For 12 minutes of action in Wednesday night’s non-conference boys game from Princeton, the host Tigers looked poised and ready to spring an upset over the unbeaten, #2 ranked Grand River Conference champions from Milan. The final 2 1/2 quarters showed first-hand just what makes the Wildcats one of the biggest threats in Class 2 to win a state championship, as the ‘Cats outscored Princeton 54-5 to end the game, turning a potential upset into a 79-35 road win.
The doubleheader from Princeton was brought together at mid-afternoon, after Milan’s anticipated opponent, Lathrop, asked out of the scheduled games with the Wildcats, citing having KCI Conference games with Plattsburg moved from Friday to Thursday. Princeton, also in search of games this week, moved quickly to fill the hole in Milan’s slate.
Behind 10 first-quarter points from Preston Thomas, Princeton surged to a first quarter lead, although Milan cut the Tiger advantage to just 21-20 after eight minutes. Milan’s dominance over the final two quarters of the game actually got its start with three minutes to go in the half, as the Wildcats broke open a tight game to lead 40-30 at the break. Milan outscored Princeton in the second half to the tune of 39-5.
Junior forward Ryan Dabney led the Wildcats (22-0, 7-0) with 24 points, with Eddie Gonzalez coming off the bench to add 15. Both Hunter Shaw and Dre Morehead tallied 10. Princeton, in falling to 12-8 on the season, had 13 points from Thomas, with Logan Dunkin adding 10.
The girls game saw a strong start and a strong finish by Lady Wildcat freshman Cady Pauley play a prominent role in a road win for MHS, by a score o 63-57. Pauley had 14 points in the first quarter, four points combined in the middle two quarters, but finished with 14 more in the fourth quarter to lead Milan with a game-high 32. Tahlie Gray added 14 for the Lady ‘Cats, now 13-9 on the season. Princeton, falling to a mark of 13-7, had 23 points from Payton Goodin. Both Lindsay Batson and Kennedy Norton had 9 points for PHS.
Milan finishes the season with a GRC doubleheader (weather permitting) against Trenton on Friday night. Due to the weather concerns, those games have been moved up to 4:30 PM (girls) and 6:00 PM (boys) from Milan High School, with coverage on KTTN FM 92.3. Princeton finishes the regular season with a road trip to King City on Thursday, and a home date with Pattonsburg on Friday.
Both Princeton and Milan will be in Class 2, District 6 at Schuyler County High School next week.
Other scores from Wednesday, February 13, 2019 were:
GIRLS:
Tina-Avalon 57, Polo 50
Green City 58, Linn County 33
LaPlata 64, Novinger 43
Meadville 64, Bucklin/Macon County 40
Tri-County 49, Grundy County 48
Mercer 71, Gilman City 22
East Harrison 69, Newtown-Harris 35
Osborn 61, Stewartsville 31
North Nodaway 59, King City 34
Braymer 48, Southwest Livingston 26
Mid-Buchanan 70, Penney 62
East Buchanan 67, West Platte 31
Chillicothe 42, Maryville 31
Canton 61, Putnam County 28
BOYS:
Green City 67, Linn County 66
Meadville 71, Bucklin/Macon County 31
Grundy County 63, Tri-County 49
Mercer 78, Gilman City 38
Newtown-Harris 56, East Harrison 54
King City 54, North Nodaway 42
Worth County 66, Northeast Nodaway 60
Southwest Livingston 79, Braymer 45
Polo 67, Tina-Avalon 27
Canton 54, Putnam County 39
Mid-Buchanan 66, Penney 52
East Buchanan 67, West Platte 36
