By Jordan Burton (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
I’m going to preface this with saying there aren’t enough words in the English language for me to effectively communicate just how insanely fascinating Friday’s Walnut Grove vs. Hartville game was.
It was dramatic.
It was chippy.
There were great performances.
There was a blown lead.
Two state champion coaches and one of the most raucous December neutral court crowd you’ll see.
And, there was an upset.
Led by 30 points from junior guard Wyatt Mahan, Hartville scored 34 fourth-quarter points to help preserve an 87-81 Hartville win, advancing the Eagles to the championship of the Clever Tournament.
“We’re thrilled to be in the championship and excited to make it as the No. 6 seed,” said Hartville coach Brett Reed. “It’s nice, we think we’re playing well and we’re excited to see Catholic. If he didn’t knock down some of those big shots it could’ve been a totally different outcome and maybe by a wide margin. He played well. He defended, he handled pressure, but a 30-point night is impressive.”
Entering the fourth quarter Walnut Grove was clinging to a 57-53 lead, this after Hartville closed the third quarter with an 8-1 run and had dug itself out of a 15-point hole.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
The Eagles opened the fourth with stops on four of the quarter’s first five possession. They then converted those stops into back-breaking buckets, igniting a 14-2 run.
Mahan hit a pair of 3-pointers and a pull-up jumper, while senior Wyatt Ward dropped a pair of triples to fuel the run and open a 67-59 lead.
“I didn’t say anything about hitting four 3s in a row, but I did tell them that we needed to get some stops and some rebounds,” said Reed. “It seemed like stops were at a premium tonight and were hard to find, which of course is a testament to Walnut Grove and how talented they are. Those were four big shots that were followed by stops and we needed every single one of them tonight.”
Walnut Grove continued to rally late, having multiple shots to tie the game in the game’s final minute while trailing by three.
Keep in mind, Walnut Grove played the final three quarters without all-state guard Hunter Gilkey. Gilkey suffered a dislocated finger early in the second quarter after guiding Walnut Grove to a quick 24-9 lead with Thomazin scoring 11 points in that run before picking up his third foul late in the first quarter.
Reed wasn’t shy in saying that Gilkey’s injury changed the dynamic of the game, with which Meinders agreed.
“I couldn’t be prouder of what our kids did to play without Hunter for nearly the entire game and without Logan for large chunks of the game and be up 11 at half,” said Meinders. “That tells you about the kind of grit our kids have. “That shows you what we can do when we have all five starters on the floor.
“When you have two teams playing at the level that we do, you probably need a three-man crew. When you have two teams that play with the effort and intensity that we do, a three-man crew will make the game flow a little better.”
Thomazin finished with 30 points. Junior Ryan Keith scored a season-high 28 and classmate Dawson Meinders added 11 points. Mahan’s 30 led four Hartville players in double figures. Wyatt Ward scored eight of his 14 points in the fourth quarter.
Both Hartville and Walnut Grove come to Luke Brosius’ Clever Tournament because of the quality of the field, top to bottom.
Hartville takes on Springfield Catholic in the championship on Saturday, while Walnut Grove will see Mount Vernon in the third-place game.
“We feel like our schedule prepares us for the playoffs,” said Reed. “We’ve had a little bit of success in the postseason lately and we think that the schedule is a big reason for that. This tournament got even stronger this season, I told Luke this field makes it like a baby Blue and Gold Tournament with some of the best programs around outside of the huge schools.”
Making Friday’s game even more dramatic… Walnut Grove will visit Hartville on Feb. 9, which is also the Eagles homecoming.
Meinders and the Tigers are slightly excited about Round 2
“I think we’ll be ready,” said Meinders.
Hartville 87, Walnut Grove 81
Hartville 11-19-23-34 – 87
Walnut Grove 26-15-15-25 – 81
Hartville (4-0): Mahan 30, W. Ward 14, Simmons 10, Kelly 10, Mathews 8, Piper 6, Cook 5, B. Ward. 4
Walnut Grove (2-1): Thomazin 30, Keith 28, Meinders 11, Melton 7, Gilkey 4, Hejna 1
