By JIM STEELE
mckenzierebels.com

Wednesday night, McKenzie's basketball team was jubilant. It had hung 85 points on West Carroll's scoreboard, the last three coming at the buzzer.

That physically and emotionally exhausting victory moved McKenzie within one victory of claiming the regular-season District 13A title. But Thursday afternoon, MHS coach Lynn Yarbrough was concerned when many of his players were in need of ice treatments just hours before the Rebels' hosted Huntingdon in the 13A finale.

McKenzie played well enough to challenge the Mustangs, but simply ran out of gas as Huntingdon captured a 47-45 victory over the Rebels.

The loss drops McKenzie to 9-3 in the district and throws it into a tie for the lead, which will be resolved Friday at the District 13A meeting in Atwood.

What a difference a day makes.

"At fourth block today, we were giving kids ice treatments for banged up knees and ankles," said Yarbrough. "We just rn out of gas and the high of winning last night, took a toll on us."

But Yarbrough was quick to point out that Huntingdon played well.

"They outhustled us and outplayed us on defense," said the coach. "They were the most intense team on the floor tonight."

One could the idea that McKenzie was a bit flat going into the game, even if it was against an archrival like Huntingdon. The warmup was sluggish and once the game started, Rebel shots were off the mark, rebounders were pushed out of position and defenders were a half step slow.

"We missed some shots and were out of position on rebounds and that's fatigue," he said. "Huntingdon executed very well, though."

Indeed it did. The Mustangs stayed within range for much of the night and needed only a late spurt to stay just a half step ahead. The Rebels carried a 35-25 lead midway in the third quarter, but watched the Mustangs rally with a 12-1 run to lead 37-36. When the fourth quarter started, the Rebels surged head by three, then fell behind by two. Josh Brown tied the game with 2:32 to play at 42, but the Mustangs' Brandon Taylor helped spark a five-point spree and they had that edge with a 47-42 lead.

McKenzie was forced to foul late and the gambit almost paid off. Huntingdon's Blake Burke was good on both ends of a bonus situation to push his team in front by five, but Brown hit a 25-foot triple with :08.9 left. After some discussion, the officials decided to put just six seconds on the clock. With 3.5 second remaining, Caleb Crocker missed a free throw and the Rebels had a chance, but the length of the court was too big an obstacle.

Huntingdon's defensive intensity made it tough for the Rebels to attack the post. And when they did get it inside, there were a lot of missed point-blank shots and tips. The Rebels, who scored 85 points in a track meet just 24 hours earlier, were 16-46 from the floor. Huntingdon was only slightly better with its 18-42 clip. But in the second half, the Rebels were 6-23, 2-11 in the final eight minutes; the Mustangs were 10-19 in the second half.

McKenzie and Huntingdon swapped leads in the first quarter. The Rebels surged to a 6-2 lead, but the Mustangs roared back to lead 8-6. Shabree Payne knotted the game at 8, then Derek Carr drained a triple, which was matched by Burke to tie the game at 11. Carr added a hoop with :13 to lead and the Rebels were up 13-11 at the buzzer.

Carr and Payne hit triples while Brown added two jumpers in the second frame and the Rebels led 24-20 at the half. For a time in the third quarter, it seemed McKenzie was poised to run through the Mustangs and claim the 13A crown outright. Carr hit a triple, then Holt went to work inside with a chip shot and then a stickback. Payne added another hoop with 3:34 to play and the Rebels led 35-25. In the remaining 11:26 of the game, Huntingdon outpaced McKenzie 22-10.

Brown had 13 points and seven rebounds, Carr had 13 points and six boards, Payne had 12 points and four rebounds, Holt had five points and nine rebounds, Hunter Herrin had two points and seven boards.

Burke led the Mustangs with 18 points. Kaleb McMinn and Kevin Smothers each had seven. Brandon Taylor scored six points and had eight boards. Caleb Crocker scored five and Josh McMackin added four.

The Rebels fall to 10-11 overall and will await word on seeding and opponent for next week's District 13A tournament at West Carroll.