Wellington defeats Mulvane 44-42 in wild sub-state game, now battles defending state champion Hugoton
Wellington’s Brody Weir with the block of Mulvane’s Kaiden Abasolo.
By Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — The Wellington boys basketball team extended its season with a wild 44-42 victory over Mulvane in the sub-state first round Wednesday night.
Now it is off to Hugoton. Yes, it is a 239-mile trip and takes around four hours to drive one way. The sub-state championship game is Saturday, 5 p.m. Don’t worry if you can’t make it. Sumner Newscow will provide you with live tweets.
In an emotionally charged atmosphere, Wellington staved off a Mulvane rally late in the contest to pick up its second consecutive sub-state first-round win. Mulvane had beaten Wellington twice before in the regular season but lost the most critical matchup.
It came down to the final shot. Wellington senior Nolan Russell went 1-of-2 at the free throw line with 7 seconds to play. Mulvane rebounded. After a timeout, Mulvane called for an Aiden McKee dribble drive to the basket. He got underneath but failed to get the hoop.
Here is the final sequence… pic.twitter.com/uTmdKZdZ4h
— Tracy McCue – Sumner Newscow (@Cueballnewscow) February 29, 2024
“We’ve emphasized toughness and execution this week,” said Wellington head coach Joe Newman. “These guys played with a level of grit and tenacity tonight and earned a great win.”
It was a rough-and-tumble kind of game from the onset. Mulvane opened things up by taking an 11-6 lead, but Wellington’s defense clamped down with an 11-2 output in the second quarter and led 19-13 at the half.
“We wanted to take away their 3-point shooting and force them to take tough 2’s,” Newman said. “Offensively, we didn’t change anything – just emphasized toughness. This group has come a long way this season regarding execution.”
Throughout the third quarter, Wellington maintained a two to five-point advantage and led 31-27 going into the fourth quarter.
Carter Burnett drives to the hoop midway in the third quarter.
Wellington expanded its lead to seven, but Muvalne eventually tied the game at 39 with 1:33 to play.
Brody Weir would hit a layup with 1:15 to play to give the Crusaders a 41-39 lead with 1:15 to play.
Mulvane’s Manny Myers then hit a 3-pointer from the wing to give the Wildcats their first second-half lead with 47.8 seconds to play, 42-41.
Then Dusty Bannister returned the favor with a huge layup at 27.5 seconds to make it 43-42.
“Dusty just made a great play,” Newman said. “The goal was to get the ball into the post and flow out of it. Brody posted hard, Dusty read the defense and made the cut that we drill almost daily.”
Then came a huge block by Weir on 10.8 seconds and that eventually set up Russell at the foul line with 7 seconds to play.
— Tracy McCue – Sumner Newscow (@Cueballnewscow) February 29, 2024
Things got a little emotional after the game between these two rivals, as Wellington players interacted with some Mulvane fans after pulling off the win. The Crusaders went to the locker room but returned to the gymnasium for what many thought was an unnecessary and adversarial celebration.
“Mulvane and Wellington are rivals. It’s what makes small-town sports great. Mulvane once rang our bell after a football game,” Newman said.
As for the statistics of this game, they were almost as even as the score. Weir was the leading scorer and he only scored 10 points. McKee had 11 and Myers 10. There were seven scorers on both sides. Nobody really dominated this game.
Another great student crowd cheered on their Dukes on Wednesday.
Wellington shot a paltry 34.7 percent from the field compared to 36.6 percent for Mulvane. The Crusaders — who had an atrocious night at the free throw line in a loss to Andale last week — were better Tuesday, going 5-of-7. Mulvane was 5-of-8. For as wild as this game seemed, there were very little fouls called.
Crusaders dominated in the paint, outscoring Mulvane 28 to 14.
Wellington, now 13-8, battle the defending Class 4A state champions on Saturday. Hugoton defeated Augusta 54-35.
Although it seems daunting, Newman likes his chances.
“We are bigger than they are,” Newman said. “They are skilled and have a high basketball IQ. They are really similar to Circle, because they defend well and have great guards.”
