Wichita high school basketball game scores: McPherson sweeps Derby in dramatic fashion
Two of the top Kansas high school boys basketball teams in the state battled to the final second on Tuesday, as McPherson emerged with a 58-57 home win over Derby.
The game saw two lead changes in the final 70 seconds and came down to the last second, as Derby had two potential chances to win the game that didn’t materialize.
McPherson, the No. 1-ranked team in Class 4A, improved to 2-0, while Derby, ranked No. 5 in Class 6A, dropped its season-opening game.
It was a back-and-forth game that seemed destined for a dramatic finish and the final minutes did not disappoint.
The theatrics began when Derby committed a foul, then was assessed a technical foul to give McPherson, clinging to a 51-49 lead, four free throws with less than two minutes remaining. But the Bullpups made just one from the charity stripe, then Derby capitalized on the momentum swing when Dallas Metzger (team-high 19 points) drained a 3-pointer to tie the score at 52.
McPherson’s Owen Pyle (seven points) scored a go-ahead basket with 1:22 left, but Derby’s Koehn Kotas (eight points) canned a go-ahead 3-pointer to put the Panthers in front 55-54 with 1:04 remaining.
The final minute saw McPherson pull back in front at the free throw line, as Cory Muehler (game-high 22 points, 10 rebounds) and Gabe Pyle (17 points, five rebounds, three blocks, two steals) both made a pair to put the Bullpups up 58-55. Ulwelling quickly cut the deficit to one (58-57) for Derby with a basket with 10 seconds left.
Protecting a one-point lead, McPherson connected on a baseball pass on the ensuing in-bounds play, but Kyden Thompson missed a layup. Ulwelling rebounded for Derby and drove the length of the floor for the potential go-ahead score, but a collision at the rim was not whistled and Derby was given the ball back underneath its own basket with 0.5 seconds remaining.
Derby looked for an alley-oop tip-in, but Thompson (five points, six rebounds, four assists) recognized the play and swooped in from behind to knock the pass away to preserve McPherson’s second straight win over a Class 6A opponent to open the season.
The girls game also came down to the final shot between the perennial powers, as McPherson prevailed 56-53 in the Roundhouse.
Derby battled an early scoring drought, 25 turnovers and 27 fouls, but managed to claw back to within 47-46 with 1:45 to play behind the superb play of sophomore Macayla Askew, who finished with a double-double of 25 points and 11 rebounds.
But McPherson, ranked No. 2 in Class 4A, always had the answer, typically in the form of a basket by Karter Alvord. The senior came up clutch with the Bullpups clinging to a one-possession lead as the final minute approached, as Alvord drove to the basket and finished through contact to give McPherson a 51-46 lead.
Askew drilled a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 54-51, but Alvord was able to keep McPherson in front with her foul shooting down the stretch. Derby had a half-court heave to potentially force overtime, but the shot misfired and McPherson improved to 2-0 with its second straight win over a Class 6A opponent.
Alvord finished with a team-high 22 points and four steals for McPherson, which also had contributions from Reanna Eilrich (12 points, three steals), Madi Moors (11 points) and Jayla McLeod (eight rebounds).
Destiny Smith (11 points) was Derby’s other scorer in double-digits, while Jaden Wilson added nine rebounds and Kallie Rickords chipped in with five assists.
Find a complete listing of Kansas high school basketball game scores from the Wichita area below.
