Macksville heads into regional with a win over St. John

The Macksville Mustangs ended their regular season defeating the St. John Tigers 78-58 in Friday’s final game before regional play.

“We had a good second quarter,” said Mustang coach Jeff Kuckelman. “We really did a good job on the boards.”

The Mustangs and their inter-county rivals kept it close in the first quarter with each team matching the other’s offensive drives.

St. John’s Danton Hilton sunk two from the outside in the early going while Zach Achor put in a trio of two-pointers with a matched set from the foul line by Omar Herrera for a 14-point quarter.
The Mustangs spent a lot of time on the foul line near the end of the first period with Kyle Bunker hitting 5-6 penalty shots and a pair of two-pointers. Evan Loomis hit a deuce and a free throw while Seth Filbert snuck in a three-pointer for a 15-point first quarter for Macksville.

In the second, Macksville got hot on offense sinking 29 points with four more two-pointers from Bunker and 4-4 from the line by Adam Oak.  St. John picked up 13 with another pair of treys from Hilton, a deuce and two foul shots by Achor and two trips to the line for Herrera and Minnis. Minnis went 1-2 while Herrera hit both on a two-shot foul.

At the break Macksville had a sizeable lead at 44-27.

“We shot the ball well, and got it inside,” Kuckelman said. “We did a good job on penetration from the second quarter on.”

The Tigers shot 33 percent for the game while the Mustangs shot 46 overall.

"We did shoot the ball poorly for the game," said Tiger coach Clint Kinnamon. "Part of it was Macksville's size and their defense, and part of it was we missed open shots. When Achor got in foul trouble in the second quarter Macksville made a huge run with him on the bench. We get real small when he's not in the game."

In the third, St. John got 11 points off deuces by Achor and Hilton, but the Mustangs kept building their lead as Oak slipped in a three-pointer and a deuce, and Loomis found the sweet spot for two-pointers hitting three from the field. Marc Renfro and Derek Bevan stuck in a deuce each.

By the fourth quarter, Macksville had the game well in hand leading 62-38 as the clock started for the final time.

St. John made a stab at a comeback with Herrera hitting a pair from the outside along with a three-pointer by Austin Young, a deuce by Kinser Crissman Hilton, and a pair from Achor for a 20-point fourth quarter, but it was not enough to overcome the 24-point lead by the Mustangs.

In the fourth, Macksville scored 16 with a pair of deuces by Garrett Aves, and Bevan. Javy Ortiz, Efrain Lopez, Oak and Bunker all had a single from the field to finalize the score at 78-58.

"Macksville played well and shot the ball pretty well," Kinnamon said. "Bevan was really good and Bunker was very good in the second quarter without Achor on the floor. If Filbert and Oak make shots for them, they are pretty tough. I thought we did a good job on (guarding) Renfro though."