Free State boys notch 3rd place at McPherson Invitational
photo by: Carter Gaskins
Despite a loaded field of teams, the Free State boys basketball squad came away with some hardware at the McPherson Invitational.
FSHS notched third place with a 48-30 win over Shawnee Heights Saturday afternoon, finishing the tournament with a 2-1 clip. The team’s only loss came at the hands of Shawnee Mission East during the semifinals Friday night.
The Firebirds (8-2, No. 6 in Class 6A) got out to an 8-6 lead in the opening period before clinging to a 14-13 advantage at the intermission. Free State pulled away with a huge second half, including 18 points in the final period, to notch a double-digit win.
Senior Noah Butler, who missed the opening round with an ankle injury, led all scorers with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Junior DK Middleton joined him in double figures with 13 points on a 4-for-12 effort from the field.
Free State will take on Lawrence High (9-1, No. 3 in 6A) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Allen Fieldhouse.
Shawnee Heights (30)
Tyce Brown 4-8 0-0 9; Marquis Barksdale 3-8 0-2 6; Elijah Watson 0-5 0-0; Harvey Davis Jr. 0-4 1-2 1; Quinton Donohoe 2-5 0-0 6; Alex Morton-Pina 1-1 0-0 2; Isiah Johnson 1-2 0-0 2; Brando Walker-Ladish 0-2 1-2 1; Isaiah Bonjour 1-5 0-0 3. Totals: 12-40 2-6 30.
Free State (48)
Mozae Downing 0-0 0-0 0; Noah Butler 8-12 3-5 19; DK Middleton 4-12 5-6 13; Andrew Piper 1-4 2-2 4; Ethan Lincoln 0-2 1-2 1; Jaxon Malone 1-3 0-0 2; Ryan Stacey 1-2 0-0 3; Alyus Wisdom 0-1 0-0 0; Olin Yoder 1-1 2-2 4; Dash Cleveland 0-0 0-0 0; Jaxson Webb 0-0 0-0 0; Turner Corcoran 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 17-40 13-17 48.
COMMENTS