The Milan Wildcats defeated the visiting Gallatin Bulldogs on Tuesday night 60-47, clinching, with a 5-1 record, the Eastern Division championship of the Grand River Conference. In action broadcast on KTTN FM 92.3, sophomore center Ryan Dabney led the ‘Cats with 20 points, with Eddie Gonzalez adding 11. The win sends Milan, in its second year as a member of the GRC to Rosendale, Missouri to play for the conference championship on Friday night.
In Rosendale, Milan will play the unbeaten, Class 1, #1 ranked North Andrew Cardinals, who clinched the GRC Western Division title with a victory at St. Joseph Christian on Tuesday night. The Wildcats/Cardinals showdown, at 7:30 on Friday night, will be broadcast on KTTN FM 92.3, with Dennis Stephenson on the play-by-play call. Milan, ranked #7 in the state in Class 2, has lost only once this season, with that setback occurring at Trenton in mid-January. The head-to-head advantage gained by Trenton over Milan proved critical to Tuesday night’s story-line, as a Wildcat loss would have given THS the East crown. Trenton beat Putnam County 69-63 to force the Wildcats to win and get the divisional title. In the loss for Gallatin, senior guard Jett Simmons led the Bulldogs with 26 points.
In Tuesday night’s opener from “The Den”, Gallatin held off a strong challenge from Milan’s Lady Wildcats, winning 57-49. Karley Salmon led GHS with 21 points, with Courtney Shubert adding 13, and Kelsey Maxwell 10 points. Milan had 19 points from junior guard Courtney McCollum, with Genesis Sarabia adding 13.
