McPherson 51  Abilene Cowboys 30

The Abilene Cowboy’s Season came to an end Monday night at home against McPherson in the opening round of the 4A State Boy’s Basketball Tournament.  McPherson despite having their worst record in 38 years at 13-10, has advanced to the Final Four.  They have guaranteed themselves no worse than a 3rd place finish.  There will be no 3rd place game this year because of Covid.  The Bullpups will be a huge underdog Thursday against top-seeded Bishop Miege.  The Stags rolled Holton, 78-37 in the opening round.

Against Abilene, McPherson’s defense held the Cowboys to just 4 points in the first quarter.  Abilene didn’t get their first points until the 1:49 mark of the opening quarter.  The Bullpups held a 22-10 lead at halfime.

In the opening minutes of the third quarter, McPherson put the game away.  The Bullpups opened the second half with a 9-0 run.  The run was capped by a Jayton Alexander basket with 5:00 to play in the 3rd quarter, that made the score 31-10.  Alexander, a 5’9” Senior, had a huge night, with a game-high 20 points.  McPherson took a 40-28 lead into the final quarter and got up by as many as 24 in the fourth quarter.

Abilene finished the season 13-6.  It was the final game for Seniors – Josh Stuber, Blaise McVan, Avery Bryson, Kaden Coup, Kieryan Anderson and Grant Heintz.  The Cowboys will return their leading scorer Kaleb Becker next season, he averaged over 16 ppg.  Junior, Jaylen West will also return as a starter.  Abilene also had a successful Junior Varsity and a Freshman group that has won 48 games in a row.