Scoring sensation is making Mulvane boys basketball believe it can win a state title

Mike Abasolo knows exactly how ludicrous it sounds when he talks about winning a state championship at Mulvane.

After all, Mulvane’s boys basketball team has been to the state tournament once in the last 33 years. Decades of mediocre seasons have occurred since Mulvane won its lone state title in 1984.

In fact, Abasolo, now the coach at Mulvane, was part of some of those mediocre teams as a player for the Wildcats who graduated in 1996.

“We bought into the stereotypes of who we were and what was realistic for us,” Abasolo said. “It wasn’t until I played in college where we talked about winning a championship. That was never discussed when I was in high school so I know what it sounds like when I’m telling kids in Mulvane, America our goal is to win a championship. They don’t really believe you the first time you say it.”

After seven straight losing seasons, Mulvane is starting to believe it can be a championship contender. With senior scoring sensation Trey Abasolo (23.5 points) leading the way, Mulvane is off to an 8-0 start to the season, its best since 1958, and ranked No. 2 in Class 4A ahead of Tuesday’s game at Lyndon.

“Our job has been to mentor our kids and open up their imagination to understanding what it means when you are trying to win a state championship,” Abasolo said. “It reflects back on how we practice and how we learn. We talk about embracing tough practices if we want to win tough games.”

Abasolo was never more proud of his team grinding out a tough game than when Mulvane prevailed 60-53 in overtime at Andale, a perennial title contender in AV-CTL Div. IV.

Typically, Mulvane banks on playing higher-tempo games and simply out-gunning the other team on offense. But Abasolo wanted to see how his team would react to the challenge of playing a low-possession game against a good defense. Mulvane responded by out-scoring Andale 7-0 in the overtime period to win and remain the only unbeaten team in league play.

“I was kind of glad to see us struggle, to be honest,” Abasolo said. “I was glad to see us have to figure out how to swim in the ocean without a life jacket. When the ball wasn’t going in the rim for us like we wanted to, can we win a game where they have to defend in the half-court first? That was the test we had been talking about for awhile.”

More times than not, Trey Abasolo has been the life jacket for Mulvane. The senior, now second all-time at Mulvane in scoring, is averaging 23.5 points on 46% shooting. The 6-foot-1 Southwestern verbal pledge also averages 9.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.8 steals.

“Trey is an extension of a coach on the floor,” said Mike Abasolo, his father. “He’s the highest IQ player you can find. He gets everybody in spots. He’s always talking. I honestly don’t have to say a lot. He makes me look good.”

Trey Abasolo is the player who will keep opposing coaches up late, but he’s not the only reason why Mulvane has transformed from a 10-12 team last season to a title contender this season. Three juniors have also taken the leap this season in Ian Comer (14.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.3 steals), Landon Coe (11.0 points, 5.0 assists) and Mason Ellis (7.1 points). The arrival of freshman Kaiden Abasolo (4.6 points), Trey’s younger brother, has also helped strengthen the starting lineup.

With minimal parents in the stands, Mike Abasolo, now in his sixth season as head coach, wishes the Mulvane community could see how fun and exciting the Wildcats are this season. They average 64.9 points and nearly 12 assists per game.

“We might be the greatest team no one has seen play,” Abasolo said, laughing. “In this covid era, it’s difficult knowing if anyone knows. I kind of feel like we’re playing in a vacuum and we’ve got blinders on. I’ve kind of had my head down and taking it game-by-game, but I did start getting some text messages from the old guys from the 1984 state championship team. So there are some people excited about us.”

Monday’s scores

Boys

Maize South 52, Shawnee Heights 29 (McPherson)

Shawnee Heights: Pewe 6, Davis 6, Showalter 5, Rantz 4, Sanders 3, Ginter 3, Dodge 2.

Maize South: Gholar 16, Scott 14, Atwater 9, Clyne 6, Homan 3, Shields 2, Steinhoff 2.

Manhattan 61, McPherson 53 (McPherson)

Manhattan: Carr 15, Braxmeyer 14, Brown 11, Perkins 5, C. Wilson 4, Hall 4, J. Wilson 4, Coonrod 2, Reid 2.

McPherson: Madron 16, Pyle 11, Dukes 9, Buckbee 8, Elliot 5, Alexander 2, Gibbs 2.

Cheney 60, Andale 40 (Halstead)

Andale: Winter 10, Nemechek 9, Spexarth 6, Seiler 4, Reichenberger 4, Orth 3, Ziegler 2, Kerschen 2.

Cheney: Grace 23, Voth 17, Middleton 11, Doshier 5, Bartlett 4.

Minneapolis 75, Winfield 54 (Halstead)

Winfield: Towles 15, Beckwith 11, Thiel 9, Harper 7, Moore 5, Yingling 4, Acosta 3.

Minneapolis: White 19, Davidson 19, Moeckel 8, Smith 8, Vance 6, Rice 6, Nelson 5, Watson 4.

Hutch Trinity 56, Southeast-Saline 54 (Sterling)

Southeast-Saline: Banks 12, J. Gebhardt 11, Spano-Lund 10, Morrical-Palmer 9, Sawyers 7, L. Gebhardt 3, Harris 2.

Hutch Trinity: L. Hammeke 30, Remar 9, W. Gray 8, L. Gray 4, B. Hammeke 3, Harris 2.

Sedan 72, Oxford 23

Sedgwick 70, Bluestem 29

West Elk 62, Flinthills 26

Berean Academy 63, Burrton 10 (Burrton)

Fairfield 52, Pretty Prairie 45 (Burrton)

Girls

Maize 34, Andale 29

Maize: Frenchers 11, Wedman 11, Holmes 6, Miller 6.

Andale: Wegerer 9, M. Fairchild 7, Winter 4, Baalman 4, K. Fairchild 3, Eck 2.

Belle Plaine 33, Medicine Lodge 26

Medicine Lodge: Fischer 10, Bryan 6, Jacobson 6, Alojacin 2, Smith 2.

Belle Plaine: Karagianis 11, Cooper 8, Glover 6, Hunter 4, Mowdy 2, Lujan 2.

Cheney 62, Chaparral 27

Smoky Valley 51, Kingman 37 (Sterling)

Kingman: Pearce 16, Schreiner 6, K. Belt 5, DeWeese 4, J. Belt 3, Walters 3.

Smoky Valley: Hazelwood 20, Priddy 10, Brumbaugh 7, Johnson 5, Mullen 3, Rose 2, Haxton 2, Broxterman 2.

Ellinwood 58, Pratt 37

Eureka 34, Bluestem 28

This story was originally published January 19, 2021 at 3:34 AM.

Taylor Eldridge

The Wichita Eagle

316-268-6270

Wichita State athletics beat reporter. Bringing you closer to the Shockers you love and inside the sports you love to watch.