It’s a “Q” thing! Quitman has quashed Stanley 44-33 in the Class B Quarterfinals to qualify as one of the quartet to play in the state tournament. 

With the victory, the #3 seed Wolverines will put their sterling 26-5 record on the line at Barton Coliseum in Lake Charles, LA on Monday, March 9th in the semi-finals of the Class B tournament against perennial small school power and #2 seed Zwolle, who advanced by beating #7 Hathaway 55-40.

“Playing on Monday is a quick turnaround against a Zwolle program that is always down there,” said Quitman head coach Mike Black. “It won’t be easy, but nothing worthwhile is.”

Game to be broadcast on 94.1 FM

The contest will be broadcast on Q 94.1 FM, with the pregame show coming on about 30 minutes prior to the scheduled 6:15 pm tip off. If the Wolverines win, they will play the winner of #4 Lacassine and #8 Pitkin for the Class B state title at 6:00 pm on Friday, March 13th, and that contest will also be broadcast on 94.1 FM.

Not a “GQ” thing! While the victory over the #6 seed Panthers will always be a beautiful memory for the QHS faithful, the game was by no means a pretty one; it was a hard-fought, gritty, defensive struggle. 

A “tale of the tape” shows that Quitman made only 12 of 36 (33%) shots the entire game, including making 3 of 13 from the three-point line, all far below their season average. Stanley was even worse at 27% from the field and a dismal 2 of 20 (10%) from beyond the arc.

One of the major advantages that Quitman held in the game was at the charity stripe, where the Wolverines excelled, making 17 of 22 (77%) compared to just 5 for Stanley. Quitman also won the rebounding battle by a 34-22 margin. 

Turning the tide! What turned out to be the biggest difference in the game began early in the first quarter and carried over into the second, when, after spotting Stanley a 6-3 lead, the Wolverines scored 18 straight points to take a commanding 21-6 lead that sent the home faithful who had packed the Quitman gymnasium into a frenzy. 

Taden Time! A major catalyst to the Wolverines’ victory was Taden Thomas, who scored 12 points and pulled down 9 rebounds, both team highs. Braden Martin also came up big by chipping in with 10 points and making 3 of Quitman’s 6 steals on the night. Also making strong contributions were Braden Smith and Kaleb Maxwell, who scored 7 and 6 points, respectively. On the night, when points were at a premium, Shane Reed finished with four, Asher Schultz totalled three, and Abel Leach sank a pair of free throws while pulling down 6 rebounds. Two players scored all but four points for Stanley (23-7), which finished second to Zwolle in the District 3B race, as J Sudds made a game high 17 and K Thomas added 12 points.

One for the ages! While coach Black was overjoyed following the victory, he also recognized how much it meant for his team to reach the state tournament. 

“My first day at Quitman, I told my team I wanted Quitman to experience playing at the state. We’ve been building toward that, and we broke through tonight,” said Black. “It means a lot to the school. We’ve had a lot of athletic success recently, and basketball wants to join the club. This moment is also for the past players who helped get the program to this point.”

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