When the Montgomery County boys basketball team placed third in the Class 2A Missouri state tournament on March 2, 1974, “Seasons In The Sun” by Terry Jacks was the biggest song on radio as it was in the beginning of its three-week run at No. 1 in the Billboard charts.

The 1973-74 season was definitely sunny for the Wildcats as they finished 23-7, won a share of the Eastern Missouri Conference championship and earned their third state trophy in program history. Seniors Marty Bosley, Walt McQuie, Brad Gregory, Alphonso Flyingcloud and Percy Johnson, juniors Chuck Clark, Donnie Bethel, Sherwin Logan, Pit Miller, Click Bishop, Arthur Beaubout and Kevin Richardson and sophomore Charlie Penn made up the team, which was coached by Bill Ballew. Gregory earned all-state honors after averaging nearly 20 points per game and Penn averaged nine rebounds per game.

“We were a tight-knit group,” Bosley said. “Everybody got along really well. There weren’t any problems, jealousy or negativity among the team. We always thought we had the best coach. So when we went up against some of these teams, we always figured it was going to be a close game. Coach Ballew would figure out a way for us to be successful. It was fantastic.”

This year, the Wildcats ended a 50-year Final Four drought. They placed fourth in the Class 3 Show-Me Showdown at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.

“It’s hard to believe that it took that long,” Clark said. “It’s been 50 years, but it isn’t like Montgomery hasn’t had some success the last few years. They won some district titles and made it to the Elite Eight. It takes a little bit of luck. The bracket has to fall right for you and you have to play well. It’s hard to play well in every freaking game. I don’t care how good you are.”

The 1973-74 season got off to a rough start for MCHS as it lost to Elsberry in its season opener. But the Wildcats later bounced back to beat Rock Bridge of Columbia in the finals of the Montgomery County Invitational, win nine games in a row, knock off Centralia in the regional championship game and defeat California in sub-state action to advance to the Final Four, which was played at the Hearnes Center in Columbia.
Bosley said his team had strong support from the Montgomery community during its Final Four run.

“We took seven or eight school buses to Columbia,” said Bosley, who now lives in Columbia and attended several MCHS boys basketball games this year. “They were called pep buses at the time. I think it cost $1 to ride on the pep bus. The old saying was, ‘Whoever leaves the town last turns the lights off.’ Everybody went. We had a tremendous following.”

The Wildcats’ hopes for a second state title in three years were dashed with a 71-61 loss to eventual champion Lilbourn in the semifinals on March 1, 1974.

“That still sticks a little,” Clark said. “We had a terrible third quarter. We kind of rebounded in the fourth. But by then, it wasn’t like we were playing a very poor team. They were really good. They went on to win it. But you would love to play that third quarter over.”

A scheduling conflict forced MCHS to play its third-place game against Higginsville (now Lafayette County) at 9 a.m. the following day. The Missouri men’s basketball team scheduled a game against Oklahoma later that afternoon at the Hearnes Center.

“That wasn’t easy either,” Clark said. “We had to get up really early. I can’t remember what time they got us out of the hotel. We had to go eat breakfast as a team and then they took us over there. We had a little shootaround. But then you’re playing a basketball game at 9 in the morning on a Saturday. It was awful.”

But the day turned out memorable as the Wildcats beat Higginsville 51-42 to finish third in the state.

“It was fantastic,” Bosley said. “It was absolutely great. The whole community was behind the team. There was a lot of excitement. It was pretty similar to what was going on this year.”