After two close games and a dramatic win the Class 4A semifinals, it appeared as if the Winona Christian Stars were headed for another thriller with Clinton Christina on Saturday.
But the Warriors used a gigantic 30-4 run and pulled away to take a 77-42 win over the Stars and claim the Class 4A state championship on Saturday at Kirk Academy.
Head coach Nick Mumme said the Stars might have lost the championship game but showed the community how to play team basketball.
“This group of boys is the most selfless group of kids I have ever coached,” Ware said. “We found our identity as a team last year in the north state and the state tournament and they carried it right over into this year. The boys started off the year in an unbelievable way with a 21-game win streak. This is the most complete team I’ve ever coached.”
Mumme said it has a been a team effort all year for the Stars.
“We had seven different kids score 16-plus points in different games this year,” Mumme said. “This group of kids, game in and game out continued to defy the odds. They have had some unbelievable wins in the regular season and postseason. There are no words to describe how well this group of boys plays together, it’s something you have to witness in person.”
The Stars advance to the MAIS Overall Tournament this week and will have their hands full as they get Jackson Prep on Friday at 11:15 a.m. in the first round.
Clinton Christian 77, Winona Christian 42
The Warriors used a monster third period to pull away and take a 35-point win over the Stars in the 4A title game on Saturday.
Winona held an 18-16 lead in the first period before the Warriors took the second period 16-12 to take a 32-20 lead at the half. The Warriors then kicked the offense into gear in the second half and outscored the Stars 30-4 to take a 62-34 lead into the fourth. Clinton took the fourth period 15-8 for the final margin.
“We played a well coached Clinton Christian team that has been together a long time and those kids play extremely well together,” Mumme said. “Our boys have shown they can play with anybody in the state. Same as the girls, I can’t thank our community enough for how they rallied around our kids. Lastly I can’t thank my assistant coach Joey Johnson enough. He is a big reason why we’re having the season we are.”
Jake Ware had 11 points and six rebounds while Reese Johnson had 10 points and 14 rebounds. Landon Bland had seven points and six rebounds while Brannon hill had seven points.
Winona Christian 51, Greenville St. Joseph 50
After losing two of three to the Irish in the regular season, the Stars got the last word as they took a one-point win in the 4A semifinals on Friday.
Winona outscored St. Joseph 17-14 in the first and 13-9 in the second and took a 30-23 lead at the half. The Stars then outscored the Irish 14-13 in the third and led 44-36 going to the fourth. St. Joseph rallied in the fourth and took the lead with 11 seconds left to play on a 3-pointer to go up 50-49. Jake Ware then put up a shot with five seconds remaining, missed and got his own rebounds. Ware then kicked it out to Collin Parkinson who got fouled as he sot a three-pointer as time expired. Parkinson hit the first one to tie the game, missed the second and made the third one to give the Stars and win and advance to the championship game.
Ware led Winona Christian with 14 points and six rebounds while Parkinson had 13 points. Reese Johnson had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds while Reese Cooper had eight points.
Winona Christian boys 49, Christian Collegiate 47
The Stars used a big third period to take a lead and held on to beat Christian Collegiate on Wednesday in the opening round of the Class 4A state tournament.
The Bulldogs opened up a 16-9 lead in the first period before the Stars took the second period 12-9 to cut the lead to 25-21 at the half. Winona then rallied in the third period and outscored CCA 22-11 in the third to take a 43-36 lead into the fourth period. The Bulldogs then outscored the Stars 11-6 in the fourth for the final margin.
Jake Ware led Winona with 19 points and four rebounds while Reese Johnson had 11 points and eight rebounds. Jack Sorgen had eight points and three assists while Collin Parkinson had eight points.
