No upsets occurred and only one close game took place Tuesday, Dec. 9 as the boys’ teams were center stage with first-round action in the annual I-70 Conference Basketball Tournament.

The higher seeded teams all advanced into Thursday evening’s winners-bracket semifinals, including top seed St Paul Lutheran. The Saints experienced few problems with Santa Fe, rolling past the previously unbeaten Chiefs, 60-37 in Wellington. On top, 11-7 in the latter stages of the opening period, the Saints tallied the next 12 points to build for themselves a 23-7 lead as they never looked back again. St Paul was ahead, 37-19 at intermission and later increased their advantage to as much as 27 points before earning their 23-point victory.

Three players were in double figures for the 3-0 Saints as Easton Sheets scored 17 points with all of his coming in the opening half. Adding 14 and 13 points respectively were Michael Heins and Tate Kreisel. Falling to 4-1 on the season, Santa Fe received a team-high 12 points from Logan Wilsie.

Tuesday night’s early matchup at Wellington saw fourth-seeded Lone Jack pull away from fifth-seeded Concordia, 57-42. The Orioles never led in this contest but stayed within striking distance for two and half quarters before the Mules’ quickness and dominance on the boards gave them control of the game. Lone Jack led 16-13 after one period and 27-22 at the break before holding a slim, 31-30 advantage midway through the third quarter. The Mules then went on to score the next 10 points and closed out the contest with a 26-12 outburst, enabling them to win by a margin of 15.

Improving to 1-3 overall, Lone Jack saw eight different people score as Cooper Shull had 14 points while Kyle Rowland tacked on 10 more for their side. Dropping to 0-2 on the year, the Orioles received 11 points from both Caleb Fuehring and Maddix Inman.

Meanwhile, in first-round action held at Orrick Tuesday evening, third-seeded Wellington-Napoleon held off the number-six seed Orrick, 35-32 before second-seeded Crest Ridge routed seventh-seeded Sweet Springs, 71-30.

The KMMO microphones remain in Wellington on Wednesday for girls semifinal action. Our coverage begins at 5:20 p.m. on KMMO-FM 102.9, ahead of the first semifinal between Crest Ridge and St Paul Lutheran. That’s followed by Lone Jack and Wellington-Napoleon. Our newscast that hour will move up to 5:10 p.m. Consolation semifinals at Orrick will be between Orrick and Santa Fe at 5:30 p.m., followed by Sweet Springs and Concordia.

Other games scheduled for tonight include:
Girls
Chillicothe at Knob Noster
Green Ridge at South Callaway

At The 70th Centralia Invitational
Championship Semifinals
1) Centralia vs 4) Macon
2) Boonville vs 3) Higbee

Consolation Semifinals
6) Salisbury vs 7) Moberly
5) North Callaway vs 8) Hallsville

At The Husker Classic, Higginsville
Oak Grove vs Excelsior Springs
Cameron vs Warrensburg

At The 101st Monroe City Invitational
(Semifinal) 3) Monroe City vs 7) Mark Twain
(Cons. Semi) 2) South Shelby vs 6) Palmyra

At The Pilot Grove Tiger Classic
Championship Semifinals
1) Northwest (Hughesville) vs 5) Prairie Home
2) Jamestown vs 3) Sacred Heart

Consolation Semifinals
4) Sturgeon vs 8) Smithton
6) Pilot Grove vs 7) Bunceton

Boys
At The Husker Classic, Higginsville
(Semifinal) 1) Richmond vs 4) Oak Grove
(Cons. Semi) 5) Odessa vs 8) Excelsior Springs

At The 101st Monroe City Invitational
(Semifinal) 2) Palmyra vs 6) Paris
(Cons. Semi) 3) South Shelby vs 7) Highland