EXETER, Mo. —The Thomas Jefferson Independent School basketball teams swept Exeter on Monday night in their respective season openers.
The Thomas Jefferson boys came from behind to beat the Tigers 66-65.
Exeter led 44-42 entering the fourth quarter, but the Cavaliers outscored the Tigers 24-21 in the final frame.
Senior post player Jay Ball led the Cavaliers with 24 points, 15 rebounds and four blocked shots, while senior guard/forward Tyler Brouhard added 15 points, hitting a pair of 3-pointers.
Kohl Thurman scored eight for TJ, while Kip Atteberry and Levi Triplett added seven points apiece. Also for the Cavaliers (1-0), Tony Touma scored three points, Ethan Renger had two.
Kason Nelson scored 16 points and Nathaniel Tackett added 14 to lead Exeter (0-1).
The Thomas Jefferson girls rolled to a 52-26 victory.
The Cavaliers (1-0) got off to a slow start with just eight points in the first quarter, but the visitors erupted for 17 points in the second period.
Thomas Jefferson also finished strong by scoring 18 points in the fourth quarter.
Gabbi Hiebert scored 17 points and hit a 3-pointer to lead the TJ girls.
Sophomore Lannah Grigg scored 19 points for TJ, while sophomore Presley Long added eight points and junior Alexis Stamps had five.
Tannah Grigg, Sarah Mueller and Nico Carlson all contributed four points apiece.
Both Thomas Jefferson squads are at Bronaugh on Tuesday night.
NEOSHO, Mo. — The Seneca Indians opened their season with a 66-63 win Monday night over their Newton County rival Neosho Wildcats.
Seneca heated up from 3-point range early on and built a 24-12 lead after one quarter. Neosho outscored Seneca 32-19 in the second and third quarters to enter the fourth ahead by a 44-43 score.
Neosho fell behind seven early in the fourth but righted the ship and earned a 61-all score on a Meredith Baldwin trifecta in the final minute, but Seneca’s sensational sophomore Hazley Grotjohn scored four straight points to give the Indians a 65-61 lead with 13.1 seconds remaining in regulation.
Neosho’s Beclynn Garrett goes up for a layup against Seneca’s Hazley Grotjohn and Samarah Mittag. Photo by Derek Livingston.
Grotjohn fouled out less than four seconds later, but not before scoring a game-high 35 points with 30 of them produced in the second half. At one point in the third and early in the fourth, Grotjohn had scored 16 straight Seneca points.
“We did not come out with the type of energy that we want to, and so it took a little while for us to get started,” Neosho coach Daniel Durst said. “Once we did, unfortunately we had dug ourselves a little bit of a hole that we had to fight out from and that’s always tough and it takes a lot of energy. You can tell that we were struggling through it, but I’m proud that we fought back and now it’s just onto the next step where we finish these types of games where they’re super close.
“We have got to get to the point where we can finish. Unfortunately, we haven’t been in a ton of these situations, so this was a great learning experience for us. I keep trying to tell them that every game before Christmas is a stepping stone and we learn something. Next time we’re in this situation, we’ll be a little bit better at it.”
Senior post Karlee Ellick led Neosho with 23 points, sophomore Beclynn Garrett added 17 with 12 of them in the second half, senior Baldwin scored all eight of her points in the fourth, junior Courtney Thomason added five, freshman Autumn Kinnaird four, and seniors Reagan McInturff and Maelynn Garrett three each.
Neosho dropped to 1-1 on the season, and the Wildcats return to action Tuesday on the road against Clinton.
“The biggest thing is the fight we had,” Durst said. “We never gave up. Not once. That was a huge point coming into the season, that we’re going to play hard each and every minute.
“We scored quite a few points tonight, which is something that we struggled with last year. Everybody was looking to score and to attack, and that’s something we’ve pushed hard. I’m proud of them for that.
“Defensively, Grotjohn’s a tough matchup and I thought we guarded her well. It wasn’t perfect all the time, but I feel like we worked hard guarding her so I’m proud of that as well.”
Seneca, 1-0 on the season, does not return to action until after Thanksgiving break with play in the CJ Classic next Monday against Parkview.
In the opener against Neosho, senior Parker Long scored 10 of her 14 points in the first quarter, junior Samarah Mittag added seven, senior Daylin McKnight six, and junior Sydnee Staley four.
The Indians made 10 3-point baskets Monday with half of them in the first quarter.
Neosho’s student section cheers on the girls basketball team on Monday during the Wildcats’ game with Seneca. Photo by Derek Livingston.
Neosho’s bench celebrates after a made 3-pointer on Monday night. Neosho suffered a 66-63 loss to Seneca. Photo by Derek Livingston.
Neosho’s Karlee Ellick shoots over Seneca’s Makenzie French during Monday’s game at Neosho High School. Photo by Derek Livingston.
