In the annual Hoops for Hope game, the Millard West boys basketball team traveled down Q Street to take on Millard South on Friday, Jan. 28.

Millard West started off scoring early in the quarter when sophomore Max Frohloff hit a 3 pointer from the right wing to make the score 3-0; however, Millard South quickly countered with a layup of their own to make the score 3-2. After trading turnovers, neither team would score for the next few possessions until Millard South made a layup to retake the lead at 4-3.

“To be honest, I don’t think there was much positive that came from the game,” Frohloff said. “We need to improve on playing with intensity on the glass.”

On their next possession, Millard South extended their lead to 6-3 after a layup. After Millard West fouled the Patriots on a three point attempt, Millard South knocked down two of three free throw attempts to make it 8-3. Millard South would extend their lead to 9-3 with 1:30 to go in the quarter with a one for two trip to the free throw line. On their next possession, the Patriots threw up an alley-oop to extend the lead. There was no more scoring for the remainder of the quarter, with Millard South leading the Wildcats 11-3.

Millard South started off the second quarter scoring with a mid-range jumper to make it 13-3. Senior Trace Thaden got on the board for the Wildcats, trimming the deficit to eight. Millard South answered quickly with two straight layups to extend their lead to 12, their largest lead of the night. Millard West missed two free throws at the line to keep the deficit at 12. The next few possessions were very defensive and there was no scoring for nearly three minutes.

Millard West finally broke the scoring drought when Thaden made a layup inside to cut the disadvantage to 17-7. On the next possession, Millard South responded immediately with a 3 pointer. Millard South extends their lead to 15 points with two free throws with 35 seconds left in the half. Junior Peyton Moore knocked down a free throw, and Millard West went into the half trailing 22-8. 

“We continued to fight the entire game,” Moore said. “We could improve how we attack the defense and create more opportunities for better shots.”

During halftime, the Junior and Senior Class Boards from both schools presented a check of over $1,000 to the American Cancer Society as part of the annual Hoops for Hope event. Money was raised the week leading up to the game, when t-shirts of varying colors were sold to represent many different kinds of cancer. Players wore the Hoops for Hipe shirts as warm-up shirts, and fans were encouraged to wear bright colors to the game. 

The third quarter started with the first few possessions resulting in missed shots and turnovers. Millard South took a timeout with 6:13 to go to see if they could get their offense going. The Wildcats and Patriots traded baskets, and the score was 25-12 Millard South. The Patriots go on a 5-0 mini scoring run to extend their lead to 30-12. Two free throws by Thaden trimmed the deficit to 30-17. Millard South responded with a strong drive and layup to extend their lead to 32-17. Millard South got a 3 at the end of the third quarter to extend their lead to 33-19.

“Our guys played really hard and did a good job of guarding Millard South’s top three players,” head coach Bill Morrison said. “We need to find ways to score. We are trying to make some adjustments to try to get some easier baskets.”

Avery Moore began the fourth quarter with a layup, but Millard South responded with a shot of their own. Thaden finished a driving layup to cut the deficit to 15. Millard South responds with a layup to push their lead out to 17, their largest lead of the night with 4:42 to play.  The teams were scoring pretty evenly the rest of the game. Millard South came out on top in the Battle of Q Street by a score of 46-30.