After very few schools held classes Thursday, there were only a handful of high school basketball games which took place last night. One of the locations where any contests occurred was Crest Ridge as they hosted a pair of Kaysinger Conference opponents in an unusual doubleheader heard on KMMO-FM.
The Cougar boys wrapped up the twinbill by coughing up a big lead, but regaining their momentum later as they defeated Northwest of Hughesville, 53-44. Beforehand, it was the Cole Camp girls that provided the opposition with Crest Ridge pulling away during the final three quarters to knock off the Bluebirds, 58-36.
Early Lead Disappeared
The beginning of the boys’ game looked way too easy to believe. Northwest failed to score the first six minutes of the contest while Crest Ridge knocked down a couple of threes and sprinted to a 14-0 lead with two minutes left in the opening period. The Cougars were on top 16-3 after one quarter when they suddenly lost focus and hit a wall offensively. The Mustangs responded by outscoring the Cougars, 18-5 during the next eight and a half minutes to tie the score at 21 barely 30 seconds into the third period. As it turned out, that was the best Northwest could do. They never did take the lead and then succumbed to some big three-pointers by the Cougars with the home team pulling away late for the 53-44 win. Crest Ridge was ahead only 34-32 entering the final frame before they reached the finish line by outscoring the Mustangs 19-12 during the last eight minutes of action.
As a team, the Cougars knocked down eight three-pointers. Wyatt Ducose led the winners with 18 points while freshman Jace Trobaugh scored 12 and Cabe Shippy added 11 for a Crest Ridge squad that is 19-5 on the year. Meanwhile, Northwest battled hard, but suffered another close loss as they fell to 8-16 with Tanner Johnson scoring 12 to pace the visitors.
Close For A Quarter
In the first game, Cole Camp’s girls rolled into town and played very well for eight minutes before spinning their wheels the rest of the night. The Bluebirds knocked down some early baskets and had forged a 16-16 tie for themselves after one period. But in the second quarter Crest Ridge began to take control and never relinquished it. The Cougars went on an 11-3 run over the next eight minutes to lead 27-19 at the break and things got even worse for Cole Camp after that. The Crest Ridge girls were ahead, 45-26 after three periods and went on to lead by as many as 24 before winning, 58-36.
Now 18-5 on the season, the Cougars were paced by 19 points from Kayley Martin as Brilynn Fleming added 12. The Bluebirds dropped to 5-16 on the season with Emma Thayer tallying eight first-half points on their behalf.
Friday’s Basketball Schedule
KMMO-FM 102.9 will have tonight’s CAC doubleheader in Slater, when the Wildcats welcome the Cairo Bearcats. Pregame begins around 5:50 p.m. with the girls game tipping off at 6 p.m. and the boys around 7:30 p.m.
KMMO AM 1300 will have an NCMC contest when the Marshall Owls welcome Hannibal. Pregame will be around 6:30 p.m. ahead of the girls game, with the boys battling around 8 p.m. All our games will also stream on KMMO.com.
Afterward, we’ll have our weekly edition of the Round Ball Wrap Up, our weekly look at many of the scores and interviews with area coaches.
Elsewhere, the title games at the Carroll-Livingston Activities Association are tonight. Games will begin at Tina-Avalon at 4:30 p.m. when the Northwestern and Higbee boys battle for third. The girls championship game between top seeds Higbee and Brunswick will tip off at 6 p.m., followed by the boys title game between top-seeds Brunswick and Hale/Bosworth.
Additional games scheduled for tonight include:
Doubleheaders
Brookfield at Maysville
Bucklin/Macon County at Meadville
Centralia at Monroe City
Chilhowee at Climax Springs
Chillicothe at Savannah
Columbia Independent at Bevier
Community at Glasgow
Fayette at Harrisburg
Green Ridge at Northwest (Hughesville)
Jamestown at Calvary Lutheran
Kingsville at Montrose
Knob Noster at Versailles
La Monte at Stover
Leeton at Cass Midway
Macon at Highland
Odessa at Oak Grove
Richmond at Lexington
Sacred Heart at Smithton
Santa Fe at Concordia
Schuyler County at Salisbury
Smith-Cotton at Boonville
Southern Boone at Hallsville
South Shelby at Clark County
Sturgeon at New Franklin
Sweet Springs at St Paul Lutheran
Tipton at Linn
Tuscumbia at Prairie Home
Warsaw at Butler
Wellington-Napoleon at Orrick
Westran at Moberly
Girls
Cole Camp at Bunceton/Otterville
Boys
Cole Camp at Otterville
Lincoln at Windsor