Basehor-Linwood falls in foul-filled 4A Division 1 championship game

Basehor-Linwood boys coach Mike McBride didn’t mince words following his team’s first loss, 74-60, to McPherson in the class 4A Division I title game Saturday night.

“Like I told the kids, life’s not fair, so for whatever reason, they called it on one end and not on the other,” said McBride, who was looking for his third championship since 2009. “I don’t know why. Obviously they don’t have anything against us, but that’s how it was.”

There were 54 fouls called and 62 free throws attempted.

At the half, each team had three players with two fouls, and the point guards — McPherson’s Kyler Kinnamon and Basehor-Linwood’s Jahron McPherson — had three. Basehor-Linwood forward Carson Fliger fouled out on an offensive foul with 4:32 remaining, and 30 seconds later, fellow senior Patrick Muldoon picked up his fifth foul. Reserve Joseph Gorman also fouled out.

“It’s frustrating,” said McBride, whose team is 24-1. “At 24-0, you have a team that plays without their hands. We talk about it every day. We try to jump away from people. And, simple fact of the matter is, I’ve got four kids who don’t get a chance to play basketball in their state championship game.

“It’s frustrating. It’s incredibly frustrating. McPherson’s a great team. I’m not taking anything away from them. I get that. It would have been nice if my kids could have played tonight.”

McPherson, which won its second straight title, has 13 titles and three with unbeaten records. The win gave coach Kurt Kinnamon his sixth title and first undefeated season.

McPherson battled to a 29-19 lead at the half and stretched it to 34-21 with seven minutes remaining in the third quarter after a basket in transition by senior Payton Stephens.

Stephens finished with a game-high 24 points, hitting eight of 11 field goals and eight of nine free throws. McPherson made 30 of 41 free throws, while Basehor-Linwood was 15 of 21.

Basehor-Linwood, with four reserves playing, nearly erased the Bullpups’ 13-point lead over the next three minutes. The Bobcats went on a 15-3 run, capped by Nick Fisher’s jumper to get within 37-36 at the 2:47 mark of the third.

“Just more energy, more confidence, moving the ball, doing things, Bobcat basketball,” McBride said. “We’re typically fly around, make sure we’re strong with the ball.”

With 7:23 remaining, Basehor-Linwood’s Jack Dale scored to get within 44-42.

“Obviously our bench showed how good they were,” McBride said. “They cut it to 42-40 (at the end of the third). We’ve got one starter out on the floor. And then we try to put our starters back in the game … and they just keep calling fouls.”

The Bullpups had an 11-0 run that included three-point plays by senior Nathan Nutter and Stephens for the 55-42 lead with 4:02 to go.

While Basehor-Linwood’s McPherson scored 15 of his team-high 22 points in the fourth quarter, the Bobcats didn’t get within double digits again.

“Anytime you win a state championship, it doesn’t ever get old,” said Kinnamon, who has won 40 straight games. “And certainly, to do it the way that we did, big lead, lose it, they come back and get back in the game.

“To show the amount of grit and toughness that our kids did, it’s just fantastic. Extremely proud of a great bunch of kids.”

This story was originally published March 14, 2015 at 10:07 PM with the headline "Basehor-Linwood falls in foul-filled 4A Division 1 championship game."