02/27/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
NORRIS CITY - For head coach Anthony Lowery and his Waltonville Spartans, the final quarter of their sectional semifinal game against Mounds Meridian probably couldn't have gone any worse.

Having stayed right with the athletic Bobcats for the first three quarters, the Spartans were set up to win the program's first sectional game since 1991.

Waltonville led 29-27 heading into the final frame but the mistakes that they made earlier in the game and the barrage of pressure from Meridian finally took its toll.

Coach David Davis' club turned up the heat and forced six fourth quarter turnovers, producing an 11-2 run to begin the final eight minutes.

The onslaught allowed the Bobcats to eventually hold on to a 52-45 sectional semifinal victory at Norris City-Omaha-Enfield.

Meridian will now get a chance to win its second straight sectional title and the sixth in program history.

Sophomore guard Javionne Ranson scored 12 of his 20-points in the fourth quarter and teammate 6-3 freshman forward Antonio Flenoid, Jr. scored all eight of his points in the second half as Meridian outscored Waltonville, 25-16 in the final eight minutes to complete the rally.

In the game changing run in the final quarter, Flenoid, Jr. scored six of his points, all in transition while Ranson added two additional baskets.

His conventional three-point play off a steal and fast break close the run as Meridian had taken control at 38-31 with 4:40 remaining.

“Anytime he (Ranson) gets going where he is going downhill, under control, he is definitely hard to stop,” said Coach Davis. “He just amazes me. He also does a great job of getting his teammates the ball as well.”

The Spartans can look to two important stats as to why their season ended on Tuesday night.

Meridian's defense forced 15-turnovers and Waltonville was just 10-of-23 from the foul line, missing nine of the tosses in the first three quarters.

“We did a great job for most of the game of controlling the pace and their (Meridian) speed. But late in the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth quarter we got sped up. You can't miss that many free throws and beat a team that is that talented,” said Coach Lowery. “We could have had a seven or eight point lead at halftime had we made our free throws. We executed the game plan and got to the line but we just didn't make them.”

Kyle Cooper closed his sophomore campaign with a team-best 14-points, 11 in the second half, before fouling out with just under a minute left.

Six-four sophomore Gage Peterson scored 13-points for the Spartans who closed out at 25-7.

“We wanted to turn up the tempo. Our man pressure was able to turn them over,” said Coach Davis. “The guys did a tremendous job of rotating and getting back tonight.

Besides Ranson and Flenoid, Jr. the Bobcats received 10-points from senior Will Thurston, including the only made 3-pointer from the club.

Jai'Deon Reed pitched in seven-points and junior Shamar Easley added just two-points but his defensive help on Cooper help hold down the high-scoring Waltonville guard.

Senior Cole Kaufman added four-points for Meridian.

Although the Bobcats also struggled from the foul line (9-of-19) they managed to make enough of them in the fourth quarter (5-of-12) to stave off any Spartans' rally to advance.

Coach Davis' squad can now prepare for the winner of Wednesday night's Goreville vs. Waterloo Gibault matchup.

The sectional title game will be played on Friday night.

Meridian points came on buckets by Thurston, Ranson and Easley as the quarter closed at 6-6.

Freshman guard Witten Devor scored nine-points for Waltonville, with five coming in the second quarter on a 3-pointer off an assist from Cooper and back door cut on a pass from Peterson to give Waltonville a 15-14 lead.

Peterson followed with a score as the Spartans held a 18-15 halftime lead that could have been more as Waltonville was just 1-of-5 from the free throw line in the quarter.

Cooper canned his second trey, senior Seth Karnes added another long range shot and Peterson closed a run with a rebound bucket as Waltonville had its largest advantage a 28-20 with 2:29 left in the third.

However the Bobcats would get things going before the third quarter horn.

Kaufman converted a three-point play before Thurston and Flenoid, Jr. scored on drives.

The Flenoid bucket on a fast break pulled the Bobcats to within 29-27 heading to the final quarter.

The freshman made a steal and scored another transition basket to open the fourth period which started the game-changing scoring spree.

Waltonville's final lead came on the next possession on a Cooper drive for a score and a 31-29 lead.

The next nine-points came from Flenoid and Ranson.

The Spartans got to within four points late in the game on a driving score by Cooper while being fouled.

His “And-One” made it 42-38 Bobcats with 3:14 left.

Seven-consecutive points from Meridian put the game out of reach.

Ranson scored two baskets, one on a drive down the middle of the Waltonville defense and then next on a steal and fast break.

A free throw in between by Easley pushed the score to 47-38.

A back door cut from Thurston made it 48-37 with just 1:20 remaining.

A Karnes 3-pointer, a rebound basket by W. Devor and two free throws by Peterson made the final score look more presentable.

Meridian made 3-of-8 foul shots which were enough to finalize the victory.

Waltonville won the rebounding battle 32-27 but the Bobcats took better care of the ball committing just eight-turnovers.

“I think the young guys will learn a lot from this (loss). I hate it for our seniors but unfortunately we didn't get it done tonight,” said Coach Lowery. “Winning a regional is something that can never be taken away from them. They earned that and that is a testament to our seniors.”

Overall Mounds Meridian hit 21-of-48 shots from the floor, but just 1-of-12 from long range.

The Spartans closed out their campaign with a 15-of-43 effort, 5-of-18 from the arc.

“We stick with the game plan, no matter what,” said Coach Davis. “My 2015 team (as a player) we just played a play at a time even if we were down 10.”

Mounds Meridian (52) - Ranson 9 0 2-6 20, Easley 1 0 1-4 3, Johnson 0 0 0-0 0, Thurston 3 1 1-2 10, Kaufmann 1 0 2-5 4, J. Reed 3 0 1-2 7, Flenoid 4 0 0-0 8, D. Reed 0 0 0-0 0. 2FG-20/3FG-1/FT-9-19/PF-21.
Waltonville (45) - M. Devor 1 0 0-6 2, Lamke 0 0 0-0 0, Cooper 2 2 4-5 14, W. Devor 2 1 2-2 9, Peterson 5 0 3-4 13, Klingler 0 0 1-2 1, Karnes 0 2 0-0 6, Kretz 0 0 0-2 0, Stewart 0 0 0-0 0. 2FG-10/3FG-5/FT-10-23/PF-21.
Fouled Out – J. Reed - Mounds Meridian; Cooper - Waltonville.
Technical Fouls – None.