Hesston boys basketball outlasts Moundridge in instant-classic 3OT title game
For more than two hours Saturday night, the Trojan Classic championship game felt less like a midseason tournament final and more like a state title preview.
Two of the most successful small-classification boys basketball programs in Kansas traded punches, answered every run and refused to blink until Hesston finally outlasted Moundridge for a 71-65 triple-overtime victory in an instant classic between high school powers.
By the end, legs were cramping, stars had fouled out and the final ledger read like a tug-of-war: 12 ties and 17 lead changes. Hesston, ranked No. 2 in Class 3A, improved to 15-1, while Moundridge, ranked No. 2 in Class 2A, fell to 13-2.
“There was a lot of talent spread across the floor and that was two teams who have won a lot of basketball games over the last five years,” Hesston coach Garrett Roth said. “You practice to play in those types of games against great teams and great coaching. I thought both teams really came to play. Eventually someone had to win, and I’m glad it was us.”
Hesston has won four 3A state titles in the last five seasons and is the defending champion, compiling a 129-10 record since the 2020-21 season. Moundridge captured the 2A title in 2023 and 2024 and finished runner-up last season, entering Saturday with an 84-8 record over the last four years.
There is a mutual respect between Roth and Moundridge coach Dustan Kanitz, which is the reason why they actually scheduled a regular-season game coming up on Feb. 16 in Hesston — a rematch that instantly became one of the most anticipated games left on the schedule.
“We have a lot of respect for those guys and this is just round one,” Kanitz said. “A game like that is only going to make each of us better. We put on a show, and it is a shame someone had to lose that game.”
Saturday’s version delivered everything the matchup promised.
Neither side could build much separation in the first half, but the tempo then swung sharply in the third quarter when Hesston’s Drew Bartell caught fire. The 6-foot-6 big man drilled three straight 3s and scored 11 points in the quarter, helping open up a 35-26 Hesston lead.
Moundridge answered with a jolt of its own before the buzzer. The Wildcats closed the third quarter on a 7-0 run, capped by a wild, 30-foot 3 from Jesse Lutz just before the horn. The shot trimmed the deficit and injected new life into Moundridge, which carried the momentum over and tied the game at 39 early in the fourth quarter.
Hesston responded again with a 7-0 burst to again threaten running away, but the Swathers didn’t score a field goal in the final four minutes of regulation. Moundridge locked down defensively and closed on an 8-1 run, including a key 3 from Layton Schmidt (17 points) and game-tying free throws from Heath Churchill with 56 seconds left.
Hesston held for the final shot, but Churchill smothered the jump shot of Bartell to send the game to overtime.
That was only the beginning.
The first overtime ended in chaos. Hesston’s Kason Landes split a pair of free throws to give the Swathers a 53-51 lead with 8.8 seconds left. Churchill grabbed the missed second free throw, sprinted the length of the floor, drove the baseline and whipped a wraparound pass to Easton Shahan for the game-tying layup at the buzzer to force a second extra period.
In the second overtime, stars traded three-point plays. Hesston senior Ty Unruh broke a 57-all tie with a crossover into the lane and a fouled floater, converting the and-one for a 60-57 lead with 1:01 left. Just 15 seconds later, Moundridge answered when Schmidt found Shahan cutting for a layup and a foul to tie it again at 60. Shahan had 14 points with 11 coming in the overtime sessions.
Hesston’s Jerick Humphreys then had a chance to win it at the line with 1.5 seconds left in double overtime, but missed both free throws to bring on a third extra session.
By then, Hesston had lost Bartell — its leading scorer and top option — to fouls. That left the burden on Unruh, who finished with a game-high 30 points, including 16 across the three overtime periods.
“Drew Bartell is our best player on the team and when he fouled out, everyone knew they were going to have to step up a little bit more,” Unruh said. “Being a senior, I knew I had to lead out there.”
Unruh didn’t just lead. He took over, even as his body began to fail him.
Play stopped early in the third overtime when he went down with cramps and needed treatment on the sideline. He hydrated with pickle juice and Gatorade, then checked back in and continued attacking.
“I haven’t played that much basketball in a while,” joked Unruh, who played 37 of the total 44 minutes. “But in my head, I knew in order for us to win, I was going to have to give everything. So that’s what I tried to do.”
The third overtime featured four lead changes by itself. Moundridge struck first with a bucket from Shahan. Hesston answered with two straight scores, including a circus layup from Unruh, to go up 64-62. Shahan countered with a floater and a free throw to give Moundridge a 65-64 edge with 1:59 left.
The decisive sequence came moments later. Using a ball screen at the top of the key, Unruh rejected the pick, drove right, absorbed contact at the rim and powered in a layup while drawing the foul. He completed the three-point play to put Hesston ahead 67-65 with 1:34 to go. Moundridge never scored again, as Hesston sealed the win at the free-throw line.
“He was just incredible,” Roth said of Unruh. “You could tell he wanted the ball in his hands and he didn’t think anyone could stop him. And he played like it.”
When asked what lifted him during the overtime periods, Unruh didn’t hesitate to credit his fellow star in Bartell, despite fouling out early in the overtime sessions. According to Unruh, the big man, who finished with 20 points, still affected the outcome from the bench.
“Sometimes when guys foul out, they just sit on the bench and pout, but Drew was hyping everyone up and making sure we were in the right mindset to win,” Unruh said. “Honestly, that was such a huge help. He helped us finish that game, even without his presence being on the court.”
Both coaches came away confident that their teams improved by playing in such a competitive championship game.
The best part? Round two is coming in two weeks.
“I was really proud of our effort and that was just a battle between two great teams,” Kanitz said. “Somebody had to lose in the end. But that was a great opportunity to play almost a state tournament type of game at the end of January.”
This story was originally published February 1, 2026 at 6:03 AM.
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