By Dean Backes
MaxPreps.com
Eric Porter let his play do the talking during Madison’s 47-43 win over Marais des Cygnes Valley Saturday, a victory that netted the Bulldogs their first Lyon County League tournament championship in 30 years at Emporia’s White Auditorium.
After burying 4-of-7 three-point attempts and scoring a game-high 18 points, the Madison senior let his emotions show.
“Thirty years, man, 30 years,” Porter told the Topeka Capital Journal. “It means everything. It gives us a lot of momentum and it’s the greatest feeling in the world. I can’t explain it right now.”
Madison built a 43-37 lead early in the fourth period and then held off the Trojans when Dennis Becker’s trifecta came up short with his team trailing 45-43. Porter then secured the win for the Bulldogs by burying a couple of free throws to bring the score to its final margin.
Becker led Marais des Cygnes Valley by scoring 10 of his team-leading 13 points in the first half.
Madison won back-to-back league tournaments in 1977 and 1978. The Bulldogs nearly won the tournament five times but finished as runner-up in 1980, 1986, 1990, 1996 and 2000.
Boys Basketball: Keltner Notches 300th Win at Hays
As the clock ticked down on Hays’ 62-51 win over Chapman last week, Indian coach Rick Keltner was about to reach a milestone at the school.
But it wasn’t until hours after the victory that Keltner, who is in his 23rd year at Hays, discovered that he had just notched 300 triumphs during his current run with the Indians. Former Indian football coach and record keeper, Kent Teeter, who is now an assistant football coach at Great Bend, informed Keltner last Wednesday.
“I’ve never won a game; players win games,” Keltner told the Hays Daily News. “I take credit for the losses.”
Keltner’s career record, which includes a 70-47 mark at Tipton, stood at 370-244 after last Tuesday’s win.
Girls Basketball: Andale Ends McPherson Streak
Andale threw out the history books Saturday and put an end to one of the most dominating eras in McPherson’s Mid-America Classic basketball tournament history.
With a 39-38 win over McPherson Saturday, the Indians ended the Bullpups’ run of nine straight Classic titles and stopped a 29-game winning streak in the tournament. The Bullpups have played in the past 13 championship matches.
“You hate for it to end,” McPherson coach Chris Strathman told the Hutchinson News of his team’s first Classic loss since falling to Moundridge in the 1998 title game. “But all of those are going to end sooner or later.”
Although Andale was in total control for much of the contest by pounding the ball inside, McPherson had a chance to extend its streaks to 10 championships and 30 games late. Jordi James missed a pair of free throws with 14 seconds left, however, to hand Andale the championship in its first appearance in the tournament.
After scoring, and cutting the deficit to one point, James tried to score inside following a missed free throw by Andale’s Melissa Easter, but missed. James pulled down the rebound and was fouled setting up her game saving opportunity.
The respect Andale had for McPherson may have paved the way for Andale’s championship run.
“We were definitely intimidated, seeing they won the last nine times,” Andale’s Adrienne Fox told the Hutchinson News. “But that made us just fight harder.”
Andale played its way into the title game by knocking off Blue Valley West (50-44) and St. John (35-33). McPherson defeated Hays (64-50) and Buhler (41-39) on its way to the championship contest.
Mid-America Classic Girls Basketball Tournament
Seventh Place Game: Hays 57, Salina Central 46
Fifth Place: Valley Center 42, Blue Valley West 36
Third Place: St. John 45, Buhler 43
Championship: Andale 39, McPherson 38
Girls Basketball: Kerr’s Comfort Zone
Jadhken Kerr appears to feel at home at the Kapaun Mount Carmel Invitational basketball tournament in Wichita.
Last season, Kerr scored a career-high 28 points at the tournament. This season, the Olathe South senior upped her career high by scoring 32 points in a 75-49 thumping of Towanda Circle at the same tournament. The 26-point win vaulted the Falcons into the championship match against Great Bend.
Kerr, who made four 3-pointers, wasn’t the only Falcon on top of her game. Senior guard Alyssa Rhodes set a new school record by dishing out 14 assists against the Thunderbirds. Olathe South made all 16 free throws it attempted and forced 26 turnovers.
“Tonight we played really well as a team,” Kerr told the Olathe News. “I think we picked it up a little. Definitely the first half was probably the best we’ve played all year.”
Olathe South went on to upend the Panthers with a 56-42 win in Saturday’s championship game.