With under six minutes left in the third quarter against Mark Twain on Feb. 8 at Ballew & Snell Court, Keenan James was trying to accomplish something he has never done before – make a dunk.

The Montgomery County senior came very close.
After receiving a pass from senior teammate Drake Smith, James attempted a breakaway dunk, but the ball popped out of the rim.

“That would have been cool had it gone down,” MCHS coach Scott Kroeger said. “It could have brought the house down.”

Even though he didn’t get his first dunk of his high school basketball career, James turned in a strong effort to help the Wildcats pull off a senior night victory over Mark Twain. He scored a season-high 17 points, including 15 in the second half, to lift MCHS to a 74-49 win.

“I thought he played really sound basketball,” Kroeger said. “He made a lot of things happen. He was doing a really good job making the extra pass. At times, he maybe would have forced some stuff. But he was making the extra pass early. He had three really nice passes.”

The win helped the Wildcats climb over the .500 mark for the first time since December. MCHS improved to 12-11.

“We had a rough season filled with ups and downs,” James said. “Finally, we got a good win there. It’s good to get back on the right track. Hopefully, we’ll ride that wave into districts.”

The Wildcats stormed to a 10-0 lead and never looked back against Mark Twain.

“We had games this year where we came out and were a little stagnant,” Kroeger said. “There was zero indication of that tonight. They were on point with their movement away from the ball. They were moving the ball a lot. They were energetic on both ends of the court. It was really fun to see. That’s what we’ve been accustomed to for so long.”

James, Smith and seniors Logan Hutcheson and Ethan Rakers were recognized with their parents before the game. James said he enjoyed the senior night ceremony.

“It’s awesome,” James said. “It just brings so much enjoyment to the crowd. Everybody who knew who I was cheered for me coming out. It brought a new energy out here.”

The senior quartet combined to score 49 points against Mark Twain. Hutcheson finished with 12 points with four 3-pointers, Smith scored 11 points and Rakers added nine. The four seniors have been playing together since they were in elementary school.

“They’re extremely fun to watch,” Kroeger said. “They have really carried over a lot of chemistry over the years. These kids have been in the rotation since their sophomore year. They won a lot of basketball games and they were on the winning side in a lot of basketball games over their careers and in high school, as well.”

Kroeger said he’s pleased with the way James has been playing this season. He earned all-tournament honors at the South Callaway Tournament and scored the game-winning basket with 1.5 seconds left in the Wildcats’ 30-28 win over New Haven in a first-round game of the Hermann Tournament on Jan. 25.

“He brings a ton of value,” Kroeger said. “He has nights where he’s probably the best defender on the court. You can see whenever he’s got his energy going right. He’s really making that extra pass and really putting pressure on people. It makes us tough as a basketball team. He’s really one of the sparkplugs that we have.”

James said he will miss playing basketball whenever the season comes to an end. He plans to play golf at Mineral Area College next year.

“This is the sport I played the longest,” James said. “It has a deep spot in my heart and I’ll remember it forever.”
Freshman Clayton Parker scored 15 points for the Wildcats against Mark Twain. He was in the starting lineup with all four seniors.