MORAN — It was hardly a masterpiece, unless you’re a fan of in-your-face, pressure defense.
In that case, Marmaton Valley High’s boys delivered Tuesday evening.
The Wildcats overcame a 13-point, second half deficit by limiting visiting Northeast High to only a pair of field goals over the game’s final 13 minutes.
The defense sparked an 18-4 run, capped by Carlos Gonzales’ basket with 9 seconds left in regulation to give Marmaton Valley a 42-40 lead.
The Wildcats finished the game in much the same manner, preventing Northeast from getting a shot off as time ran out.
Wildcat coach Tim Stinnett didn’t mince words after his team emerged with the two-point victory: “It was ugly, ugly.”
But still, he praised his team’s defensive intensity in the second half.
When they weren’t forcing turnovers — the Widcats racked up 11 steals in the game — Marmaton Valley successfully harassed Northeast’s players to force up hurried shots, especially down the stretch.
Those misfires led to several fast break opportunities for the Wildcats in the second half.
“Our defense is our best offense,” Stinnett said. “When we play defense like that, we can score.”
Northeast led 36-23 with 5 minutes left in the third quarter, when Marmaton Valley ended the period on a 7-0 run, coming on a basket by Cole Becker, a 3-pointer by Ryan Smith and a Gonzales bucket with 1:46 remaining in the period.
Both teams scuffled on offense to start the fourth period. Northeast’s Dennis Hensley ended the drought with a basket to extend the Viking lead to 38-30. Smith responded in short order for the Wildcats with a driving layup, followed with a Chance Stevenson 3-pointer at the 4:1 mark to cut the deficit to three.
Levi Ramsey pulled Marmaton Valley to within 38-37 on a steal and two free throws with 2 1/2 minutes left.
Lucas Hamlin then hauled in perhaps the most pivotal offensive rebound of the night on Marmaton Valley’s next possession, when he grabbed a missed free throw by Stevenson. His outback put Marmaton Valley on top 39-38, the Wildcats’ first lead since a 2-0 advantage to start the game.
Stevenson added a free throw with 1:20 left before the Vikings’ Noah Popejoy put back his own miss with a minute remaining to tie the score at 40-40.
A Wildcat timeout with 25 seconds left set up the final possession. Becker got loose in the lane, and when Northeast’s defense converged, passed the ball to Gonzales for the driving baseline layup.
The Wildcats kept their press engaged, forcing a Northeast timeout with 5 seconds left and the ball at mid-court. The Vikings passed the ball around the perimeter. A deflection sent the ball rolling along the floor as the buzzer sounded.
The game was nip-and-tuck throughout the first half. Northeast led 8-2 early, the largest advantage either team could muster before intermission. The Vikings led 24-20 at the break, then opened the third quarter with a barrage of outside jumpers, keying a 12-3 run to lead 36-23.
“Our guys have been in that position before,” Stinnett said. “The key was we kept our poise and didn’t panic.”
Stevenson led the Wildcats with 10 points, followed by Becker with eight and Smith with seven. Becker also had nine rebounds and four assists. Stevenson chipped in with four steals and three assists. Hamlin added four steals.
Popejoy and Antonio Slingluff scored 10 apiece to pace Northeast.
The Wildcat junior varsity also came out on top in a nail-biter, 46-45. Michael Genn scored 13 points, followed by Brady Newman with nine, Austin Deer, Austin Pinkerton and Trent Johnson with with six each, Sage Hall with four, Gage Adams with two and Keagan Boyd with one.
Marmaton Valley hosts Southern Coffey County Friday.
Northeast (9-15-12-4—40)
MV (8-12-10-12—42)
Northeast (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Hensley 1/2-1-2-9, Chandler 0/1-0-1-3, Slingluff 2/2-0-1-10, Baker 0-0-2-0, Mills 2-1-5-5, Popejoy 5-0-1-10, Wilson 0/1-0-1-3. TOTALS: 10/6-2-16-40.
MV (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Smith 2/1-0-3-7, Stevenson 0/3-1-2-10, Becker 3-2-3-8, Gonzales 3-0-3-6, Newman 0-1-0-1, Ramsey 0-2-0-2, Hamlin 3-0-2-6, Smart 0-2-0-2. TOTALS: 11/4-8-13-42.
MV wins ‘ugly’ thriller
