Just 48 hours after hitting a game-winning, half-court buzzer beating shot against Elsberry, Clayton Parker didn’t show any signs of fatigue against Moberly on Feb. 16.

The Montgomery County sophomore turned in another strong performance, scoring 35 points to lead his team to a 74-48 win over the Spartans in its regular season finale at Ballew & Snell Court. The effort helped the Wildcats finish their regular season at 19-7.

The 6-foot-7 Parker said he enjoys playing for a team that clinched its fourth straight winning season and captured an Eastern Missouri Conference crown.

“It’s amazing,” Parker said. “Every day in practice and all of the games, it’s so fun to be around the guys. It’s not 19 wins to dread. They were fun 19 wins. I loved doing it with my guys. A lot of people thought we were rebuilding this year, but I knew from the beginning that we weren’t rebuilding. We had the guys to go put on 19 wins.”

Now, Parker is looking to help the Wildcats win their third straight district crown. MCHS will begin its postseason play at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 22 against North Callaway in a Class 3, District 7 semifinal game at South Callaway High School. North Callaway defeated New Bloomfield in a district quarterfinal game on Feb. 20.

The Wildcats are seeded second in the six-team district tournament. Last year, they knocked off Hermann in the district finals.

“We’re 0-0,” Parker said. “We have to put all of these games behind us. The conference championship means nothing at this point. We can worry about that after the season. But right now, it’s about winning a district championship.”

The Wildcats surpassed their win total of 17 from last year and finished 10-0 in EMO play. Parker helped his team accomplish both feats by hitting a half-court shot as time expired against Elsberry on Feb. 14, lifting the Wildcats to a come-from-behind 71-68 win. The sophomore finished with a season-high 37 points.

After Parker made the shot, he and his teammates ran into the stage area of Elsberry’s gymnasium and celebrated.

“I didn’t want to get tackled, so we decided to go sit on the stage so the guys can jump up on me,” Parker said.

Parker credited three players for his heroic performance – sophomores Isaiah Thomas and seniors Alex Hartman and Zak Rodgers. Thomas finished with 14 points, Hartman had five points and six rebounds and Rodgers hit a huge 3-pointer with 2:49 left in the game to tie the game at 65-65. The Wildcats trailed by 14 points in the third quarter.

“Zak, Isaiah and Alex made really big plays,” Parker said. “It was just my shot that shined the most. I believe those three guys' shots were more important than mine because if they didn’t make their shots, I wouldn’t have gotten it off.”

Parker said the team enjoyed the one-hour ride back to Montgomery County.

“It was amazing,” he said. “We took (assistant coach Dustin) Figg back home and he was smiling ear-to-ear the whole way home.”

Against Moberly, Parker finished with 18 points in the first half and 17 in the second. At one point in the third quarter, he scored 10 consecutive points.

Sophomore Tyler Erwin scored 13 points and Thomas added 10 for the Wildcats, who beat Moberly for the second straight year.

Parker said a light practice the day before really helped his team shine against the Spartans.

“Thanks to (MCHS) Coach (Scott) Kroeger, we felt like our legs were under us for the next game,” he said. “Coming out in the second half, I felt like we really showed toughness with the defensive effort we put on.”