A dream shot enabled McPherson High to have its dream matchup tonight for the championship of the 43rd annual McPherson Invitational.

Trent Ruxlow's 3-pointer from the deep right corner with 32 seconds left gave the Bullpups a 49-47 lead over upset-minded Manhattan and Aaron Frazier's free throw with 7 seconds left provided the final margin in a raucous 50-47 victory before a packed Roundhouse.

MHS, 10-0 and ranked second in Class 5A, takes on Shawnee Mission East, 9-0 and ranked second in Class 6A, in the game everybody has been waiting for. The action should tip off at 7:45 p.m. and unless Mother Nature has anything to say about it, anything less than a full house will be a terrible disappointment.

For the second night in a row, the Bullpups were pushed to the brink of extinction, as it's becoming more evident the weaksisterness of Division II of the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League hasn't been the greatest preparation for this loaded tournament.

MHS coach Kurt Kinnamon saw his team exhaust a full tank of energy for the second night in a row, as always troublesome Manhattan put up the right of its life behind wunderkind guard Sam Kenney, who torched the Bullpup defense for 23 points.

"There was big shot after big shot," Kinnamon said. "I really thought we executed a lot better tonight."

It appeared the Bullpups were going to send Manhattan the way of the Arkansas Citys and Newtons of the world, sprinting to a 16-3 lead six minutes into the game. But Kenney then started to weave his magic, as he scored the final 5 points of the period to cut it to 16-8.

Manhattan's 3-2 zone began to flummox the Bullpups, who started to clang 3-pointer after 3-pointer.

"They settled into it (the zone) and we settled for jumpers," said Kinnamon, whose team was 1 of 8 from beyond the arc in the half. "We had some wonderful inside passing when we would do it. I thought our bigs (inside players) were really good."

Manhattan's magic man continued his bombing in the second quarter. Kenney finished the half with 14 points, as he led a charge that saw Manhattan snatch a 26-24 lead at the half.

From there, it was hammer and tong. Manhattan did lead 40-34 late in the third quarter, but reserve Chad Nieman drained a trey before the end of the period to pull the Bullpups within 40-37.

The fourth quarter went back and forth. The lead kept changing hands, as a Brad Briggs free throw with 53 second left gave Manhattan its final lead of the night. The Bullpusp then worked for a good shot, and Ruxlow worked free for the open look, and he drilled it for only the Bullpups' third trey of the night in 15 attempts.

MHS' defense then didn't allow the Manhattan to get a decent look and the ball ended up in Frazier's hands. He was fouled and importantly made the first shot to assure MHS of no less than a tie. He missed the second, but Manhattan didn't get the ball in position to tie.

Jordan Crawford was the lone Bullpup in double figures, while Kenney finished with 23 for Manhattan, 6 of 8 from 3-point.

"Kenney was just unbelievable. They were all contested and I thought he did a great job," Kinnamon said. He's a really good player and made some big shots."

Now comes Shawnee Mission East, a team that could very well win the 6A title.

"After watching them, I'm not sure how much we want them," Kinnamon said. "They're really good. That's what people wanted to see and it should be a great game."