Madison boys win 1st LCL Tourney title in 30 years
By Michael Ashford (Contact)
Monday, January 28, 2008
Photo by Carly Pearson
Madison’s Eric Porter shoots a 3-pointer Saturday night at White Auditorium. Porter had 18 points in the Bulldogs’ 47-43 victory over the Marais des Cygnes Valley Trojans in the Lyon County League Tournament championship game.
Madison senior Eric Porter clutched the Lyon County League Tournament trophy in his hands, holding it as a reminder of what his team had just accomplished.
He feared if he let it go, it might disappear and he’d wake up and realize all this was a dream.
A dream it was not, but a history-making reality it most certainly was.
“I can only put it into one word, and that’s ‘amazing,’” Porter said. “It’s the reason I’m holding onto this trophy right now. I want to make sure this is real, and it’s becoming more real every second.”
Fourth-seeded Madison defeated second-seeded Marais des Cygnes Valley, 47-43, Saturday night at White Auditorium, giving the Bulldogs their first Lyon County Tournament title since 1978. Five other Madison teams had made it to the championship game since then, but none could close out the deal.
Then again, none of those teams had Porter.
The 6-foot senior guard capped an outstanding tournament by scoring a game-high 18 points against Marais des Cygnes Valley. He hit four 3-pointers, including one that tied the game at 37 and set off a 9-0 Madison run that gave the Bulldogs the separation they needed. He also buried two free throws with 12 seconds remaining that all but sealed the deal for the Bulldogs.
Photo by Carly Pearson
The Madison boys basketball team holds up the Lyon County League Tournament trophy after defeating Marais des Cygnes Valley in the championship game, 47-43, on Saturday night at White Auditorium.
“He’s got that senior leadership, and most of the time he’s got the green light to shoot it,” Madison coach Alan Brown said. “He’s come through for us throughout the season, and for being a senior and a leader, that’s real important to us.”
Porter was at his best at the beginning and at the end of Saturday’s game, which was a good thing for the Bulldogs, because in between, MdCV proved it was worthy of its No. 2 seed.
Madison took a 14-9 lead at the end of the first quarter thanks to eight early points by Porter, including back-to-back 3-pointers to close the period.
The Trojans, however, rallied on the shoulders of their big man, 6-foot-7 center Dennis Becker.
Becker — who finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds — scored six points, grabbed four rebounds and dished out two assists in the second quarter, helping MdCV shake off its slow start enough to go into halftime with the lead, 25-24.
“We settled down and we started playing pretty well,” MdCV coach Thad Thurston said. “The Madison defense is good, and we adjusted to it going into the second quarter.”
The two teams traded blows after the intermission, as the lead changed hands five times and the score was tied five times in the third quarter. But it was Porter’s 3-pointer from the left wing with 1 minute left in the period that tied the game at 37 and sparked a 9-0 Madison run over the game’s next 2 1/2 minutes that allowed the Bulldogs to match their biggest lead at 43-37.
“I saw an open shot, and I wasn’t getting many, but I was feeling it,” Porter said. “I took it and it went in. There’s not even a thought process, you just shoot it. If you think about it, you miss.”
Marais des Cygnes Valley responded with a 5-2 run of its own to close to within three at 45-42 with 3:10 left, and then the scoring went away for both teams. The Trojans’ only point in the last 3 minutes came on a Michael Schmidt free throw with 1:24 left, and Porter’s two free throws with 12 seconds remaining were all the points the Bulldogs needed to hold on.
“That’s something you dream about since you were a little kid,” Porter said. “You get up to the line, and you have all the nerves and you can hear everybody just roaring in the crowd. You get to that point, and you’ve got to make the most of it.”
The Trojans also suffered two costly turnovers in the final 20 seconds that took away any chance at pulling out the victory.
The first came off a missed three-point try by Becker, after which Chisom Spencer grabbed the rebound but threw it away as he was falling out of bounds. The second came with 6 seconds left, as an inbounds pass from Schmidt to Becker went off of Becker’s hands and sailed out of bounds.
“Those are big,” Thurston said. “We don’t play in high-scoring games, we like to play in conservative, low-scoring games, and possessions are huge.
“Those were big down the stretch because they impacted the game immediately.”
The victory came a day after Madison defeated top-seeded Olpe — which won the earlier matchup this season after trailing by 24 points — making it a redeeming two-day stretch for Brown and the Bulldogs.
“It’s been 30 years since Madison’s won this,” Brown said, “and I think this is for not only our players, but also for the community, the alumni and everyone that’s been supporting the Madison program.”
Madison 47, MdCV 43
Lyon County League Championship
Saturday at White Auditorium
MdCV 9 16 12 6 — 43
Madison 14 10 14 9 — 47
Marais des Cygnes Valley (10-3) — Chisom Spencer 2-7 4-6 8, Michael Spillman 1-2 0-0 2, Brandon Litch 2-4 2-4 6, Drew Woodruff 2-3 0-0 4, Dennis Becker 6-11 1-2 13, Michael Schmidt 3-6 2-4 8, Matthew McGowin 1-1 0-1 2, Bryan Phillips 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-34 9-17 43.
