Two schools which usually play competitive games that go right down to the wire, did anything but Thursday, Jan. 15 in Lafayette County’s visit to St Paul Lutheran for a basketball twinbill heard on KMMO-FM.

First-half explosions took a lot of drama out of the evening as each side won once by a comfortable margin. The Husker girls began things with a 58-29 verdict over the Saints. The ensuing boys’ contest then saw St Paul take control of things early as they led from wire to wire in that one, blowing past their opponent from the MRVC East, 59-43.

The Saints quickly punched the Husker boys in the face, shutting them out for the first nine minutes as Lafayette County didn’t score until they were behind, 18-0. The Huskers did follow that up with some of their best basketball of the evening with an 11-0 run by them briefly trimming the deficit to 18-11. After that, St Paul regained control by steadily pulling away the rest of the night, leading 29-17 at the half and then 43-26 with a quarter to go. The Saints were ahead by more than 20 points down the stretch before settling for their 59-43 victory.

The win for the home team was the first in their last 10 tries against the Huskers, as St Paul hadn’t beaten them in boys’ basketball since 2019. Claiming their eighth outing in a row, St Paul is now 12-1 on the season. Tate Kreisel scored 25 points while Michael Heins added 15 and Easton Sheets chipped in with 12. Seeing an eight-game winning streak come to an end, Lafayette County fell to 10-2. Brock Page scored 15 points for them.

In the girls’ matchup, St Paul tallied the first three points of the evening, holding Lafayette County scoreless for nearly three minutes. The Huskers then responded by mustering the next 21 points to take an insurmountable lead. Lafayette County were ahead 32-15 at the break and later led by more than 30 points before coasting home with a 58-29 decision.

Winning for the sixth time in their last eight contests, the 7-7 Huskers were paced by 14 points from Addison Frerking while Ada Stoner tossed in 12. The St Paul girls lost for the eighth time in their last nine games and are now 4-9 overall. Bella Woods tallied a game-high 20 points on their behalf.

Other scores from Thursday night:

Girls
Chillicothe 45, Mid-Buchanan 23
Fayette 56, Columbia Christian Fellowship 36
Glasgow 65, Sweet Springs 21
Knob Noster 51, Holden 47
Northeast (Cairo) 48, Schuyler County 39
La Monte 32, Orrick 11
Harrisburg 75, Sacred Heart 25
St. Elizabeth 96, Bunceton 36
Carrollton 62, Smithton 22

At The 32nd Lawson Invitational
Semifinals
Richmond 51, Odessa 49
Lawson 62, Excelsior Springs 36

At The 66th Milan Tournament
Championship Semi: 1) Marceline 58, 4) Brookfield 25
Consolation Semi: 5) Putnam County 55, 8) North Missouri Knights 45

Boys
Blair Oaks 56, Hallsville 51 (OT)
Columbia Christian Fellowship 52, Fayette 42
Glasgow 65, Sweet Springs 35
Northeast (Cairo) 56, Schuyler County 55
Orrick 56, La Monte 18
Sacred Heart 53, Harrisburg 51
St. Elizabeth 97, Bunceton 25
Carrollton 60, Smithton 51

At The Pleasant Hill Tournament
Consolation Semifinals
Marshall 45, Barstow 44
Metro (Lenexa, KS) def. Academie Lafayette

Championship Semifinals
KC Central 53, Oak Grove 51
Kauffman Academy 72, Pleasant Hill 51

At The California Tournament
Championship Semifinals
1) Capital City 63, 4) Southern Boone 46
2) Eugene 65, 3) Moberly 45

Consolation Semifinals
5) Boonville 53, 8) California 41
6) Warrensburg 60, 7) Fulton 50

At The 32nd Lawson Invitational
Gallatin 70, Lawson 22
West Platte 48, Odessa 47 (OT)

At The 66th Milan Tournament
Championship Semi: 1) Green City 54, 4) Putnam County 51
Consolation Semi: 5) Brookfield 62, 8) North Missouri Knights 28