One game was very competitive and went down to the wire while the other was decided pretty quickly as New Franklin went on the road and swept Slater on Tuesday, Dec. 16 in a Central Activities Conference doubleheader that was heard on KMMO-FM 102.9.

Closing out the evening, the Bulldog boys rallied from a nine-point, second-quarter deficit to defeat the Wildcats, 58-54. That came after the New Franklin girls put an early stranglehold on their game which enabled them to roll past Slater, 62-26.

The boys’ contest saw the home team hold the upper hand for two and a half quarters as the Wildcats outplayed New Franklin at the outset to lead 17-13 after one period and then extend that margin to 25-16 midway through the second stanza. However, an 8-0 run by the Bulldogs briefly trimmed the deficit to one, 25-24 and gave the visitors some much-needed momentum. Down by four at the break, 28-24, New Franklin was able to gradually take the lead from the Wildcats midway through the third quarter. On top, 40-37 heading into the final period, the Bulldogs at one point led by as many as eight before withstanding a late Slater charge that came up short at 58-54.

Now 2-0 in CAC play and 7-1 overall, New Franklin received 20 points from Caden Schlotzhauer while Noah Hackman tossed in three three-pointers to score 17 with Lane Hackman tacking on 13 of his own. Dropping to 1-1 in league play and 5-4 on the season, the Wildcats saw Maddox Tyler tally 16 points as Ben Gochenour and Nixon Sanders chipped in with 13 and 12 respectively.

The girls’ matchup saw New Franklin lead by a large margin early as they coasted to a very comfortable 62-26 victory. The Bulldogs left no doubt about the outcome as they were ahead 21-2 after one quarter and then 44-12 at intermission. New Franklin’s girls connected on 11 three-pointers during the contest as Lilly Chitwood knocked down five trifectas and scored 32 points to pave the way. Lydia Burnett had four threes and added 14 points with Belle Chitwood tallying two threes and 10 points for the Bulldogs who improved to 2-0 in the CAC standings and 7-1 on the year. Slater’s girls dropped to 0-2 in the conference and 2-6 overall as Kaylee Bowling had six points on their behalf.

A number of games are set for Wednesday night:

Doubleheaders
Crest Ridge at Cass Sherwood
Leeton at Drexel

At the John Wood CC Rumble on the River, Quincy
Atlanta vs Brown County IL

At the W-K Holiday Shootout, Sedalia
Lone Jack vs Windsor

Girls
New Bloomfield at Hallsville

At the John Wood CC Rumble on the River, Quincy
Centralia vs Quincy Notre Dame

At The Otterville Holiday Classic
Championship Semifinals
5) Lincoln vs Northwest/Smithton winner
3) Prairie Home vs 7) Hermitage

Consolation Semifinals
4) Otterville vs Northwest/Smithton loser
2) Tuscumbia vs 6) Bunceton

At The Twelve Courts of Christmas, KCMO
Kearney vs Odessa

Boys
Ballard at La Monte
Smith-Cotton at Waynesville

At the 64th Legends Bank Holiday Classic, Linn
California at Linn