MV falls in heart-breaker

CHEROKEE — The Marmaton Valley High boys contest against Oswego came down to the wire during their midseason tournament game Friday night in Cherokee.
The Indians came out on top 52-49.
The first quarter had the Wildcats in the lead 7-4, but a slow second quarter had them down 17-11 at the half.
The third quarter seemed to put the game out of reach for the Wildcats; they were outscored by the Indians 18-13. However, a final push in the fourth got them back in the game.
With the game tied at 44-44, the Indians hit a two-pointer, followed by a steal and a fast-break layup. However, the Wildcats’ Cole Becker responded with a clutch 3-pointer, cutting the deficit to 48-47. But, with only 30 seconds left in the game, the Wildcats were forced to foul and the Indians made good on their free throw attempts.
“The guys fought back real tough in the fourth and forced a lot of turnovers,” assistant coach Scott Brady said.
Becker led the Wildcats with 27 points with eight steals. Chance Stevenson contributed 11 points and Carlos Gonzales had five. Nathan Smart pulled in seven rebounds. Lucas Hamlin had two points and five rebounds.
Friday’s loss concluded their play in the midseason tournament with a sixth-place finish.

ON THURSDAY, The Wildcat boys trailed Columbus 11-9 after one quarter and 27-19 at halftime. The Titans pushed to a 37-26 lead after three quarters.
Nathan Smart led the Wildcats with 10 points, nine rebounds and four blocks.
Cole Becker followed with eight points and four rebounds. Carlos Gonzales had four points and four steals, while Ryan Smith scored four points. Michael Genn, Chance Stevenson, Levi Ramsey and Lucas Hamlin scored two points apiece.

IN GIRLS action, Columbus defeated the Wildcats 64-31 on Thursday.
There was no report on Friday’s contest against Oswego.
On Thursday, the Lady Titans raced to an 11-4 lead over the Wildcats after one quarter, then pushed its advantage to 31-16 at the break. The lead was 49-26 by the end of the third quarter.
Mackenzie Tynon was Marmaton Valley’s offensive stalwart, scoring 19 points. Kaitlin Ensminger added six and Kailey Boyd had four.
Katrina Froebe led the Titans with 14 points, while Marissa Thompson and Madi Evans had 12 points each.
The Marmaton Valley squads resume action Tuesday at Oswego.