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TRURO — Earlham’s size and 3-point shooting proved to be a lethal combination for Murray here Thursday in a Class 1A District 12 final.
The Mustangs took a 10-9 lead midway through the first quarter, but Earlham doubled up Murray over the remainder of the game, rolling to a 74-48 victory.
The win propels Earlham (22-2) to Saturday’s Class 1A Substate 6 final in Johnston against Grand View Christian, which was a 72-48 winner over Pleasantville Thursday.
“They’re a good ballclub. We knew going in it was going to be an uphill climb tonight,” Murray head coach Darin Wookey said. “They’ve got the big guys and they’ve got the guards. When you’ve got both, you’ve got a good team. Kevin’s got a great team. I would expect to see them in the state tournament.”
After Murray took the 10-9 lead, Earlham answered with an 11-0 run, before Murray senior Trey McHenry hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to make it 20-13 after one quarter.
A 10-0 Earlham run in the second quarter gave the Cardinals a 30-19 lead. Murray closed to within 35-27, but Alan Schmidt nailed a 3-pointer and then made one of three free throws with :00.4 left on the clock to give Earlham a 39-27 lead at halftime.
“Our first half, we done exactly what we wanted to do,” Wookey said. “We went into halftime and I was happy with what we’d done.”
After talking things over at halftime, the Murray players wanted to switch to a triangle-and-two defense in the second half.
The two teams traded baskets early in the third quarter, but Earlham then went on a 17-0 run, as Murray went scoreless for 7:20 of game time.
“That was the ballgame then,” Wookey said. “We couldn’t climb out of the cellar then. Our dobbers got down and we couldn’t get out of it.”
Earlham pounded the Mustangs inside with the post duo of Canyon Hopkins and Zach Schreck. Hopkins finished with a game-high 20 points.
“We felt like with him (Hopkins) and Zach just being as strong as they are, we feel pretty good about things in the post most nights,” Earlham head coach Kevin Williamson said.
Earlham hit six 3-pointers in the game. But even on missed 3-pointers, the Cardinals were able to take advantage by grabbing long offensive rebounds, most of which resulted in baskets for the Cardinals.
“Their size was just a little bit too much for us,” Wookey said. “The problem was going to be they shoot a lot of threes. And if they miss the threes, that was going to create a lot of long rebounds, which was going to cause us problems. And it did. They got about every offensive board they could get. We couldn’t get any on our end. It’s one and done when you play a team like that.”
The Mustangs were slowed by having three players miss school Wednesday with illness, including two starters. Sophomore Kenny Boles, who averages 15.0 points per game this year, was limited to just six points, while trying to battle through his illness.
McHenry led Murray with 17 points, while fellow senior Braydon Held finished with eight points. Junior Fisher Decker added eight points. Cody Mann was the third senior playing in his final game for the Mustangs.
Murray ends the season with a record of 18-6, having won 16 of its last 19 games before Thursday’s loss to Earlham.
“Proud of the boys. We had a great season,” Wookey said. “My seniors, they went down tonight, but they’re proud of their accomplishments and what they got done.”
Earlham and Grand View Christian (23-1) meet 7 p.m. Saturday at Johnston High School for a berth in the state tournament.
“They’re athletic. They’re long. They shoot the ball well. They like to get up and down,” Williamson said about Grand View Christian. “Hopefully it will be a fun one.”
EARLHAM (74) — Canyon Hopkins 8 4-4 20, Alan Schmidt 5 3-5 14, AJ Leporte 6 0-0 13, Andy Algreen 3 0-2 7, Micah Bailey 3 0-0 7, Dan Schmidt 2 0-0 6, Zach Schreck 2 0-0 4, Josh Smith 1 0-0 2, Joey Harkins 0 1-2 1. Totals — 30 8-15 74. 3-point goals — 6 (D. Schmidt 2, Algreen 1, Bailey 1, A. Schmidt 1, Leporte 1). Team fouls — 9. Fouled out — none.
MURRAY (48) — Trey McHenry 7 2-4 17, Braydon Held 3 0-0 8, Fisher Decker 4 0-0 8, Kenny Boles 2 2-2 6, Jack Jones 2 0-0 5, Dustin Teas 1 0-2 2, Thane Simmons 1 0-0 2. Totals — 20 4-8 48. 3-point goals — 4 (Held 2, McHenry 1, Jones 1). Rebounds — McHenry 4, Held 4, Boles 3, Decker 3, Jones 3. Assists — Boles 4, Held 3. Steals — McHenry 3, Decker 2, Boles 2. Team fouls — 9. Fouled out — Simmons.
Earlham — 20 39 60 74
Murray — 13 27 34 48