Bullpups Win McPherson Invitational

BY TAYLOR ELDRIDGE

McPHERSON _ In McPherson, basketball is considered a religion, therefore making the school’s mid-season basketball tournament the biggest show in town.
Families swarm to the Roundhouse every Saturday night in the middle of January to root on their Bullpups more often than not in the championship game.
Kyler Kinnamon, son of coach Kurt Kinnamon, never missed a game growing up. He yearned to be on the court with his father’s team, to play in, and to win, the McPherson Invitational.
On Saturday night, finally, Kinnamon lived out his dream by scoring a game-high 16 points and leading the Bullpups to a 53-40 victory over previously-undefeated Shawnee Mission East.
After it was all over, Kinnamon stood alone at center court and accepted the tournament's most valuable player award, failing to suppress a grin that was 16 years in the making.

“It’s a lot of fun coaching this whole group and it’s a lot of fun coaching my own kid, no doubt about it,” Kurt Kinnamon said. “Ky is a fierce, fierce competitor. Does not like to lose. He’s a bad loser, and we usually find that our bad losers are our best competitors.”

SM East entered with a colossal height advantage over McPherson's posts. But coach Kinnamon was brilliant in designing an aggressive man defense that collapsed on the inside in an attempt to eliminate the Lancers' advantage and bait them into settling for outside jumpers.
The strategy played out to perfection, as SM East hoisted up 21 three-pointers compared to 22 two-point shots. The Lancers' Division I star Vance Wentz, who is signed on to go to Montana State, missed all nine of his attempts from beyond the arc.

The two SM East stars, Wentz (6-foot-4) and Zach Schneider (6-foot-7), finished shooting a miserable 17 percent (4 of 23) for the game. The Bullpups not only evened out the rebounding battle, they won it - 36 to 31.

Kurt Kinnamon gave the majority of the credit to seniors Marcus Houghton and Keaton Sorenson (12 points, 10 rebounds).

“Marcus is a tough, tough kid,” Kurt Kinnamon said. “He is one competitive kid that you want on your side, regardless. Keaton was jumping six inches higher than I’ve ever seen him. He was pursuing balls. He was catching balls.”

East prided itself in its versatility on offense to win all types of games. The Lancers had played a rigorous Class 6A schedule from the northeastern part of the state and survived unscathed.

But SM East struggled to handle the pressure of the Bullpups, turning the ball over 13 times and shooting 33 percent (14 of 43) for the game.
McPherson completed its title run by knocking off three Class 6A teams without a single bench point the entire tournament. Junior Peter Horton made 9 of 12 three-pointers in the tournament, including several at crucial times, and his twin brother, Ryan, came up big in the title game with 7 points and 5 rebounds.

“I don’t think our team ever thought we were the underdog,” Sorenson said. “Maybe everybody else did, but we were pretty confident about it.”

When East made its final push at the lead, drawing to within 33-32 with 4:23 remaining in the fourth quarter, it was no coincidence Kyler Kinnamon wanted the ball in his hands down the stretch.

It was the moment Kinnamon had waited for his entire life, and the sophomore was prepared for it. McPherson dominated the final four minutes, 20-8, as Kinnamon made all eight of his free throws to close out the game.

As he stood near mid-court, accepting his gold medals, Kinnamon's transformation from little kid in the stands to player that rises to the occasion for the Bullpups was complete.

“You look forward to it growing up,” he said. “It was a great experience. It’s really special to win it here in front of everybody, especially with my dad coaching me.”