The MUS varsity basketball team entered the regional tournament as the fifth seed and knew that they would have to place in the top three to advance to state tournament. And the Owls are well on their way as they have won their first two games in the tournament and have advanced to the semifinals, defeating SBEC in the first round and Elliston in the quarterfinals.
On Monday against the Trojans, the Owls jumped out to a 19-7 lead heading into the second quarter and were never seriously challenged, posting the 63-38 victory.
The Owls dominated the boards, outrebounding SBEC 47-21, and held SBEC to just 6 assists the entire game.
All players played as Jay Martin led the Owls with 12 points, while Elliott Cole added 11 points and 7 rebounds. Ferrakohn Hall also had a nice game with 6 assists and 8 rebounds.
On Wednesday night, behind good outside shooting and effective passing, MUS jumped out to a 15-5 lead to start the game. But the Raiders fought back and tied the game at the half at 29.
In the third quarter, MUS dominated and led the entire quarter behind poor shooting from the Raiders. But like any good team, Elliston came back in the fourth and took several brief leads.
But with a Hall basket with 3:30 remaining, MUS took the lead for good and made 9 free-throws down the stretch to maintain the advantage. Elliston had one last chance to tie the game, but Mike Hale’s half-court shot was long to give the Owls the 66-63 win.
Martin and Cole both scored 18 to pace the Owls, and John Stokes added 14 points and 7 rebounds. Hale led all scorers with 29 points on 11-21 shooting for Elliston.
With the win, the Owls advance to the semifinals and will face top-seeded ECS on Friday night. MUS needs to win one of their next two games in order to advance to state.
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