Rogersville took the air out of the ball and kept Mountain Grove’s deadly transition offense in check.
The Wildcats implemented a methodical, half-court style against the Panthers in Tuesday’s Gold Division quarterfinals nightcap and rode it to a 44-40 victory.
The Wildcats will face unseeded Willard, which defeated No. 3 seed Bolivar 50-47, at 8:30 Wednesday night in the Gold Division semifinals at JQH Arena.
“This win especially feels good because it’s the Blue and Gold and it’s such a prestigious tournament, a tournament where every team that’s in it is looking forward to it each year,” said Rogersville coach Mitch McHenry. “I wouldn’t say we necessarily executed great down the stretch, but it was nice to be in a situation where we had a chance to win the game late against a good team and that we took advantage of it.”
Free throws had a big impact on the outcome. Rogersville wasn’t particularly great at the free throw line (17-for-26 as team), but the Wildcats fared far better than Mountain Grove’s disastrous 6-for-18 output.
Rogersville senior Matt McHenry, the younger brother of the head coach, scored a game-high 17 and made 10 of 12 free throw attempts, including a 6-for-8 effort late in the fourth quarter.
“It was pretty nerve-racking,” Matt McHenry said. “Didn’t know what the outcome was going to be, but I knew if I could get to the free throw line a couple of times that I could potentially put my team on top.”
Mountain Grove had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds, but Rogersville forced a jump-ball on a Panthers shot attempt. The possession arrow gave the back to Rogersville and the Wildcats, leading 42-40, sank two free throws to seal the victory.
PHOTOS: ROGERSVILLE VS. MTN. GROVE
Rogersville improved to 6-5 overall. Coming into the Blue and Gold, the Wildcats’ resume included a pair of close losses to Ozark and a blowout loss at home against Hillcrest.
“The losses to Ozark and Hillcrest were tough,” Matt McHeny said. “The team knew, we all knew, that we had to keep battling. This win is a big confidence booster. It puts a stamp for us. It lets people know who we are. I’m excited to play Willard tonight.”
Offense was almost non-excitant through three quarters, with Rogersville leading 27-26 going into the fourth.
Things picked up considerably in the final 1:30 of the game, as Mtn. Grove – aided by Rogersville turnovers and missed free throws – rallied from a 39-33 deficit to tie the game 40-all on a Carter Otwell basket with 27.9 seconds remaining.
But moments later, the Mountain Grove bench was issued a technical foul for throwing a towel on the floor after showing displeasure with a non-foul ruling.
Rogersville converted both free throw attempts from the technical foul, missed its next two attempts, but was able force a jump-ball on the defensive end to maintain its 42-40 lead. Matt McHenry iced the game with a pair of free throws with five seconds remaining.
Brock Coffman scored 15 to lead Mountain Grove, which suffered its first loss. The Panthers (7-1) will play Bolivar at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday in a consolation game at Hammons Student Center.
Andrew Scott scored 10 and Jarrett Stiles had eight points for the Wildcats.
“We told (our players) that we need the final score to be in the 40s or 50s for us to have a chance,” Mitch McHenry said. “Throughout the game, the tempo was where we wanted it to be.
“There was probably only a couple minutes stretch where (Mtn. Grove) really got to go up and down – which they’re one of the best teams at running. Besides that, I thought the rest of the time we did a great job of playing in the half court. When we get teams to play in the half court, we’re pretty good.”
Mtn. Grove 15 7 4 14 — 40
Rogersville 11 11 5 17 — 44
Rogersville – Matt McHenry 17, Andrew Scott 10, Jarrett Stiles 8, Luke Vandersnick 5, Drew Ritter 2, Ryker Strong 2
Mtn. Grove – Brock Coffman 15, Carter Otwell 8, Treye Collins 7, Conner McNew 5, Gavin Veach 3, Cade Coffman 2
