Mustangs Earn First Sectional Appearance in 27 Years

WAVERLY (March 5) — The Huntingdon High School boys basketball team has never been to a state tournament in the history of the school, and it’s been 27 years since the Mustangs have made a Sectional or Substate game.

The Mustangs are one game away from a state tournament berth and will play in their first Sectional game since 1999 as they travel to Loretto on Monday, March 9. Results were not available before The Banner’s press deadline.

After a rough district tournament for the Mustangs that saw them lose two games and enter the Region 6-AA Tournament as a four seed, the Mustangs rebounded in the region tournament, winning 52-49 over the one seed, Cheatham County of District 11-AA, last Saturday. The Mustangs then defeated Harpeth, 72-44, in Waverly Tuesday night to advance to the region title game and earn a substate berth. The Mustangs played well but fell to Milan 54-46 in the title game, sending them to Loretto for a matchup of Mustangs on Monday.

The Mustangs trailed Harpeth 16-12 on Tuesday in the semifinal game after one quarter but went on a 20-0 run and outscored the Indians 22-2 in the second quarter to take a 34-18 lead. The Mustangs outscored the Indians 38-26 in the second half to earn the title game slot opposite Milan.

Senior Kelton Johnson led the Mustangs with 22 points, Caleb Ezell 19, Bryson Whiteside 13, Lucas Smith 10 and Garvin Kee 8. Kee hauled down nine rebounds to lead the Mustangs. Lucas Barton scored 11 and Preston Merritt 10 to lead the Indians.

The Mustangs got off to a slow start in the region title game, falling behind 16-5 after one quarter to Milan but rallied to trail 24-19 at the half. In the second half the Mustangs trailed by as many as 12 points but took the lead at 41-40 on a Garvin Kee foul shot. The Bulldogs responded and held on for a 54-46 win over the Mustangs to host a substate game and send the Mustangs on the road.

Whiteside led the Mustangs with 11 points in the game, Johnson 9, Kee 8, Ezell 8, K’Shun Carter 6 and Smith with 4. Milan was led by Izaia Clark with 13, Nants Lickliter 12 and Skylan Phinnessee with 10.

The Mustangs enter the Loretto game with a 17-7 record for the season and seeking their first-ever state tournament appearance.