DIAMOND, Mo. — McAuley Catholic closed out the Gem City Classic in style, rallying back late for a 46-42 win over Sarcoxie on Friday.
After the Warriors took a 14-9 lead after the first quarter, Sarcoxie responded by outscoring McAuley 23-8 over the second and third quarters to hold a 32-22 lead heading into the final eight minutes of play. The Warriors rallied back down the stretch to outscore the Bears 24-10 on the way to their first win over the season.
“I’m extremely proud of this team’s ability to bounce back from the loss last night,” McAuley coach Tony Witt said. “Give Sarcoxie credit, we did not respond well against their defense in the middle quarters. We found ourselves down again after three quarters, but these guys showed a lot of heart in the fourth to get back in it. We could have folded but kept battling. I was extremely please with our poise down the stretch. With an inexperienced team like we have, we showed a lot of maturity late in the 4th quarter. We grew up as a team tonight.”
Noah Black led McAuley in scoring with 16 points, while Jeffery Horinek finished with 10.
Tyler Cupp had 21 points to lead Sarcoxie.
McAuley hosts Pierce City at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
