Mounds Meridian vs. Waltonville - 1A Cobden Sectional Semifinals

1A Cobden Sectional Semifinals

Mounds Meridian

Waltonville

Mounds Meridian (54) - L. Johnson 1 3 0-0 11, Ranson 3 0 1-1 7, Easley 2 0 0-0 4, Monan 2 3 2-2 15, G. Johnson 0 0 0-2 0, Flenoid, Jr. 6 0 2-4 14, Woodson 0 0 0-0 0, Russell 0 1 0-0 3.
2FG-14/3FG-7/FT-5-9/PF-16.

Waltonville (51) - Devor 1 3 2-2 13, Cooper 6 1 4-4 19, Klingler 0 0 0-0 0, Mayville 2 0 1-2 5, Peterson 5 0 2-2 12, Stewart 1 0 0-0 2.
2FG-15/3FG-4/FT-9-10/PF-13.

Fouled Out – L. Johnson - Mounds Meridian.
Technical Fouls – None.

Mounds Meridian rallies for win
Bobcats advance past Waltonville; face Goreville Friday

03/05/2025
BY JACK BULLOCK
COBDEN - On Wednesday night, for the first three quarters and the first 3:15 of the fourth quarter, the Waltonville Spartans appeared ready to advance to their first sectional championship game since 1990.

Coach Anthony Lowery and his crew had played the game they needed to play to beat defending super-sectional champs Mounds Meridian up until that point.

Waltonville scored the first two baskets of the final quarter and led 46-37 with 4:45 left in sectional semifinal.

However within a 1:30 stretch, the Bobcats forced three consecutive turnovers and went on a 10-0 run to get the lead back.

Six-one senior guard Colin Monan nailed down back-to-back 3-pointers in the run.

Leading 54-51 in the final seconds, 6-5 sophomore Antonio Flenoid, Jr. added one final defensive play for the Bobcats as he jumped high into the air and rejected a 3-point shot from Waltonville 6-6 junior Gage Peterson to preserve the three-point victory in front of a near sellout crowd at Cobden.

The battle of the two state-ranked squads lived up to the hype as Meridian improved to 25-8 and Waltonville saw its campaign end at 28-5.

The Bobcats forced 17-turnovers, six in the final minutes, that doomed Waltonville at the end.

“We knew it (the run) was coming. It's what they do (pressure) and we knew that no matter what the score is they're never out of it. Down the stretch we needed to execute a little better than we did. There is no excuse. We just lost our composure, including myself,” said Coach Lowery. “We didn't get the ball to the right people at the right spots. The game just sped up on us. They're athletic and fast. We did a great job the whole game of handling all sorts of their pressure.”

Meridian will face Goreville on Friday night in the sectional title game with the winner advancing to the Charleston Super-sectional.

Monan led the Bobcats with 15-points and Flenoid, Jr. added 14-points and eight-rebounds despite foul trouble that got him a seat on the bench for a stretch in the first half.

Sophomore Latarus Johnson (11) and Javionne Ranson (seven) also added balance to the Bobcats' offense.

“Pressure busts pipes. Eventually guys wear and tear and guys get tired. Tonight we stopped reaching and stopped grabbing and stayed under control,” said Coach Davis. “Big block, big free throws, big plays at the end. Like I said last year. We are battle tested and ready for this (postseason).”

The season ended for the Spartans despite 19-points from junior guard Kyle Cooper and 13-points from sophomore Witten Devor.

Peterson ended up with 12-points and nine-rebounds.

Sophomore Jagger Mayville (five) and junior Ryley Stewart (two) rounded out the scoring for Coach Lowery's club.

The Spartans got two 3-pointers in the first quarter by Devor and took an early 10-4 advantage before Meridian rallied with a pair of long range shots from Johnson to take a 14-12 first quarter advantage.

Flenoid, Jr. picked up his second foul on an offensive foul with :15.8 left in the quarter and then spent half of the second quarter on the bench.

Six lead changes in the second quarter occurred before the Bobcats left the floor up 27-26 at intermission.

Ranson made a steal and scored on a fast break while being fouled.

His conventional three-point play was part of one of the early lead changes.

(CONTINUED)

Fleniod, Jr. scored both of his baskets on offensive rebounds in the second quarter and Peterson finished the quarter with a score inside as the Spartans trailed at the break.

Waltonville appeared to have the Bobcats on the ropes as they went on their own 10-0 run to close the third quarter and into the first minutes of the fourth.

Devor canned his third 3-pointer following a drive in the lane by Cooper to get the run going and Mayville made 1-of-2 foul shots as the Spartans led 42-37 at the end of the third quarter.

Consecutive scores by Cooper on a drive in the lane and then a back door cut on an assist from Stewart had the Spartans thinking sectional championship game.

But the pressure defense by Meridian finally took its toll.

After taking back the lead, Meridian gave up another score from Peterson off yet another great pass from Stewart for a brief Spartans' 48-47 advantage with 2:55 left.

However another Monan 3-pointer, his third in the final 3:36, gave back the lead to Meridian.

Flenoid, Jr. made a steal and his driving score pushed the Bobcats to a 52-48 spread.

Cooper's final points of the night, a 3-pointer from the right win, got Waltonville back to within a point.

Forced to foul, the Spartans sent sophomore Gregory Johnson, Jr. to the line and he missed both shots.

Cooper got the rebound and Waltonville worked for a shot but turned the ball over to the Bobcats.

Being fouled with :24.3, Monan sank both charity tosses which set the stage for the final defensive stand.

Peterson appeared to have an open look at a game-tying 3-pointer but the athletic Flenoid, Jr. reached high in the air to deflect the last second shot, preserving the Mounds Meridian trip to the sectional championship contest on Friday.

The Spartans shot the ball well enough to get he victory, hitting 19-of-35 shots overall and 4-of-10 from long range.

They held an overall 29-21 rebounding edge and they forced Meridian into a 21-of-61 shooting night.

But the 17-turnovers led to too many Bobcat points, especially late in the game.

Coach Davis' squad only committed seven turnovers.

“We didn't expect anything different. I'm glad it turned out in our favor but that's a great team, great coach and great program,” Coach Davis said about Waltonville. “What they do is just amazing.”

Goreville and Meridian will meet Friday night at 6 pm in what should be another large crowd and Tom Crowell Gymnasium.

“All the credit goes to the Bobcats and I'm proud of the way we competed tonight,” said Coach Lowery. “We just had a bad three and a half minutes there.”