A night of frustration finally turned into a night of jubilation for the McPherson High boys.

Plagued by abysmal shooting from the field as well as the foul line, the Bullpups were entangled with Buhler in a game that conjured up painful memories from 1986, though that game was played in the Crusaders' cozy gym, a far cry from today's palatial estate they now call home.

MHS needed not one, but two overtimes to finally put away Buhler 54-51 before a Roundhouse crowd that also conjured up old memories as it was in full throat.

Terrific play down the stretch by Trent Ruxlow and Chris Crawford enabled MHS to swat away the pesky-as-a-fly Crusaders, who only had a moral victory to show for a hard night's work.

“They had a great game plan, and they executed it to a T,” said MHS coach Kurt Kinnmon, whose team now has a pair of 3-point nailbiters to its credit. “We got frustrated because we struggled to make a shot and then we got frustrated at the free-throw line again, but I never saw one ounce of doubt or any quit or anything like that.”

For the most part, both teams' offense was like a trip to the dentist -- a painful experience.

The Bullpups took their biggest lead when Landon Miller drained a long 3-pointer at the end of the first half for a 24-20 advantage, which Kinnamon said was a key play in the game. MHS still led 32-29 after three quarters and the teams never were separated by more than two points in the final period after Buhler scored first.

Jordan Crawford's free throw with 46 seconds left tied the game at 39-all, and Buhler went for the last shot, only to see Aaron Schmucker miss. MHS ran a play with 1.9 seconds left, got away with a travel, and nearly had Jordan Crawford hit a game-winner.

In the first OT, Ryan Peak's free throw with 1:56 to go proved to be the final scoring. MHS held the ball the rest of the way, but a traveling call gave Buhler a chance to win, but Schmucker again missed.

In the second OT, MHS took the lead for good on a basket by Ruxlow, 50-48, and Chris Crawford made a couple of free throws for a 52-48 lead. A Schmucker bomb with 36 seconds left pulled the Crusaders within one, but another Ruxlow basket made it 54-51. Cody Beaton's 3-pointer to tie was off and MHS was able to run out the clock.

“We got behind at the start of each overtime and did a great job of battling back,” Kinnamon said. “We finally were able to get some things to fall in the basket for us.”

MHS continued its inexplicable yips at the foul line, going 16 of 29. But the key was a 44-28 rebounding advantage, as C.J. Bruner hauled in 11 and Camron Thissen had 10 off the bench.

Ruxlow led MHS with 15 points off the bench and Chris Crawford scored 11. Brady Gustafson led Buhler with 14, Beaton scored 12 and Schmucker added 11.

MHS went 4-0 on the day for a clean sweep.

The JVs were a 78-50 winner, as Kolin Walk scored 22 points in just two quarters, including 19 in the second quarter. Tanner Hawkinson added 18 and Adam Loecker scored 10.

The sophomores saw their first action as a unit and came away with a 67-48 win. Walk had 14 more points to tie Vince Ruxlow for team honors and Chad Nieman added 10.

The freshmen were a 63-49 winner behind a 27-point outburst by Tyler Burch and 11 by Levi Gerhardt.

MHS has a huge game coming up Tuesday at Maize.

MHS (54) -- Dahlstrom 2 3-4 7; Miller 2 0-0 5; J. Crawford 1 1-2 3; C. Crawford 3 5-11 11; Frazier 0 1-2 1; Bruner 2 2-2 6; Thissen 1 2-3 4; Tu. Hawkinson 1 0-0 2; T. Ruxlow 6 2-5 15. Totals --18 16-29 54. 3-pointers -- Miller 1, T. Ruxlow 1.

Buhler (51) -- Corwin 1 2-2 5; Pankratz 0 1-2 1; Schmucker 3 4-4 11; Gustafson 4 5-6 14; Ward 1 0-0 2; Peak 2 2-3 6; Lind 0 0-2 0; Beaton 4 3-4 12. Totals -- 15 17-23 51. 3-pointers -- Corwin 1, Schmucker 1, Beaton 1, Gustafson 1.

MHS JV (78) -- Nieman 2 1-2 7; Walk 6 5-6 22; V. Ruxlow 1 1-2 3; W. Anderson 1 0-0 2; Fawl 4 1-4 9; Tu. Hawkinson 2 1-3 5; Ta. Hawkinson 8 2-3 18; Loecker 4 2-3 10; A. Bruner 0 2-2 2. Totals -- 28 15-25 78. 3-pointers -- Walk 5, Nieman 2.

MHS sophs (67) -- Young 1 0-0 2; Nieman 1 8-8 10; Leach 1 0-0 2; Walk 5 2-2 14; V. Ruxlow 5 2-3 14; W. Anderson 2 3-4 8; Piper 4 1-2 9; Stucky 4 0-2 8. Totals -- 23 16-21 67. 3-pointers -- Walk 2, V. Ruxlow 2, W. Anderson 1.

MHS frosh (63) -- Klein 1 0-2 2; Buckbee 1 0-0 2; Gerhardt 4 3-4 11; Q. Ruxlow 2 0-1 4; Ty. Burch 11 2-5 27; Dixon 2 0-0 4; Stevens 2 1-1 5; A. Bruner 4 0-0 8. Totals -- 24 6-13 63. 3-pointers -- Ty. Burch 3.

McPherson Unified School District 418
514 N. Main
McPherson, KS 67460
620-241-9400
It is the policy of McPherson USD 418 not to discriminate on the basis of sex, disability, race,
religion, color, age, or national origin in its educational programs and/or activities, nor in its employment practices.

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