Basketball – Wildcats fired up for opener

Photo by Josh Murray
Wilson Murray scored a school record 51 points in the Wildcat’s win over Houston on Nov. 23.

By Coach Jess Ross

For an opening season game on the road against a rival, the Wildcats played with fire and emotion on both the JV and Varsity levels in their Monday, Nov. 23, contest against Houston.

The JV Wildcats were down by nine in the fourth quarter and were able to rally for a 55-51 victory.

On the Varsity side, the Wildcats controlled the game from the start. It was a very physical game that had very little flow due to the immense amount of fouls being called on both sides. Wilson Murray led the team in scoring with a school record 51 points. It was not just Murray’s effort that led to the accomplishment. His teammates realized he was getting close and were feeding him the ball. That’s what makes an accomplishment like this exciting, when your team gets excited for you and wants you to succeed.

The team defensive effort was great to see from a coaching perspective. Being the first game of the season, we know we have to improve in areas, but the overall effort of the entire team was at a high level. Working as hard as you can is the first step in attaining your goals and getting better. Our young guards, Cole Wallace, Malachi Antle and Keyton Rinne, along with senior Landon Medlock, were in lockdown mode defensively against the Tigers and kept their guards in check throughout the night.

In addition, contributing in scoring were Antle with 7, Bryce Corley with 4, Wallace, Medlock, Connor McLeod, JB Huff and Keyton Cook all had 2 points and Keyton Rinne contributed 1 point. We are looking forward to this coming week and playing in the Frisco League Tournament.