MVC Roundup: Panthers' Hays embraces last hurrah; Doublin's redemption with Tigers; Wildcats poised for title repeat

For Meadow Heights senior Braedan Hays, the Panthers' 73-43 win over Marquand-Zion to tip off the Mississippi Valley Conference Tournament is the beginning of the final month of his basketball career.

Once Hays straps on the cleats and steps onto the baseball diamond, he will not be looking back. Until then, he's enjoying being the Panthers' leading scorer.

"If I finish off this year like I'm playing now," Hays said, "I'll let this be the last year and I'll be happy with it."

Hays scored 33 points to put Meadow Heights back to .500 with a 7-7 record. He made a near-perfect 11-of-12 from the free throw line. He credited that to his movement around the court and his teammates finding him for looks and then "knocking down shots and making a good layup."

When asked the difference between Hays as a junior and now as a senior, he said, "Confidence, and just knowing I can do it, and then actually hitting the shots when I get the attempt."

Hays put himself on the radar at the start of the season when he led the Panthers to the Woodland Invitational Tournament final and made the All-Tournament team. He soon scored his 1,000th career point in a 69-45 home win over Bismarck on Dec. 20, 2024.

The Panthers were an early exit in the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament, but with only two games played, Hays scored the second most points (42) and only fell to the Top 15 by the end of the four-day year-end event.

"I would have rather won than scored all those points, though," Hays said. "It was cool to hit the net that many times and just put up that many points for that big crowd."

With baseball being his true passion, the positives that his success on the basketball court — and his one year as a state-qualified cross-country runner — provides him is forging his competitive side leading up to the spring.

"It's probably made me more competitive because I feel like basketball is probably more competitive," Hays said "There's more face-to-face and one-on-one stuff, so it probably gave me a better mindset, just made me tougher as an individual."

Fellow senior Damion Hulbert scored 11 points, and Case Seabaugh added eight points in the second half for the Panthers. Hays' last season is also his first with new head coach Gary Poyner, but the chemistry he has with his seniors has been a benefit.

"I've been playing with these guys since fourth grade," Hays said. "We just know how to play with each other since we have been doing it forever."

Marquand moving up

If Marquand-Zion leaves the MVC Tournament with at least one win, the Tigers will match last season's win total. Should they win another game in the five final regular season games after (four of which at home) then the Tigers will once again have the most wins since 2015-16 (15-11).

Charles Doublin is confident in the Tigers potentially finishing the season with 10 wins in his second season in his second stint as head coach. This is a big deal for Marquand, who won a total of nine games in the two years prior to Doublin's return.

It's a form of redemption for Doublin, whose first tenure ended with him overseeing the beginning of a five-year stretch in which the Tigers won only two games.

"We're changing the culture, and they're learning the game of basketball," Doublin said. "This team is really eager to learn things. It's easier with this group. They're buying into concepts of how to play the game, and they start to learn game situation stuff where they didn't know that stuff before.

One sign of the Tigers being a more competitive unit is the fact that their 73-43 loss to Meadow Heights on Monday was the first time they were turbo-clocked all season. A season that includes a pair of comeback wins over two Class 3 teams, Grandview and Bourbon.

"Last year, we either won good against some teams or we get the turbo clock every game that we lost," Doublin said.

Marquand only has two seniors, Braydan Homan, and Elijah Whitener, but the duo are holdovers from Doublin's time as the middle school coach. Homan has long been one of the Tigers' main scorers but while he's been recovering from an illness, Whitener filled the role and scored 11 points against the Panthers.

The Tigers also have two sophomores, Hayden Wolfe and Eli Reimler, who make up the backcourt of both the present and future. Reimler led the Tigers with 12 points against the Panthers a game after Wolfe put up 23.

"They're pretty tough," Doublin said. "Hayden and Eli both hit double digits a lot."

Another thing about the program that Doublin is encouraged by is the Tigers' increase in size and athleticism this season. Homan has been getting help in the frontcourt from Justin Dees and Kolby Stafford.

In a crowded Class 1 District 2 in which Leopold stands above as the only team with a winning record, Doublin is confident this could be a year where the Tigers find their postseason roar.

"Depending on where we're seeded, I think we can compete and maybe sneak a win in the district," Doublin said. "I really do."

Leopold favored for a MVC repeat

Leopold won the MVC title last season and looks primed to win it again after defeating host Zalma 67-22 on Monday.

Preston Campbell led the Wildcats with 15 points, followed by 14 points from Tommy Beussink. The duo has led Leopold in scoring throughout the season. Most notably in the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament, where both Beussink and Campbell, an All-Tournament member, finished among the Top 10 in scoring while leading the Wildcat to the consolation title.

The Wildcats kept the Bulldogs under double digits scoring in each of the four quarters. A three-point basket from Nate Borders and Destin Chamberlain was all the offense Zalma could muster in the first quarter. Both Borders and Chamberlain went on to lead Zalma with seven points each.

Campbell helped Leopold establish a 14-6 first-quarter lead with six points in the opening period. Beussink made three baskets from the three-point line in the second quarter to put Leopold up 38-12 at halftime.

Cohen Campbell and Alexander Hampton each put up six points in the third quarter as the Wildcats outscored the Bulldogs 25-5 to start the second half. Leopold cruised through an accelerated fourth quarter to end the game.

Zalma made 7-of-16 from the free throw line. The Bulldogs (2-12) play Meadow Heights on Tuesday and Marquand-Zion on Thursday, while Leopold faces Marquand-Zion on Tuesday and Meadow Heights on Thursday to finish the round-robin tournament. Leopold's matchup against their former coach could potentially be for the gold.

Leopold has won three straight games and five of its last seven games. At 12-8 on the season, the Wildcats are the only team in Class 1 District 2 with a winning record.

With a favorable remaining schedule, the Wildcats are primed for not only another MVC title but their first district championship since 2022.