February was good to the Montgomery County boys basketball team.
After knocking off the Versailles Tigers 56-40 in a Class 3 sectional game on Feb. 27 on the road, the Wildcats completed an undefeated February, winning all nine games during that month.
The victory advanced MCHS to the state quarterfinals for the first time since 2017 and just the fourth time in program history. The Wildcats also played in the Elite Eight in 1972 and 1974. They won the state title in ‘72 and placed third two years later.
Two years ago, the Wildcats were seconds away from a trip to the Elite Eight when Cole Camp junior Ethan Shearer took it away with a buzzer-beating shot in a Class 3 sectional game at Smith-Cotton High School in Sedalia.
Juniors Clayton Parker and Tyler Erwin and senior Mason Leu were on that 2022 MCHS team that fell 42-41 to Cole Camp in sectionals. The Wildcats were leading 41-39 before Shearer grabbed a rebound on a missed free throw from then-senior Ethan Rakers, sprinted to half-court and hit the 3-point shot to end MCHS’ season.
“I kind of sat there on the court and just took it all in,” Parker said. “Tyler, Mason and I are the only ones who experienced that. It hurt really bad.”
MCHS made sure it wasn’t going to lose another heartbreaker when it faced Versailles in sectional play. The Wildcats enjoyed an happy 102-mile ride back to Montgomery County after coming back from a six-point, first-half deficit to beat the Tigers, who won 24 games this year.
“Tyler and I talked about it before the game and we had to come out from the tip,” Parker said. “We didn’t start the way we wanted to with us being down three at halftime. We had a good halftime speech and then we came out on fire in the second half.”
The win marked the first time in Scott Kroeger’s seven-year coaching tenure the Wildcats advanced to the state quarterfinals. Their last sectional win was on March 1, 2017, when they beat Monroe City 90-70.
Three days later, MCHS’ season ended with a 65-53 loss to eventual state champion Transportation and Law in the state quarterfinals at Warrenton High School.
Plenty of Wildcat fans made the two-hour trip to Morgan County for the sectional game. Most of the students there wore black T-shirts.
“They brought a lot of energy to us,” Erwin said. “That was like more fuel to the fire along with offensive and defensive plays. Energy is the best thing that can happen in basketball.”
Parker said Erwin was the best player in the game because of his strong defense against Versailles’ Ryder Williams, who scored 23 points.
“He shut their best guy down,” Parker said. “You can’t win games without getting stops on defense.”
Erwin, who had just two points in the contest, said Parker’s performance played a big role in his defensive effort. Parker led the Wildcats with 23 points. including a pair of free throws with 3:53 left in the third quarter that broke a 28-28 tie and gave the Wildcats the lead for good.
“Clayton played a very big part in the offensive side,” Erwin said. “It fueled me more to see Clayton score. It fueled my fire. I had to D up more and play some good defense on the best player who is averaging 30 points per game.”
The Wildcats held Versailles to its season-low point total. The Tigers came into the contest averaging over 77 points a game.
“Give credit to all of our guys,” Parker said. “We came out with the mindset that we were going to play defense for the entire game.”
Also for the Wildcats, senior Jake Stellwagen scored 18 points with four 3-pointers. He scored 13 points in the second half. Junior Jay Rodgers added eight points, including a three-pointer during a 7-0 run to open the third quarter.
MCHS advanced to sectional play with a 62-37 win over Hermann in the Class 3, District 7 championship game on Feb. 24, its eighth district title in program history.
The Wildcats also had wins over Van-Far, Jefferson City, Mark Twain, Louisiana, Elsberry, Clopton and North Callaway in February. Originally, MCHS lost to Jefferson City 52-44 on Feb. 3 in the Central Bank Shootout in Jefferson City but was awarded the victory because the Jays had to forfeit 13 games due to using an ineligible player.
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