After a defeat against Shawnee Mission South High School in the state semifinal game, the boys basketball team rebounded to take third place, beating defending state champions Kapaun Mt. Carmel 75-70 on Saturday, March 9. This is the highest the boys team has ever finished at state.

From the start of the game, the team was successful at making shots, jumping to a lead of 26-12 at the end of the first quarter.

“To start the game, we started off hot,” senior forward Nathan Stacy said. “Our shots were falling tonight, and they weren’t last night.”

Head coach Justin Bogart agrees.

“We got off to a great start, made shots and got stops on defense,” Bogart said.

By halftime, the Jaguars led 40-29, but in the second half Kapaun cut the lead. In the final minute, Mill Valley was up by just 72-70, until freshman guard Logan Koch made three free throws, clinching the 75-70 win.

“[As Kapaun caught up], we just kept trusting each other, trusting our teammates, and we did that and came out victorious,” Stacy said.

Going into the game, the team had to shake off its loss to South the night before, and Bogart said he wanted the team to understand that they could go farther than any previous boys basketball team at Mill Valley.

“Here’s a chance to erase our loss last night and a chance to finish with a win,” Bogart said. “We had a chance to be the best basketball team in Mill Valley history.”

Junior guard Wyatt Voorhes said he also just wanted to end the season with a win.

“It was a tough loss last night, and only two teams get to end the season on a win, so we wanted to be that team,” Voorhes said. “As a team, we just came out with a lot of energy. I feel like we had them beat before the game even started. We just stuck to our game plan and made free throws. That’s how you win games.”

While is goal was the state championship, Stacy is still happy with how the season ended.

“I think we’ll be remembered as the best team at Mill Valley, until someone gets better,” Stacy said. “The best team to have played so far.”