BOLIVAR, Mo. — The Seneca Indians stuck around with eighth-ranked Rogersville for most of their Class 4 sectional contest on Monday night at the Meyer Sports Center on the campus of Southwest Baptist University.
Rogersville opened and closed out quarters better than Seneca, scoring eight of the game’s first nine points, four straight points at the end of the first quarter, five straight at the end of the second, four straight at the end of the third, and then the game’s last four points to punctuate a 56-42 win for the Wildcats.
Rogersville and Seneca traded scoring runs in the first quarter.
The Wildcats jumped out quickly 11-4 with three trifectas from Ross Lawrence and Brody McNiel and a basket from Curry Sutherland.
The Indians responded with a 10-2 answer of their own and Morgan Vaughn’s first basket gave the Indians what turned out to be their only lead at 14-13.
Zane Grotjohn hit two of his three 3-pointers in the first to spark the Indians’ 10-2 run and his fourth trifecta of the first half provided a 23-all score.
Grotjohn scored a team-high 15 points, all on 3-point baskets, and Vaughn added 13 points on a night when the points started drying up for Seneca against Rogersville’s stout defense, reflected by Seneca’s 19 second-half points.
Playing in his final high school game, Seneca’s lone senior Cooper Long closed out his career with a five-point night.
Blake Hurn also had five points for the Indians, while Ethan Altic and Gavyn Hoover each reached the scoring column with two points.
The Indians finish their season 17-12 overall, improved their win total by eight from the previous season, and won their first district title since 2013 in Cort Hardy’s first season as head coach.
Sutherland played through foul trouble most of the night and finished with a game-high 20 points to spark the Wildcats with 10 scored in each half.
Lawrence and Keegun Daniels added 14 and 11 points, respectively, as Rogersville scored 28 points in both halves.
Rogersville improved to 26-3 overall and extended a winning streak that began on January 28 against New Madrid Central to 12 games entering Friday’s Class 4 state quarterfinal contest with Father Tolton (20-9) back at the Meyer Center in Bolivar.
