A chance at championship glory is on the line for the Winfield-Mount Union boys’ basketball team tonight when they play New London in the Class 1A District 7 finals. The Wolves have been on a roll late in the season, winning seven in a row to raise their record to 19-4. Junior forward Cam Buffington continues to put up big performances, including scoring 27 points in WMU’s latest playoff win over Burlington Notre Dame. Buffington averages better than 19 points and nine rebounds per game and has a terrific running mate in classmate Abram Edwards, who averages 11 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Winfield-Mount Union head coach Klay Edwards tells KCII Sports they know there’s a great New London team waiting for them in this title-game tussle.
“We’re going to have our hands full.” Edwards says. “They got Kade Benjamin back, who’s a fantastic player. And Blaise [Porter], you just hope that he’s not firing on all cylinders and knocking [shots] down from deep all night, because he’s going to be tough to stay in front of. It’s going to take a team effort.”
New London presents a difficult challenge for the Wolves because of their own dynamic duo of seniors. Blaise Porter is one of the state’s premier players, putting up almost 25 points, eight rebounds and five assists a game. Benjamin has been just as good in the post, compiling better than 19 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots per contest for the 17-6 Tigers. WMU has been on the wrong end of the last three meetings. Winfield-Mount Union looks to avenge last year’s three-point loss in a district championship game to Danville by taking down New London this evening. Tip-off of the 1A District 7 finals is slated for 7 p.m. from Mediapolis.