The first night of play at the 44th Annual Wildcat Classic in Slater provided no surprises as the higher seeded teams each came away with victories as the four first-round boys games took place Monday evening.
As is often the case, the best matchup of the opening round usually pits the four-seed versus the five-seed which proved to be the case once again this time. This contest saw Pilot Grove square off against Carrollton with the higher-seeded Tiger squad hanging on at the end to squeak past the Trojans, 57-55. It was a game where Pilot Grove fell behind early, trailing 14-5 during the first quarter before mounting a second-period comeback which saw them go on top, 27-25 by the time intermission came around. The two teams then traded the lead throughout the final half with the Tigers making just enough shots to win by a pair, 57-55. Beau Walker helped ice the contest as he connected on two free throws in the waning seconds of play, giving his side an insurmountable, two-possession lead at the time.
Walker and Lyle Christy did most of the scoring for the victorious Pilot Grove cagers as they teamed up for 47 of their squad’s 57 points. Beau Walker enjoyed a 27-point performance while Lyle Christy added 20 as they joined forces to knock down nine threes for the 10-8 Tigers. Grady Owen paced Carrollton with 18 points as Zack Samples scored 11 for the Trojans who dropped to 7-10 on the season.
Very Little Late-Game Drama
In the other three skirmishes that were held Monday night, the winners all came out on top in one-sided fashion.
Top-seeded and defending tournament champion Brunswick had no problems beating winless Santa Fe as the Wildcats led 37-15 at the half before coasting to a 77-22 victory over their I-70 Conference opponent. Boasting a record of 16-1, Brunswick received 16 points from Troy Zellstra while Colby Jenkins added 15 and Clay Hayward scored 10. Falling to 0-16 overall, Santa Fe was paced by 11 points from Ethan Finkeldei.
Later in the evening, second-seeded and host school Slater easily won their game, defeating Sweet Springs, 95-52. Things were close for a quarter as Sweet Springs made a 14-5 run to close out the opening eight minutes of action, slicing a 12-point deficit down to three as the Wildcats led only 24-21 at that stage of the proceedings. From there however, Slater went on a 34-6 run during the second period to go in front, 58-27 at the half. Slater’s lead grew to as much as 54 points in the third quarter before they coasted home with a 95-52 victory.
Having now won 11 in a row and boasting a record of 13-3, The ‘Cats had four men in double figures as Brandon Terrill led the way with 26 points. Next in line for Slater was Nixon Sanders, Malachi Wright-Fowler and Maddox Tyler who contributed 19, 11 and 10 points of their own. Dropping to 5-12 on the year, Sweet Springs had three men in double figures. Brandon Pinion, Drayton Hampton and Joey Rapp tossed in 17, 14 and 13 points respectively in a losing cause.
Wrapping up the long evening of basketball, third-seeded Glasgow never trailed in their matchup against Jamestown as they posted a 70-54 win over the Eagles. The Yellowjackets shot well in the early going, jumping out on top, 28-15 following the opening eight minutes of play. After that, Jamestown hung around as best they could, trailing by anywhere from nine to 19 points the rest of the night. Glasgow’s 70-54 victory improved them to 11-5 on the year. Jackson Meyer and Bronson Foster both tallied 19 points on behalf of the ‘Jackets while Kyler Kottman chipped in with 15. Meanwhile, dropping to 3-12 on the season, Tyler Wilson paced all scorers as he fired home 26 points for the Eagles.
Girls’ First-Round Action Tips Off Tonight on KMMO
The girls bracket tips off Tuesday afternoon, as all four games will air on KMMO and stream with video on our website, KMMO.com.
Coverage begins with pregame around 4:20 p.m. on AM 1300 of the opening contest, pitting the host Wildcats against top-seeded Santa Fe. The action will then move to FM 102.9 around 6 p.m. ahead of the four-five showdown between Brunswick and Jamestown. Around 7:30 p.m., second-seeded Carrollton face Sweet Springs, and that’ll be followed by third-seeded Glasgow facing Pilot Grove.
We’ll have one game from the Harrisburg Tournament on our airwaves, when the fifth-seeded Marshall boys challenge Centralia. Pregame coverage on AM 1300 is set to begin around 7:20 p.m.
Also streaming on KMMO.com tonight around 6:50 p.m. is the Cole Camp Bluebirds, as the boys will host the Sacred Heart Gremlins.
Other contests tonight include:
Harrisburg Tournament
1) Blair Oaks vs 8) Fayette
2) Hallsville vs 7) Linn
3) Harrisburg vs 6) Fulton
Richmond Winter Classic
Girls: 1) University Academy vs 4) Cameron
Boys: 1) Bishop LeBlond vs 4) Cameron
Girls: 3) Odessa vs 6) Wellington-Napoleon
Doubleheader
Braymer at Lawson
Calvary Lutheran at Prairie Home
Chilhowee at Miami (Amoret)
Green Ridge at Lincoln
Hardin-Central at Winston
Mark Twain at Macon
Milan at Brookfield
Moberly at Kirksville
Northeast (Cairo) at South Shelby
Northwest (Hughesville) at Stover
Orrick at St. Paul Lutheran
Palmyra at Mexico
Putnam County at Knox County
Smithton at Windsor
Girls
Tipton at Jefferson City
Warrensburg at KC KIPP Academy
Boys
Otterville at La Monte