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By Jim Steele
steele@mckenziebanner.com |
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Both Rebels and Lady Rebels played up a level from
their last appearance against Huntingdon.
Unfortunately for McKenzie, despite the better efforts,
the result was the same.The Fillies managed to keep the
Lady Rebels at arm's length for a 45-38 victory. In the
nightcap, McKenzie had chances to send the game into
overtime, but a late steal by John Thomas with :03 to play
ended any Rebel chances as the Mustangs escaped 65-62.
In the nightcap, a fast and furious contest ensued.
Huntingdon's largest lead was a seven-point third-quarter
advantage. McKenzie actually led by five twice in the
final 5:28. This was in stark contrast to its last outing
against Huntingdon. The Mustangs captured a 76-37 victory
at McKenzie on Jan. 3. This battle could have gone
either way. Two pivotal points in the final 30 seconds
essentially changed the complexion of the outcome.
McKenzie surrendered a 62-57 lead when Thomas ended a 7-0
run for a 64-62 advantage with 1:08 to play. McKenzie
senior John Craig Howell drove the lane and scored with
22.6 seconds to play. However, the bucket was waved off by
a suspect traveling call. HHS senior Terrancee Bell added
a free throw three seconds later and the Mustangs led
65-62. The Rebs had one more chance to tie the game with
a triple, but Thomas cut off a pass with :03 to play and
basically ended the game. "When are we going to get luck
to go our way?" mused MHS head coach Larry Joe Smith,
lamenting the fact that his Rebels have played three
quality opponents to the wire, but have no victories to
show for it. "We kept fighting, but give them credit; they
hit big threes down the stretch." Bell drained a triple
at the 2:20 mark and Thomas hit a big triple as the third
frame ended. Huntingdon coach Jason Morris said he
warned his team about this visit from McKenzie. "I knew
it was going to be a different story this time," Morris
said. "McKenzie has a good team and I wasn't happy with
our defense until the last minute of the first half and
the last 30 seconds of the fourth quarter. McKenzie took
it to us." The Rebels matched the Mustangs point for
point in the first frame and the score was tied at 10 when
it ended. In the second frame, McKenzie's Drew Hayes
nailed a four-point play, but the Mustangs ended the half
with a 9-0 run. Thomas finished with a four-point play and
HHS led 32-27. Bryan Huffman had a three for MHS,
followed by a three-point play from Daniel Duncan and the
Rebels led 40-39. But the Mustangs raced to a 50-44 lead
after three. John French led McKenzie with 17, Huffman
had 13 and Duncan nine. Kenneth Hillsman led Huntingdon
with 25 points. Thomas scored 19 and Bell added 10. In
girls' play, Huntingdon's defense set an early tone as the
Fillies raced to a 10-2 lead at the start and led 15-9
after one and 20-14 at the half. Mallory Brandon's
threeball with 5:17 to play lifted the Lady Rebs to a
21-20 lead and Renee Crawley extended the margin to three
with her free throws. But six quick points from Waneca
Melton, Brook Pritchard and Crystal Fuller gave Huntingdon
a 26-23 lead. Anna Trull marked for McKenzie and pulled
the Lady Rebs within one, 26-25, but HHS led 31-26 after
three, McKenzie's Hope Wyder connected on a three-point
play with 4:20, followed by Brook Cole's freebies and the
Lady Rebels were within one again, 34-33. That's as close
as they would get. Huntingdon went on an 11-2 run and that
was that. "We played hard and they are No. 7 in the
state," said McKenzie coach Dan Ridley. "We weren't
intimidated and we gave it everything we had." "They
dictated the pace of the game and did a good job with
their zone defenses," said Huntingdon coach Mike Henson.
"We moved the ball better in the second half and did a
better job in our press; we got a few offensive rebounds
and some stickbacks. This was a good game for us because
we needed to be tested." Crawley led McKenzie with 18,
Trull scored eight and Wyder with six. Fuller led the
Fillies with 14, Melton added 12 and Sharri Smith scored
eight. |
