It will not be a fifth straight matchup between New Franklin and Westran in the boys’ championship game of the annual New Franklin Tournament, as that streak was abruptly snapped by Brunswick in Thursday night’s 76-56 semifinal drubbing of the hosts.
In the second of the two games we carried Thursday, Jan. 8 on KMMO, Brunswick roared to a 17-5 lead in the opening frame before the Bulldogs scored 20 of the next 28 points to tie things up at 25 late in the first half. Things remained deadlocked 30-30 early in the third quarter before Brunswick provided the contest’s next seven points to take the lead for good. The Wildcats were in front 49-41 entering the final period before stretching their advantage to as much as 23 points near the very end of their 76-56 victory over the Bulldogs.
The win marked Brunswick’s first win over New Franklin in boys’ basketball dating back to 2009, snapping a 20-game winning streak for the Bulldogs. Now 10-1 on the season, the Wildcats had four players in double figures with Balston Brown tallying 24 points while Tae Brown added 20 and Clay Hayward and Makhien Falls chipped in with another 15 and 11 respectively. Dropping to 9-2 for the year, New Franklin was paced by 17 points from Caden Schlotzhauer with Jonah Bishop scoring 15 and Lane Hackman adding 11 for the losing side.
The first semifinal-round game saw Westran squander double-digit leads in both halves of their matchup against Columbia Christian Fellowship before regrouping in time to score the contest’s last seven points which allowed the Hornets to post a 59-52 decision over the Knights. Westran never trailed during their win over Christian Fellowship as they owned leads of 17-9 after one quarter, then 33-22 at the break prior to holding the upper hand, 44-35 entering the final eight minutes of action. As the margin fluctuated between four and 14 points most of the evening, the Knights had one more outburst left in them as a 17-8 run by Christian Fellowship allowed the Columbia school to tie things up at 52 with only three minutes remaining. With the score then deadlocked, a field goal and a free throw by Cruze Haynes put Westran on top for good with the Hornets slowly pulling away for their 59-52 win.
Westran had four people in double figures. Cruze Haynes carried the team on his back down the stretch, scoring a total of 21 points. Adding 11 points was Hayden Chapman while Jordan Black and Tiernan Mooneyham both tallied 10 for the 11-1 Hornets. Playing a full MSHSAA schedule for the first time ever, Christian Fellowship dropped to 7-3 overall. Brett Conklin had 16 points and Jake Davis added 15 for the Knights.
In the other boys’ games played Thursday evening, the losers-bracket skirmishes in the old gymnasium saw Fayette defeat Community, 51-39 prior to Sturgeon earning a 43-29 decision over Jamestown.
The girls’ placement games are set for Friday from New Franklin, and we’ll have the championship and third-place games on our airwaves. Our pregame show around 5:50 p.m. on KMMO-FM 102.9 precedes the third-place bout between Community and Jamestown, followed by the championship game between New Franklin and Westran. Consolation games in the old gym will happen at the same time, with seventh place between Christian Fellowship and Sturgeon, followed by the consolation title between Brunswick and Fayette.
Also Friday, the Marshall Owls will make the drive to Hannibal for their last conference tilt in the C Allen Korf Memorial Gymnasium. Pregame on KMMO AM 1300 begins at 5:50 p.m., with the girls tipping off at 6 p.m. and boys contest to follow. After our games, we’ll have our weekly installment of the Round Ball Wrap Up, featuring scores from around the region and visits with many of our area coaches.