Jack Wright starts at point guard for Wellington vs. Mulvane. (Photo by Eric Rinehart).

(Story is updated with quotes from Wellington head coach Joe Newman on the bottom of the story)

by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — There was a buzz in the gymnasium not felt in Wellington since before pandemic times. In the end, that buzz ignited into a near riot.

Mulvane’s Mason Ellis drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer as the Wildcats stunned Wellington 57-55 in its season opener. It was the only time the Wildcats led for the game. More concerting Wellington saw an eight-point lead evaporate in the final two minutes.

This was a wild game to start the season. When Banks Hinshaw hit a three-pointer with a little more than two minutes to go, the Crusaders were up 55-47 and things were looking really good when Montel Tate stole the ball and was going to the line to shoot free throws.

But he missed both and then came a sequence of events that were difficult to process.

In one possession, Mulvane would score seven points. Ellis scored a deuce and was fouled. R.J. Clift was assessed a technical and then three free throws would ensue.

The Wildcats would then get possession of the ball again and score.

In fact, Wellington never saw the other end of the court in the final two minutes. In what could have been a huge basket, Malachi Rogers threw a football pass to Tate on the other end. But Tate was unable to get control of the ball and it went out of bounds.

Here’s the video of Mulvane’s game-winning shot… pic.twitter.com/XpaRkt8NdE

— Tracy McCue (@Cueballnewscow) December 4, 2021

Mulvane would then run the clock down, getting the ball knocked out of bounds three different times. With 4.9 seconds left it got the ball to North Dakota State-bound football player Ellis, who drained the trey at the buzzer.

Then came pandemonium. Mulvane students stormed the court and ended up in the corner next to the Wellington High School band.

What an evening. After Wellington girls won their game, Mulvane players came out in maroon “Lions” tee-shirts in tribute to its athletic director who took his life earlier this year. That was his high school.

Montel Tate scores 21 points for Wellington.

Wellington opened the game in amazing fashion scoring the game’s first 13-points and rocking the gym. Mulvane would then come back and tie the game at 22 at the end of a very entertaining first quarter.

The Crusaders would then take a 36-29 halftime lead. Long-time official Mike Wilmoth was then recognized at halftime.

The second half saw both teams score 10 points before the wild fourth quarter in which Mulvane outscored the Crusaders 18-9.

Tate led all scorers with 21 points including a sensational slam dunk midway through the third quarter. He came on strong in this game. Rogers had 11 in his Crusader debut.

While Wellington may be smarting from this loss, this game had few long-term implications. It was not even a league game.

Wellington won’t have any time to stew about this game. They will host El Dorado on Monday before traveling to Cheney on Tuesday.

———

Here is a statement from Newman after the game:

“I thought we played with great energy and effort. With it being game one there’s going to be mistakes. We had active hands, got deflections, forced turnovers and ran the floor for easy baskets. We played well enough to win, but unfortunately a few mental mistakes cost us. I’ll address the elephant in the room and say the two technical fouls played a major role in the loss. With an eight point lead under two minutes you should come out with a win. However, you lose or you learn. We have to be disciplined and have a “next play” mentality when we make an error.

Montel had a great game. When he’s mentally locked in and just playing basketball he can control a game. Jack did a great job of running the team. He didn’t shoot the ball well, but did an excellent job of pushing the ball up the floor and distributing the ball. Malachi Rogers, Logan Swingle, and Keaton Hartman came in and gave us great minutes off the bench.

Moving forward we need to do a better job of communicating on the floor.  We had a handful of possessions on offense and defense where we weren’t all on the same page. Rebounding is still a huge point of emphasis. We must get tougher on the boards. Overall, I’m excited about the group. If we can play with that type of intensity every game then we have a chance to win some ball games.

Side note, the atmosphere last night was incredible. The gym was rocking. The crowd was loud. The amount of support we had was awesome to see.”

Mulvane 57 Wellington 55
Mulvane –   22   7   10   18 — 57
Wellington – 22 14  10   9 — 55
Mulvane Coe 28, Ellis 13, Westfall 2, McKee 2, Comer 9, Abasolo 3. Total: 12 (6) 15-20 57. Wellington: Tate 21, Rogers 11, R. Clift 6, Hinshaw 7, J. Wright 6, Jones 2, Swingle 2. Total: 20 (3) 6-13 55.

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