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St. John, Kan. —
The new bleachers in the St. John High gymnasium got a good capacity test from stomping feet and cheering fans as it was standing room only for the final game of the St. John Lions Club Mid-Winter Classic with Pratt defeating Medicine Lodge 55-54
The final match up between the two undefeated top seeds, the Pratt Greenbacks and the Medicine Lodge Indians was everything fans of the Classic expected to see with the final score resting of the last toss of the game.
“It was a great championship game between our two undefeated teams,” said Greenback head coach David Swank. “That game could have gone either way we were fortunate to make those final plays at the end of the game.”
Pratt ranked 4 in 4A led for much of the game against the 2A 6 ranked Indians, but lost the advantage on a shot from Scott Angell with 1:37 left in the game.
Pratt took the lead back the final of four triples by Micah Swank.
Indian senior Bryan Hellman hit a free throw with less than a minute on the clock to cut the lead to one. Swank missed the first of a one-for-one penalty with a half-minute to play, but two last second shots by the Indians failed to fall leaving the score at Pratt 55, Medicine Lodge 54.
Swank had 34 points and four rebounds and was voted tournament MVP. Skylar Dean hit 11 points with three treys.
“We had a good tournament,” said organizer Rick Hunley. “We had good crowds and some really good games.”
Two Pratt players made the all-tournament team with Swank and teammate Payson Maydew. Jeremy Wilson, West Wichita; Brian Hellman, Medicine Lodge, and Quinton Crandall, Nickerson rounded out the five-man all star team.
The Macksville Mustangs defeated Nickerson 59-42 in the consolation final for third in the tournament. They got bumped to the backside of the bracket after losing to Pratt on Friday. They started their tournament run with a 70-55 win over Central Plains in round one.
Adam Oak led the Mustangs against Nickerson with the 6’ senior hitting 18 points with five two-pointers and one from the three. He went 5-7 from the line.
Colton Ary and Idolfo Ibarra both hit 11-points against Nickerson.
The St. John Tigers defeated Larned, 69-46, before losing their final game of the tournament 67-50.
West’s height gave the Tigers some rebounding problems, but 5’11 sophomore Kade Kinnamon made them pay in penalty shots hitting 5-7 from the line and scoring 13 on the night with a deuce and a pair of three-pointers.
The new bleachers in the St. John High gymnasium got a good capacity test from stomping feet and cheering fans as it was standing room only for the final game of the St. John Lions Club Mid-Winter Classic with Pratt defeating Medicine Lodge 55-54
The final match up between the two undefeated top seeds, the Pratt Greenbacks and the Medicine Lodge Indians was everything fans of the Classic expected to see with the final score resting of the last toss of the game.
“It was a great championship game between our two undefeated teams,” said Greenback head coach David Swank. “That game could have gone either way we were fortunate to make those final plays at the end of the game.”
Pratt ranked 4 in 4A led for much of the game against the 2A 6 ranked Indians, but lost the advantage on a shot from Scott Angell with 1:37 left in the game.
Pratt took the lead back the final of four triples by Micah Swank.
Indian senior Bryan Hellman hit a free throw with less than a minute on the clock to cut the lead to one. Swank missed the first of a one-for-one penalty with a half-minute to play, but two last second shots by the Indians failed to fall leaving the score at Pratt 55, Medicine Lodge 54.
Swank had 34 points and four rebounds and was voted tournament MVP. Skylar Dean hit 11 points with three treys.
“We had a good tournament,” said organizer Rick Hunley. “We had good crowds and some really good games.”
Two Pratt players made the all-tournament team with Swank and teammate Payson Maydew. Jeremy Wilson, West Wichita; Brian Hellman, Medicine Lodge, and Quinton Crandall, Nickerson rounded out the five-man all star team.
The Macksville Mustangs defeated Nickerson 59-42 in the consolation final for third in the tournament. They got bumped to the backside of the bracket after losing to Pratt on Friday. They started their tournament run with a 70-55 win over Central Plains in round one.
Adam Oak led the Mustangs against Nickerson with the 6’ senior hitting 18 points with five two-pointers and one from the three. He went 5-7 from the line.
Colton Ary and Idolfo Ibarra both hit 11-points against Nickerson.
The St. John Tigers defeated Larned, 69-46, before losing their final game of the tournament 67-50.
West’s height gave the Tigers some rebounding problems, but 5’11 sophomore Kade Kinnamon made them pay in penalty shots hitting 5-7 from the line and scoring 13 on the night with a deuce and a pair of three-pointers.
Spencer Nusser and Zuriel Reyes broke the double-digit barrier in scoring with Nusser hitting 12 on three triples, a deuce and one from the line. Macias hit two triples and two doubles for his ten points while freshman Dean Wade went 6-10 from the line.
The coveted St. John Booster Club Sportsmanship award went to Larned. The award is voted on by a group of officials, and other members selected from the different communities. The votes are cast according to crowd size, participation conduct and other criteria.
The St. John Mid-Winter Classic is the longest running basketball tournament west of the Mississippi. Funds raised during the tournament go to various Lions Club charities and projects.
The St. John Tigers resume regular season play Jan. 31. The Lady Tigers are beginning the Pratt Tournament of Champions Jan. 26.
Macksville will resume play against LaCrosse on the 31. The Lady Stangs start competing in the 54 Classic at Pratt-Skyline Jan. 24.
