Moeller (Ohio) sinks clutch free throws, downs Mater Dei (Calif.)
Moeller (Ohio) built a lead without attempting a single free throw in the first 31 minutes of play Thursday.
The Crusaders eventually got to the line in the final minute and didn’t let the opportunity go to waste.
Riley Voss and Keegan McDowell each knocked down a pair of free throws to give Moeller a five-point lead and a last-second lay up by Mater Dei (Calif.) junior Justice Sueing was too late as the Crusaders took down the Monarchs 43-40 in the fifth place game of the Beach Ball Classic at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.
“I just kind of knew going in and thought we could get up on them. And I knew at the end it was going to come down to what it came down to,” said Moeller coach Carl Kremer. “We had to burn our timeouts early and that worried me some, but the game often comes down to knocking down free throws and our kids did that and didn’t allow them anything easy. [Mater Dei] made some tough shots on the other end.”
Two free throws by Mater Dei sophomore Harrison Butler started a 10-2 run as the Monarchs cut their deficit to one, but that was as close as they would get.
M.J. Cage had 10 points, Sueing finished with nine and Spencer Freedman — the Beach Ball Classic 3-point contest winner — scored seven for Mater Dei (14-2).
“It was a really good high school game; it was one of the better games of the tournament and I’m proud of how both teams played,” Monarchs coach Gary McKnight said. “That’s two good Catholic schools playing each other, and it could have went either way. I was happy that we came back the way we did, but if you don’t have a lot of time to prepare it’s tough to go against [Moeller’s] style of play and we struggled.”
▪ MOE (43): Keegan McDowell 5, Nate Georgeton 2, Riley Voss 11, Sam McCracken 4, Trey McBride 12, Caleb Canter 9.
▪ MD (40): Justice Sueing 9, Bailey Stout 3, Spencer Freedman 7, Michael Wang 5, M.J. Cage 10, Reagan Lundeen 2, Harrison Butler 4.
▪ Halftime: MOE 18, MD 14 3-point goals: MOE 3 (McDowell, Voss, Canter), MD 4 (Sueing, Stout, Freedman, Wang). Team fouls: MOE 11, MD 12. Fouled out: None. Technical fouls: None.
Myrtle Beach 79, East Jackson (Ga.) 66: Three Myrtle Beach players scored in double figures, leading the Seahawks to a 79-66 victory over East Jackson (Ga.) in the teams’ Beach Ball Classic finale.
Building a lead to as many as 21 points, Myrtle Beach was led by Robert Swanson, who scored 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field. Bryce Schneider also was key in the win, scoring 19 points and bringing in 19 rebounds.
East Jackson was led by Drue Drinnon, who finished with 34 points on 11-of-25 shooting.
▪ EJHS (66): Drue Drinnon 34, Xavier Clark 10, Reco Hallmon 6, Jamarion Knox 4, Ivan Souffrant 6, Kamron Walter 6.
▪ MBHS (79): Adam Zam 16, Robert Swanson 21, Bryce Schneider 19, JaQuan Chestnut 8, Chris Weston 2, Keyonte Sessions 4, Ben Mintz 2, Emory Knox 7.
▪ Halftime: MBHS 79, EJHS 66. 3-point goals: EJHS 8 (Drinnon 3, Hallmon 2, Souffrant 2, Clark), MBHS 7 (Zam 4, Swanson 3). Team fouls: EJHS 13, MBHS 15. Fouled out: None. Technical fouls: None.
Mustang (Okla.) 80, Mullins 67: After scoring 55 points Wednesday night en route to a Beach Ball Classic record, Mullins sharpshooter Jalek Felton had the attention of thousands — among them members of the Mustang (Okla.) basketball team.
The Broncos, determined not to be the next team featured on Felton’s highlight reel, held him to 11 points while receiving 25 from their own Jakolby Long in a 80-67 victory in the Beach Ball Classic consolation championship game.
Despite Mullins shooting 54 percent from the field, it could not overcome 27 turnovers. The Auctioneers never led.
On top of Long’s 25 points, Curtis Haywood had 19 and Kejuan Fraizer added 11 of his own.
Mullins was led by Nizohn Powell with 17 points, while Javarius Smith had 16.
▪ MULL (67): Fabian Carroll 8, Jalek Felton 11, Nizohn Powell 17, Shamar Foxworth 2, Javarius Smith 16, Cameron Rush 3, Justin Harley 3, Riyan Gore 3, Jaquintin Legette 2, Hakeem Graham 2.
▪ MUST (80): Curtis Haywood 19, Jakolby Long 25, Kejuan Fraizer 11, Bryce Roberts 8, York Benjamin 6, Dearyus Colbert 5, Chandler Garrett 6.
▪ Halftime: MUST 44, MULL 37. 3-point goals: MULL 10 (Carroll 2, Powell 5, Rush, Harley, Gore), MUST 6 (Haywood 3, Long, Fraizer, Colbert). Team fouls: MULL 11, MUST 5. Fouled out: None. Technical fouls: None.
This story was originally published December 31, 2015 at 8:19 PM with the headline "Moeller (Ohio) sinks clutch free throws, downs Mater Dei (Calif.)."