Three weeks ago, Adrian Combs wrapped up an outstanding season as quarterback of the Montgomery County football team, helping the Wildcats win nine games and capture a district title.

After a week, the MCHS senior has shown that he can play basketball, too.

Combs celebrated an all-tournament award at the Montgomery County Invitational Tournament after scoring 50 points in three games and helping the Wildcats finish second in the eight-team tournament. He scored in double figures in two of the three games.

“I tried to go out there, make plays, get open and try to help us win,” Combs said.

The Wildcats came up a victory short of their 10th tournament title in program history as they lost to the Mexico Bulldogs 75-44 in the championship game on Dec. 6 at Ballew & Snell Court. Last year, they beat Mexico in the title game as the No. 1 seed.

MCHS turned in a Cinderella-like run to this year’s finals. The sixth-seeded Wildcats knocked off No. 3 Fatima and No. 2 Fulton in the first round and semifinals, respectively, to advance to the championship game for the third year in a row.

In the finals, MCHS couldn’t find a way to knock off a Mexico team that won all three of its games by an average of 29 points per game.

“They seeded us sixth in the tournament and we came out and beat two good teams in the tournament,” Combs said. “We didn’t have much left in the tank (against Mexico), but we gave it our best effort.”

Dustin Figg, who took over head coaching duties for Scott Kroeger this season, said despite the loss to Mexico, he was impressed with his team’s effort in the tournament.

“They’re a very competitive bunch of kids and they know how to compete,” Figg said. “They did a great job (against Mexico). They did what I asked them to do. We just didn’t see the ball go in early. I think that’s what hurt us.”

Mexico, the No. 1 seed, won its seventh tournament title and its fourth in the last six years. The Bulldogs defeated New Haven and Bowling Green in the first two rounds to advance to the title game for the fourth straight year.

Mexico denied the Wildcats to win back-to-back MCHS tournament championships for the first time since the late 1980s. The Audrain County school stormed to a 10-1 lead in the first quarter and never looked back.

“We wanted to come in and be competitive in this tournament and put ourselves in a chance to win it, but we came up short,” Figg said.

MCHS dropped to 2-1 with the loss to Mexico. The Wildcats were scheduled to play a road game against Southern Boone on Dec. 9 and will head to Silex on Dec. 12 to start their Eastern Missouri Conference season.

The Wildcats graduated seven players from last year’s team that won 28 games, but return seven players, including Combs. Combs said he is confident that his team will finish with its seventh straight winning season this winter.

“I think the sky’s the limit,” the senior said. “Not a lot of people believed in us because we lost so many good players, but I think we’re a lot better than those people think. I think we proved that, even just in that first week.”

Before tournament play began, the Wildcats had just three full practices and one open gym since some of their players – including Combs – were still participating with the football team in the state tournament. The football Wildcats were eliminated in the state quarterfinals on Nov. 22. The boys basketball team had a scheduled game against Hallsville that same day, but it had to be called off.

“It was fun to watch that football team play,” Figg said. “Then, it finally became our time to get those kids with me.”

The Wildcats were scheduled to play their first-round game against Fatima on Dec. 2, but it was rescheduled for the following day due to inclement weather.

Figg’s debut as head coach was a successful one. MCHS never trailed against Fatima, leading by as many as 24 points in the fourth quarter. 

Against Fulton, the Wildcats came back from an 14-11 first-quarter deficit to advance to the championship game.

Combs got off to a flying start against Fatima, scoring the first five points of the game. He had 13 points in the first half and finished with 20 points.

Against Fulton, Combs scored 21 points – 10 points in the first half and 11 in the second – to finish as the team’s leading scorer for the second game in a row. He finished with nine points against Mexico.

A year ago, Combs scored just six points in three games of the MCHS tournament. He went on to play 24 games and scored just 46 points.

Now, Combs is thrilled that he is getting more playing time in his senior year.

“I didn’t play a ton last year, so I finally get to be out there more this year,” Combs said. “It’s been fun so far.”

Sophomore Jackson Benney joined Combs as the Wildcats’ representatives on the all-tournament team. He scored 31 points in three games, including a team-high 12 against Mexico.