Madison (12-3) — Michael Luthi 3-4 0-0 6, Eric Porter 6-10 2-2 18, Caleb Hamilton 1-4 0-0 3, Sid Childers 1-3 0-1 2, Kaleb Schankie 4-13 1-3 9, Henry Ott 2-8 0-0 6, Kale Schankie 1-3 0-0 2, Chris Schultz 0-0 0-0 0, Caleb Rathke 0-0 0-0 0, Reece Childers 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 18-45 4-8 47.
3-point goals — MdCV 0-6 (Spencer 0-2, Litch 0-1, Woodruff 0-1, Becker 0-1, Schmidt 0-1), Madison 7-16 (Porter 4-7, Hamilton 1-3, Ott 2-6). Rebounds — MdCV 25 (Becker 12), Madison 26 (Kaleb Schankie 6). Assists — MdCV 8 (3 tied at 2), Madison 8 (Porter, Childers 2). Turnovers — MdCV 13, Madison 11. Total fouls — MdCV 11, Madison 14.
Olpe 59, Lyndon 46
Olpe rebounded from its first loss of the season by defeating Lyndon, 59-46, in the third-place game.
The Eagles appeared to be in danger of having a hangover game early on, as Lyndon took a 28-25 lead into halftime thanks to eight points apiece from Derek Banzhaf and Keene Niemack.
Olpe, however, responded out of the break, going on a 20-6 run in the third quarter to blow past the Mustangs, taking a 45-34 lead into the final frame. The charge for the Eagles in the third quarter was led by Cole Krueger and Josh Klumpe, as the duo scored seven and six points, respectively, in the frame.
Krueger finished with a game-high 24 points, while Klumpe ended with 12.
Niemack finished with 10 points. Banzhaf finished with nine.
Olpe 59, Lyndon 46
Lyndon 13 15 6 12 — 46
Olpe 15 10 20 14 — 59
Lyndon — Jeremy Testerman 7, Kade Neilson 2, Derek Banzhaf 9, Dylan Filburn, Keene Niemack 10, Quinton Testerman 9, Alex Wendling 6.
Olpe — Cole Krueger 24, Bradley Argabright 5, Nathan Hammond 3, Alex Medenciy 4, Josh Klumpe 12, Ethan Schneider 10, Wade Schmidt 1.
Halftime — Lyndon 28-25. Total fouls — Lyndon 21, Olpe 12.
Lebo 62, Hartford 53
The Lebo Wolves raced out to a 21-9 lead by the end of the first quarter and cruised from there, upending the Hartford Jaguars, 62-53, in the fifth-place game.
The Wolves got nine early points from Adam Laflin, who drained a pair of 3-pointers in the first period on his way to scoring a game-high 21 points.
Hartford managed to close the game to six points at halftime, 30-24, but in the third quarter, it was all Laflin again, as he scored 11 points to help the Wolves regain their double-digit lead heading into the final frame. Lebo closed out the game by going 9-for-11 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.
Blake Jones (14) and Cameron Smith (13) joined Laflin in double figures, while Taylor Heckathorn paced Hartford with 18 points.
Lebo 62, Hartford 53
Lebo 21 9 15 17 — 62
Hartford 10 14 9 20 — 53
Lebo — Blake Jones 14, Devon Johnston 2, Calvin Perry 6, Cameron Smith 13, Adam Laflin 21, Dylan Smith 6.
Hartford — Adam Ewy 9, Tommy Smith 2, Storm Cartee 10, Cody Barrett 7, Taylor Heckathorn 18, Justin Farr 3, Ethan Beemer 2.
Halftime — Lebo 30-24. Total fouls — Lebo 18, Hartford 17.
Burlingame 57, Flinthills 44
Chris Patterson scored a game-high 24 points, which was enough to lift Burlingame past Flinthills, 57-44, despite Flinthills’ Grant Vogt scoring 21 points.
Patterson scored nine of his points in the third quarter to spur a 20-15 run by the Bearcats that helped them pull away after leading by just two at halftime, 24-22. Patterson hit two of his three 3-pointers in the third quarter.
Joining Patterson in double figures was Chris Walker, who had 11, and Austin Masters, who chipped in 10.
Dalton Skiles added 11 points for Flinthills.
Burlingame 57, Flinthills 44
Flinthills 12 10 15 7 — 44
Burlingame 10 14 20 13 — 57
Flinthills — Garrett Breech 2, Grant Vogt 21, Dalton Skiles 11, Tyler Wilson 4, Kent Riemann 2, Nate Vogts 3.
Burlingame — Chris Walker 11, Ty Lang 3, Austin Masters 10, Cory Smart 7, Chris Patterson 24, Joel Bevitt 2.
Halftime — Burlingame 24-22. Total fouls — Flinthills 25, Burlingame 14. Fouled out — Flinthills: Wilson.
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