Early in Saturday’s championship game against Montgomery County, it seemed Linn was well on its way to a title at the Hermann tournament as the Wildcats build an 11-4 lead.

“We built that lead because of our press and transition game,” said Coach Clay Crouch, his team going on to lose 59-43 to finish second. “When we got out of the press, we had trouble scoring at the rim because they’ve got two 6-8 guys guarding in there.”

Montgomery County took advantage of the reprieve, and the fact that Drew Voss came out for a bit after his second foul, and closed the gap, tying the game at 13 just before the end of the frame.

Linn hit a pair of freethrows to take a 15-13 lead into the second quarter.

From there it was a battle, with Linn on the wrong end of several categories, including points in the paint (22-34) and rebounding (17-32).

Montgomery County staked to a 31-28 lead by the break, but things really become uncomfortable in the third quarter, when the Wildcats scored just two points.

“You’re not going to win many games scoring two points in a quarter,” said Crouch. “We just didn’t hit shots. Sometimes the ball doesn’t go in.”

Linn recovered some of its offensive groove in the fourth with 11 points, but it wasn’t enough as Montgomery County pulled out the win.

Crouch said the Wildcats entered the game with only one thing in mind.

“We were coming in to win, but they’re a good team,” he said of Montgomery County, which is 15-2 after this win. “They’re a heck of a team. I know we lost, but games like this are going to make you better at the end of the year. I told the guys they played hard and fought, and they have to learn from it. We’ve been in three tournaments and have played for first in two of them, and have one more on Saturday at Owensville. That’s the first time that’s happened since I got here.”

Caleb Maassen led the Wildcats with 13 points as Jackson Voss added 12, with a 5-6 mark at the freethrow line and one three-pointer. Alek Peters hit a trey on his way to five points, and Andy Hueste drained a trey for his three points. D. Voss added four points, while Austin McKim and Alex Grellner put in two apiece.

J. Voss had two assists, and McKim and D. Voss provided one each.

On the glass, Peters snagged four rebounds to lead the team, as McKim and D. Voss grabbed three apiece, J. Voss had two, and Grellner and Maassen each posted one.

Defensively, D. Voss led with a pair of blocks and Maassen added another to go with a steal; Peters recorded two steals to go with one apiece from Hueste, Grellner and J. Voss.

“I give our guys a lot of credit,” said Crouch. “I’ve said this since I took the job: these guys want to work hard. We don’t have to beg them to do it; they’re great kids, and they’re going to keep fighting. That’s just the way they are, and that’s our school culture and the way it is in the community as well.”

Crouch is pleased with the effort and direction of the team.

“Our guys give us whatever we need,” said Crouch. “The progress we’ve made as a team has been incredible. We are developing a winning culture, and the guys are doing everything they can to keep it going, That makes coaching at Linn very enjoyable.”

The semifinal game against the host Bearcats flip-flopped with each quarter, but the Wildcats came out with a 50-48 win.

“What a game! We battled all night long and never gave in,” said Crouch. “We got down late in the game but made the plays we needed to win. We also really executed well late in the game to score in some much-needed situations. Give our kids credit. It is tough to beat the home team in their own tournament. I could not be more proud of our kids and their effort and poise. These are the kinds of games that really make you better as a team.”

Linn trailed 16-10 after the first quarter but used a 14-7 second to make it a 24-23 game at the half. The Bearcats took control of the third quarter, winning the frame 13-10 to keep the game close.

The Wildcats won the final period 16-12 to advance to the championship game.

Linn shot 54.5% from the floor and went 7-18 from three-point range with a 5-8 mark at the FT line.

Peters hit double figures with 13 points to pace the squad, as J. Voss added nine, followed by Maassen and Hueste (6 each), McKim and D. Voss (5 apiece), Parker Patterson (4), and Grellner (2). McKim and J. Voss posted three assists each, with two by Peters, and one apiece by Maassen, Patterson, Hueste and D. Voss.

On the boards, D. Voss collected seven rebounds to go with five by Maasen and three each from Peters and Grellner.

D. Voss also had a teamhigh three steals with one block, as J. Voss, Peters, Patterson and Hueste added a steal apiece, and Grellner had a block.

Three Wildcats reached double digits in the tournament opener against Wright City as Linn won 70-58.

Maassen (21), Peters (16) and D. Voss (14) led the offensive attack, as J. Voss put in nine, McKim added five, Caden Robinson scored three, and Patterson finished with two. J. Voss provided a team-high six assists and Peters added four. In this high-scoring affair, Linn won every quarter, with the biggest margin coming in a 16-8 third period.

“We played really well offensively,” said Crouch. “We were able to get our in transition and get some easy buckets which helps open other things up. I was a little disappointed in our defense and rebounding in the first half but we shored that up. Regardless, it was a good first win in a very tough tournament. I’m proud of our kids for their effort tonight.”

On the rebounding front, Maassen and Peters each collected eight, as D. Voss added six, J. Voss had four, Patterson posted three, and McKim and Grellner finished with two apiece.

Peter’s three steals were tops among the Wildcats, with one apiece by Patterson and D. Voss, who had a block. Peters also had a block.