MORAN — “We came out and I thought we were going to be competitive,” Marmaton Valley head coach Tim Stinnett said following the Wildcats’ loss to the West Franklin Falcons, 59-25, Thursday evening.
He wasn’t the only person in the gym thinking that.
Despite the Falcons staring out on a 9-0 run on the Wildcats, courtesy of Oaklee Homer, Clay Altic and Matt Gray, they bounced back almost immediately.
Chance Stevenson struck on offense first, with just over four minutes remaining in the first. Brady Newman scored on a driving lay-up, then capped it with a trey on the following possession. Micheal Genn contributed a jumper as well to cut the score to 17-10 going into the second.
The 10 points they scored in the first dwindled to two points in the second, as the Falcons laid on 15 points. Their stifling fast breaks and dominance in the paint — particularly from Gray — proved to be the bane of the evening for the Cats.
At half-time, their deficit had expanded to 20 points, 32-12.
By the time the fourth quarter arrived, Marmaton Valley’s lack of offense had induced the running clock, 50-20.
Stinnett was positive nevertheless following the matchup, particularly of the way his seniors have battled throughout a tough season.
“I tried to get them a standing ovation there at the end,” he said.
Seniors Joey Jefferis, Genn and Stevenson had no shortage of roadblocks throughout their schedule, and being leaders on an overall young team wasn’t easy either, Stinnett noted. He also pointed out that Jefferis hadn’t played basketball before this season.
“He improved so much,” he said.
And they aren’t done yet. The Wildcats face off against Waverly Monday in their substate bracket. Southern Coffey County “blew them up” Stinnett said, and the Wildcats held close to the Titans in their matchup.
“I like our chances,” he said.
Newman led the Wildcats with 11 points, followed by Stevenson with eight and Genn with five. Gray had the high score for the Falcons with a commanding 21 points.
West Franklin 13-15-18-9—59
Marmaton Valley 10-2-8-5—25