Kansas high school basketball game scores (December 5)
Boys
City League
Heights 84, North 24
Kapaun Mt. Carmel 80, Southeast 48
Northwest 60, South 54
West 51, East 50
Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail League
Andover 57, Maize 50
Arkansas City 62, Clearwater 45
Campus 63, Andover Central 53
Chanute 67, Winfield 42
Circle 66, Independence 49
El Dorado 47, Chaparral 46
Goddard 51, Buhler 46
Hutchinson 67, Salina Central 59
Liberal 79, Valley Center 65
McPherson 58, Derby 57
Mulvane 54, Labette County 39
Rose Hill 44, Garden Plain 38
Central Plains League
Classical 55, Belle Plaine 38
El Dorado 47, Chaparral 46
Ellinwood 63, Medicine Lodge 55
Fredonia 55, Douglass 39 (Monday)
Hutchinson Trinity 57, Chaparral 42 (Monday)
Independent 76, Halstead 42 (Monday)
Independent 79, Wichita Homeschool 65
Kingman 46, Conway Springs 42
Pratt 52, Cheney 48
Rose Hill 44, Garden Plain 38
Central Kansas League
Hesston 57, Nickerson 33
Independent 76, Halstead 42 (Monday)
Moundridge 60, Hillsboro 49
Southeast of Saline 55, Smoky Valley 41
Sterling 52, Haven 49
Heart of America League
Berean Academy 55, Eureka 40 (Monday)
Berean Academy 59, Marion 36
Classical 40, Sedgwick 32 (Monday)
Hutchinson Trinity 57, Chaparral 42 (Monday)
Lyons 54, Inman 49
Moundridge 60, Hillsboro 49
Remington 63, Fredonia 40
Sterling 52, Haven 49
Other area scores
Canton-Galva 57, Hutchinson Central Christian 43
Cunningham 100, Chase 13
Goessel 57, Canton-Galva 52 (Monday)
McPherson Elyria Christian 61, Little River 25
McPherson Elyria Christian 52, Hutchinson Central Christian 39 (Monday)
Olpe 63, Bluestem 38 (Monday)
Oxford 64, Norwich 54 (Monday)
Pretty Prairie 50, Flinthills 44 (Monday)
West Elk 59, Neodesha 30
Girls
City League
East 54, West 17
Heights 90, North 5
South 67, Northwest 41
Southeast 61, Kapaun Mt. Carmel 54
Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail League
Andover 55, Maize 18
Andover Central 66, Campus 13
Chaparral 51, El Dorado 15
Chanute 50, Winfield 32
Circle 42, Independence 39 (OT)
Clearwater 53, Arkansas City 33
Garden Plain 54, Rose Hill 25
Goddard 45, Buhler 39
Hutchinson 56, Salina Central 36
McPherson 56, Derby 53
Mulvane 46, Labette County 44
Valley Center 34, Liberal 33
Central Plains League
Chaparral 51, El Dorado 15
Chaparral 39, Hutchinson Trinity 35 (Monday)
Cheney 54, Pratt 39
Classical 41, Belle Plaine 28
Conway Springs 55, Kingman 47
Fredonia 48, Douglass 32 (Monday)
Garden Plain 54, Rose Hill 25
Independent 54, Halstead 41 (Monday)
Independent 47, Wichita Homeschool 19
Medicine Lodge 51, Ellinwood 21
Central Kansas League
Haven 50, Sterling 30
Hesston 54, Nickerson 25
Hillsboro 46, Moundridge 33
Independent 54, Halstead 41 (Monday)
Southeast of Saline 46, Smoky Valley 30
Heart of America League
Berean Academy 42, Eureka 39 (Monday)
Berean Academy 37, Marion 26
Chaparral 39, Hutchinson Trinity 35 (Monday)
Classical 42, Sedgwick 28 (Monday)
Haven 50, Sterling 30
Hillsboro 46, Moundridge 33
Inman 54, Lyons 17
Remington 61, Fredonia 28
Other area scores
Burden-Central 39, Udall 37
Canton-Galva 41, Goessel 40 (Monday)
Chase County 59, Centre 18
Cunningham 36, Lincoln 26
Hutchinson Central Christian 38, Canton-Galva 29
Hutchinson Central Christian 32, McPherson Elyria Christian 28 (Monday)
Little River 76, McPherson Elyria Christian 15
Neodesha 41, West Elk 22
Olpe 55, Bluestem 47 (Monday)
Pretty Prairie 52, Otis-Bison 39 (Monday)
Rawlins County 53, Wichita Central Christian 33
