In front of a packed house on their home court, the Mountain Grove Panthers picked up their first district championship title in over a decade with a win over the MV-BT/Liberty Eagles, 70-54.
“I’m just happy for the kids,” said Panthers head coach Duane Hiler. “I’m proud of them. It’s been a long time coming, and they deserve it.”
The teams were closely matched in the first quarter, with Mtn. Grove pulling ahead by one point to end the quarter. By halftime, however, it was a different story.
“We got a couple of steals and converted, and we got a couple of backboards and easy baskets. We popped a couple of threes at opportune times,” said Hiler.
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The Panthers’ offensive drive and tough defense in the second quarter gave them a thirteen point lead to open the second half. The host team stretched their lead to 20 points nearing the end of the third, but the Eagles continued to fight and closed the third with a 54-40 score.
“The game was clearly out of hand, we’re down 20, and I just told them to fight to the buzzer,” said Eagles head coach Rob Brown. “I told them to keep battling, keep your head, stay classy, and just be respectful of the game, and I thought all of them answered that call.”
While the Eagles put up 14 points in the final frame to the Panthers’ 16, their deep second quarter deficit proved too much to overcome.
“I thought both teams came out and it was what we expected,” said Hiler. “Both teams competed and got after it. Our kids defensively really stepped up the game, and that was the difference. It was a team win. We got in foul trouble in the first half with Brock and DJ, and DJ barely saw the floor at all, and during the time he was on the bench, we stretched the lead. Everybody chipped in and did their job.”
Brock Coffman was the leading scorer for the Panthers, matching the 19 points Josh Pruett added for Liberty.
“Overall, we played pretty good as a team,” said Coffman. “Our defense has stepped up all year, so that was a big part of it. It feels good to lead the team in scoring and to come out with a win.”
Hiler was complimentary of Brown, a fellow Willow Springs High School alumnus.
“Rob did a great job with these kids this year,” said Coach Hiler. “They are a good, quality team, and they flat compete.”
Brown also spoke highly of his opponent.
“Congratulations to Coach Hiler and the Panthers, they were clearly the better team in the season,” he said. “They ran through the SCA and had a great year going…their losses are quality losses.”
“We didn’t have an answer,” Brown said of the Panthers’ attack. “But I’m proud of our kids. We had a 20 win season, played in the championships of three tournaments and districts. I told them in the locker room, don’t let anyone tell you it’s your fault, his fault, anybody else’s fault – we got beat by the better team, and carry on.”
The Eagles lose two seniors, Dalton Richardson and Corbin Dewick.
“Dalton Richardson was more of a role player,” said Brown, “but he is a great kid and decided he wanted to be a member of a team and accepted his role and never complained. Corbin Dewick is a self-made player. If you saw him as a freshman and sophomore you probably didn’t think he’d be the third leading scorer in the conference and doing some of the things he did. He really worked hard on his game and became a fine young man.”
The Eagles end their season with a 20-9 overall record. The Panthers advance to sectional competition and take on Fatima (18-10) on March 2nd at 7:45 in Rolla.
Scoring for Liberty: Josh Pruett, 19; Mathew Coatney, 12; Corbin Dewick, 11; Shalin Stout, 6; Brenton Bush, 4; Koel Orchard, 2.
Scoring for Mountain Grove: Brock Coffman, 19; Carter Otwell, 14; DJ McNew, 13; Cade Coffman, 13; Thomas Clifton, 9; Gavin Veach, 2.
