3-3 1-2 7, G. Pyle 6-8 0-1 13, Razak 2-5 3-3 7, Malm 2-6 6-10 10, Doile 0-1 0-0 0, Ingels 0-0 0-0 0, Seidl 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 16-32 19-29 53.
Rock Creek (22-2) – Bell 4-9 6-7 15, Martinie 1-10 0-0 3, Burgess 4-9 2-4 11, Rosa 4-6 0-0 10, Zoeller 0-2 1-2 1, Gill 1-4 0-0 2, Klingenberg 0-1 2-4 2, Debita 0-0 0-0 0, Pendall 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-41 11-17 44.
3-point goals – McPherson 2-9 (G. Pyle 1-3, J. Pyle 1-1, Strathman 0-3, Malm 0-1, Doile 0-1). Rock Creek 5-22 (Rosa 2-4, Martinie 1-7, Burgess 1-4, Bell 1-2, Zoeller 0-2, Gill 0-2, Klingenberg 0-1). Rebounds – McPherson 23 (J. Pyle 8), Rock Creek 25 (Bell 10). Assists – McPherson 9 (Malm 7), Rock Creek 5 (Martinie 2, Zoeller 2). Turnovers – McPherson 7, Rock Creek 10. Total fouls – McPherson 19, Rock Creek 21. Fouled out – Rosa.
THIRD PLACE
OTTAWA 61, ANDALE 36
Andale … 14 … 7 … 6 … 9 … – … 36
Ottawa … 14 … 14 … 15 … 18 … – … 61
Andale (20-4) – Baalman 4-9 3-4 13, Kaiser 1-2 0-0 2, Potucek 1-5 0-0 2, Horsch 2-7 3-4 7, Fowler 1-3 0-0 2, Kuepker 0-1 2-2 2, Molitor 1-2 0-0 2, Parthemer 0-0 0-0 0, Stanley 1-3 0-0 3, Kaiser 1-1 0-0 3, Allaire 0-2 0-0 0, Marx 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 12-36 8-10 36.
Ottawa (23-1) – Carter Hepner 1-3 0-0 2, Mourning 10-17 3-4 24, McGrath 4-5 4-5 12, Caleb Hepner 1-5 0-0 2, McCullough 7-13 0-0 15, Seaton 0-0 0-0 0, Hull 2-5 0-0 6, Blaine 0-0 0-0 0, Tuner 0-0 0-0 0, Conner 0-0 0-0 0, Engelby 0-1 0-0 0, Spencer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-49 7-9 61.
3-point goals – Andale 4-147 (Baalman 2-5, Stanley 1-3, Cruz 1-1, Horsch 0-4, Potucek 0-2, Allaire 0-2). Ottawa 4-15 (Hull 2-5, Mourning 1-4, McCullough 1-2, Caleb Hepner 0-3, McGrath 0-1). Rebounds – Andale 26 (Baalman 6), Ottawa 21 (McGrath 5). Assists – Andale 7 (Baalman 2, Potucek 2, Kuepker 2), Ottawa 10 (McCullough 5). Turnovers – Andale 21, Ottawa 6. Total fouls – Andale 12, Ottawa 12. Fouled out – none.