The Madill boys basketball team captured the Atoka Wampus Cat Tournament crown with a 51-45 win over Marshall County foe Kingston fueled by a most valuable player performance from senior Zeke Fuentes who netted 39 points on the night. It marked the ninth straight win for the boys. The Lady Wildcats crushed Broken Bow 56-32 for third place as all-tournament selection Jayden Weiberg reached the 1,000 point mark for her high school career. Nick Northcutt, Kendall Robertson and Allyson Knight were also named to the all-tourney team.
“I am really proud of our team. I thought our boys played very hard and competed for each other tonight. Ezekiel was amazing tonight and to beat a good team like Kingston you have to have guys step up and Zeke certainly did,” Madill boys head coach Brett Weiberg said. “Nick was outstanding on both sides of the ball tonight as well. I’m really proud of the week that we had and winning a championship is always so much fun.”
Fuentes hit two crucial free throws that helped the ‘Cats salt away the victory with 20 seconds to go in the game. He pulled down a key rebound with 30 seconds remaining and sank a free throw with 26.5 seconds left in the contest.
“It feels awesome,” Zeke said of the win and earning his second tourney MVP award this season. “Put in the work and it will pay off. I’m so proud of my team for figuring out a way to stop them (Kingston) during key parts of the game. So proud of them.”
RJ Morris gave the ‘Cats a 46-43 edge on his free throws with 1:04 to go. The boys saw themselves in a see-saw battle Saturday night with Kingston.
The familiar foes traded buckets throughout the tight contest. Madill managed a slim 13-12 lead after the first quarter. The ‘Cats then stretched it to a 30-25 cushion by halftime as Fuentes retreated to the locker room with 27 of those 30 points. Northcutt had the other three points for the Wildcats by intermission.
Kingston continued to hang around, but Madill owned the 38-37 lead by the close of the third frame. Northcutt finished with seven points. Stephen Sisco chipped in three points and played some key defensive possessions in the process.
The girls rallied after trailing 12-11 after the first quarter Saturday afternoon. Madill pushed ahead 30-28 by halftime. The Lady Wildcats really stretched its advantage over Broken Bow in the third frame and really never let up after that. Madill opened the game up by leading 47-29 by the end of the third stanza. They held Broken Bown to three points in the fourth frame to claime the 24-point win. Weiberg finished the day with 18 points. Braylee Schneider collected a dozen points. Allyson Knight tossed in nine points. Joslyn Stumblingbear had six points. Hayley Elkins had five points. Hannah Elkins netted four points. Kenzie Mathis had two points in the victory.
“Jayden Weiberg scored her 1000th career point tonight and this means a couple of things. One is that she has been a steady scorer for a while now. I have enjoyed watching her improve and she has been an efficient scorer for the most part. The second thing is to always remember that you can't score if you don't have teammates that get you open, pass the ball to you, and want you to score,” Madill athletics director Brett Weiberg said. “Her teammates and coaches really do try to get her open and get her the ball. I am very proud of her.”
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