By MATT PIKE
The Penney Hornets battled with the Nodaway Valley Thunder in the Class 2 District 16 championship game at St. Joseph Christian High School, battling through foul troubles in a back and forth contest to a 66-63 victory and their first district title since 2016.
Head coach Doug Burnett says it feels really good to bring the first district title in a decade back to Hamilton.
"Our guys have to deal with, I tell them all the time, they have to deal with me being on them nonstop, all game long, about what it takes to be a champion, the attitude you have to have every single day," Burnett tells reporters after the game. "We know this was not won the last week, this was won all the work they did in the summer, all the work they did in the fall, all of those things, we're just lucky to have great kids."
Despite constant pressure from the Thunder, many times being triple covered, Jacob Miller scored seven of the Hornets first 10 points of the afternoon, helping lead Penney to a 21-13 lead at the end of the first quarter. Miller was held to just two points the remainder of the half and Nodaway Valley went on the attack, outscoring the Hornets 19-17 heading into the halftime break trailing by just six points, with Penney leading 38-32.
As the third quarter rolled along, fouls began to pile up for Miller, having three by the end, but again posting another seven point quarter to help keep Penney ahead 51-42 heading into the final quarter. Early on in the fourth though, Miller picked up his fourth foul, forcing him to the bench.
Even with Miller in foul trouble though, eventually even fouling out late in the final quarter, the Hornets had young players step up in the absence of the senior big man. Burnett says it was big to have those other players step up.
"We do that on purpose sometimes, we do a whole bunch of Jake with four JV players versus our other five guys, and we tell them all the time we're going to need you in this moment, we're going to need you in this moment, we're going to need you in this moment," Burnett explains. "And they stepped up and they did it, it's fun as a coach that you hammer them on stuff and you're talking to them about stuff, and then it just pops up like you said it was going to, it makes us feel good that they believe in us."
With Miller out of the game, the Thunder did rally back to tie the game at 59 with 1:11 left in regulation. The Hornets hit key free throws down the stretch though, and some big shots, to pull out the 66-63 victory and advance to their first sectional round of the state tournament since 2016.
Along the way to the district title, the Hornets who sat as the #3 seed, beat Maysville by one point, the #2 seed Gallatin Bulldogs by six, before beating the top seed Nodaway Valley in the championship. Miller say's he's just blessed in the position he's in with this team.
"We've been working so hard this season and the proof is in the pudding," Miller says.
Along with Miller, another player that's stepped up this season for Penney is freshman point guard Hudson Creekmore. Creekmore says this district title is a credit to all the extra work this team has put in.
"All of us are in the gym after practice putting in the work and just stick to our gameplan," Creekmore says. "And we've got this mindset that says no more losses and we stick to it."
Creekmore led the Hornets with 23 points while Miller added 20. Jared Cooley scored 10 points for Penney. For the Thunder, Jax Cowden led all scorers with 19 points and Braxton McGinness added 18 points. Deontrae Mincy chipped in 10 points.
Penney now advances to the Class 2 sectionals where they will face Wellington-Napoleon on Tuesday. The Hornets faced Wellington-Napoleon in the 2016 sectional round and fell 63-51 to the Tigers, who eventually went on to win third place in the state tournament. The game on Tuesday will tip off at 6pm at Mid-Buchanan High School in Faucett.
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.