The Mercer boys, throughout another successful boy’s basketball season, had used an uptempo game based upon speed and passing ability to overwhelm many opponents. However, the Cardinals struggled against interior size, which the #2 seed Worth County Tigers had in abundance on Friday night.
In the Class 1, District 14 championship game from North Harrison, the Tigers size won out over the Cardinals quickness, as Worth County defeated a cold-shooting Cardinal squad, 67-58.
Cade Allee led WCHS with 20 points, while 6’3″ forward Drake Kinsella had 16, shooting guard Tevin Cameron came off the bench to score 13, and point guard Ryan McClellan had 10.
Mercer’s outstanding senior duo of Bryer Noe and Cash Hartley finished their Cardinal careers with efforts of 25 and 20 points respectively, but a Mercer side bolstered by strong youth off the bench throughout the season struggled to find a consistent third-scorer in the game, as the rest of the Cardinal roster managed only 13 points.
Worth County is now 19-7 on the season, while Mercer ends the year at 20-6.
As the Friday night game ended, most in the North Harrison gymnasium believed that Worth County’s next challenge would come from the top-ranked, unbeaten, HDC champions from Winston. However, that story-line shifted in stunning fashion on Saturday afternoon in Orrick, as the Redbirds were beaten by the Braymer Bobcats, 55-43, in the Class 1, District 13 boys championship game.
That result bounced the top two teams from the HDC Conference out of the Class 1 tournament, and leaves two squads from the Grand River Conference’s Western Division, in Worth County and Braymer, playing in the sectional round. That game between the Tigers and Bobcats will tip at 3 o’clock on Tuesday afternoon from the St. Joseph Civic Arena.
