By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Twice in the last decade the Miller boys basketball team advanced to a district championship game but for the first time in 10 years the Cardinals won it on Saturday evening in Purdy.
Miller built a 16-point cushion in the third quarter and it was enough to withstand a late Eagles rally in a 47-29 win in the Class 3 District 12 finals.
“Our kids have worked hard all year,” Miller coach Sean Price said. “I came in, this year’s my first year at Miller. I held them accountable and gave them expectations and they could have gone one way or the other way and they obviously went the right direction. We talked a little bit about how it’s been 10 years. I think they were really excited to give themselves an opportunity to compete for a district championship and to win it was just awesome. Hats off to our kids, they deserve it and they’ve worked hard.”
The second seed Cardinals (20-7) only led 17-13 at halftime with the teams combining for just 15 points in each of the first two quarters. Miller opened the third with a 9-0 run to take control.
Senior Joel Kleeman did a lot of the damage, scoring 11 of the team’s 16 points in the quarter. With Purdy turning it over on three of its first four possessions, Miller’s two seniors – Kleeman and Jeff Lung – took advantage. Kleeman scored the first two baskets, one of them after a Lung steal, and then Lung drained a three pointer to make it 24-13.
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Kleeman added two free throws to give the Cardinals a 13-point lead with 5:09 left in the third. He then scored five points in the final minute, including a three with two seconds on the clock, to make it 33-17 heading into the fourth.
“Joel is a great player,” Price said. “Offensively he can do a lot of things and our third quarter was what gave us that cushion to allow them to start making some shots. We were lucky early that they missed some shots, able to get us a little bit of a lead but then that third quarter opened it up a little bit and gave us a little bit more of a cushion and we were able to hang on at the end.”
Top seed Purdy (16-6) opened the fourth with a 9-0 run of its own that included a three pointer by sophomore Ezequiel Garcia, but Kleeman countered with a driving layup to make it 35-26. A free throw by Purdy senior Osiel Aldava kept the Eagles within eight with four minutes to play, but then Miller put on a clinic at the free throw line.
Lung and Kleeman combined to make eight-straight free throws – Lung made six – and junior Brenden Thom added a ninth to push it to 44-27. They came while Purdy missed shots on five-straight possessions, and when junior Logan Nield scored with 1:08 remaining it gave the Cardinals a game high 19-point lead.
“Our two seniors Joel and Jeff stepped up and made their free throws and BT, our junior, stepped up and made a couple,” Price said. “That kind of iced it. That gave us a little cushion on defense. It was good for them to step up and make their free throws.”
Miller made 10-of-12 attempts in the fourth quarter and 18-of-20 in the game.
“They’re a very good team,” Price said of Purdy. “They’ve got a lot of guys who can score. We just had to hang on at the end.”
Kleeman scored 20 points to lead the Cardinals and Lung added 12. Thom finished with nine.
Aldava led Purdy with nine.
Miller will travel to Springfield on Tuesday to face Greenwood in the sectional round. The Blue Jays (19-5) beat Clever 76-47 in the District 11 championship.
“We’re going to do the same things we’ve done all year,” Price said. “We’re going to scout, we’re going to plan, we’re going to try to put our kids in the best position to be successful and we’re going to give it everything we have.”
