LANCER CLASSIC: McAuley, College Heights girls suffer losses to end tourney play
CHEROKEE, Kan. — Columbus took control early and the Titans defeated McAuley Catholic 47-33 on Saturday in the girls third-place game of the Lancer Classic at Southeast High School.
Columbus held a 25-14 advantage at halftime and the Titans led 37-21 after three periods of play.
The Warriors won the fourth quarter 12-10, but it wasn’t enough.
“We didn’t have one of our best games,” McAuley coach Mike Howard told SoMo Sports. “We were just outplayed today in almost all areas of the game. Columbus had a good game plan and they executed it well. They made several shots against our defense and out-hustled us. We struggled to execute on the offensive end and turned the ball over way too many times.”
Lily Black scored 12 points to lead the Warriors, while Kennedy DeRuy added 11 and Avery Eminger had seven.
“One bright spot was junior Lily Black,” Coach Howard said. “She finished with 12 points on 60% shooting, 12 rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots.”
Sophomore guard Kloee Williamson missed a second straight game with an illness.
Three Titans scored 11 points—Katy Mooney, Grace Major and Lily Mooney.
McAuley (12-4) is at Wheaton on Tuesday.
RIVERTON HOLDS OFF COUGARS
CHEROKEE, Kan. — Riverton’s girls held on late and edged College Heights Christian 42-37 in the fifth-place game of the Lancer Classic on Saturday.
“A poor shooting game was our downfall today,” College Heights coach John Blankenship told SoMo Sports. “There were times we executed our offense well, but missed easy shots. We shot 24% from the field and went 5-for-21 from the foul line. It’s tough to win games shooting like that. We work hard on our defense in practice. It’s a point of emphasis and something we make part of our team identity. That very commitment to defense kept us in the game.”
Riverton led 12-6 at the end of the first quarter and the Rams were up 20-12 at intermission.
College Heights outscored Riverton 11-7 in the third period. The Rams won the close fourth quarter 15-14.
“We managed to knock down a few 3s in the second half and cut the lead to one point,” Blankenship said. “I was proud of how hard our team fought back in the second half. Our defense usually gives us a chance on nights when our offense struggles, but missing 16 free throws was too much to overcome.”
Addie Lawrence scored 16 points to lead College Heights, while Jayli Johnson had seven steals.
The Cougars (6-6) host Galena at 6 on Monday at OCC.
WEBB CITY GIRLS FINISH STRONG IN TOURNEY FINALE
ROGERSVILLE, Mo. — Webb City’s girls ended the Lady Wildcat Classic on a positive note.
Down five early in the fourth quarter, Webb City finished the contest on a 10-2 run to claim a 45-40 victory over Branson in the tourney’s seventh-place game on Saturday at Logan-Rogersville High School.
Webb City trailed 30-28 at the end of the third quarter and the Pirates led 33-28 early in the fourth period.
A trey from Kirra Long and a hoop in the paint from Kenzie Robbins tied the game at 35 with six minutes to play.
A pair of short jumpers near the foul line from Sami Mancini and a 3-pointer from the left wing from Kate Brownfield gave the Cardinals a 42-38 lead with 2:20 remaining.
The Pirates pulled within two on a hoop from Gracie Jaeger, but Mancini’s hoop with a minute left gave Webb City a four-point cushion.
Both teams had empty possessions before Long made 1-of-2 free throws for the final margin.
Webb City (7-8) hosts Rogersville at 7 on Monday night.
THOMAS JEFFERSON BOYS END CLASSIC WITH COMEBACK WIN
LIBERAL, Mo. — Thomas Jefferson’s boys basketball team overcame a 15-point deficit and earned a 65-60 victory over Liberal in the Tony Dubray Classic’s third-place game on Saturday night.
Cavaliers coach Chris Myers noted his squad battled foul trouble and also had to overcome Liberal’s hot-shooting in the first half.
Liberal was up 37-28 at halftime. The Cavaliers outscored the Bulldogs 19-6 in the third quarter. Thomas Jefferson won a back and forth fourth period 18-17.
Jay Ball scored 21 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and had three blocked shots for Thomas Jefferson. Tyler Brouhard scored 17 points and had four assists, while Drew Goodhope contributed 12 points and four assists. Also for TJ, Elias Rincker chipped in nine points.
Liberal’s Caleb Suschnick scored 22 points, while Kale Marti added 14 and Payton Morrow had 12.
Thomas Jefferson (11-3) is at Sheldon on Tuesday.
RIVERTON BOYS 62, MCAULEY CATHOLIC 31
CHEROKEE, Kan. — Riverton outscored McAuley 21-9 in the first quarter and never looked back in the Lancer Classic’s seventh-place game.
The Rams took a 36-18 lead into halftime and then put the game away with a 22-8 third period.
Kable Reichardt and Noah Black scored eight points apiece for McAuley.
Loch North scored 17 points for Riverton and Jamey Richardson added 12.
The Warriors (3-13) are at Wheaton on Tuesday.
