Crest Ridge disposed of an old nemesis Saturday night when they came away champions of the boys’ portion of the I-70 Conference Tournament, beating St Paul Lutheran 57-50 in action played on the Cougar floor and heard on KMMO-FM.
Breaking an 11-11 tie after one period, Crest Ridge grabbed the lead for good during the second quarter and never trailed again. The second-seeded Cougars were on top, 20-16 at the break before spending the rest of the evening watching their lead fluctuate between three and 13 points down the stretch. Crest Ridge was ahead 36-23 midway through the last half when the Saints made several runs at the Cougars which sliced the deficit to a two-possession margin. St Paul did get as close as three in the waning seconds of the contest only to see the Cougars continue a steady march to the charity stripe enabling them to nail down their 57-50 victory. A big difference in this game was the free throw shooting which saw Crest Ridge go 19 of 35 at the line while St Paul was five of six from the stripe.
Last season, the Saints beat the Cougars in a pair of hard-fought games played in Concordia. Overall, Saint Paul has dominated this series with Crest Ridge the past few years, winning 10 of the last 12 meetings and 20 of 24 prior to Saturday’s matchup.
Improving to 5-2 on the season, the Cougars had three people in double figures. They were led by 15 points from both Wyatt Ducos and Wesley Taylor while Gavin Wyatt chipped in with 13. Falling to 3-2 thus far, St Paul received 20 points from Tate Kreisel who fouled out of the contest with nearly 90 seconds left on the clock.
Over Early
The girls’ championship game was over before it began as Lone Jack defended their tournament title by rolling all over St. Paul, 67-22. The Saints didn’t score for the first nine minutes of the contest, trailing 26-0 by the time they were able to find the basket. Lone Jack led, 43-6 at intermission and spent most of the evening coasting to the finish line, eventually winning by 45.
Improving to 6-1 on the season, the Mules were led by 19 points from Miley Ward while Ryley Shull chipped in with 16. The 4-2 Saints received eight points from Bella Woods, all in the second half.
Third Place Battles
Kicking off the long day of basketball were the two third-place contests which saw the girls’ matchup become wildly entertaining at the end.
No lead was safe when Crest Ridge met Concordia with the Cougars on top, 29-22 at the half before scoring the first eight points of the third period to widen their advantage to 37-22. Then it was Concordia’s turn to come back as they went on a 24-4 run to build a 46-41 lead for themselves with just 3:15 left in the contest. However, a series of three-pointers by Crest Ridge enabled the Cougars to send the game into overtime deadlocked at 48 before taking the lead in the extra session and winning, 57-56.
The 5-1 Cougars received 19 points from Brylinn Fleming while Savannah Camp had her best game of the week, adding 10. Dropping to 3-2 on the year, Concordia was paced by 20 points from both Olivia Hemme and Ava Mueller.
The boys’ third place game was much less dramatic with Lone Jack grabbing the lead in the second quarter and never relinquishing it as they beat Wellington-Napoleon, 51-42. The 4-2 Mules were paced by 17 points from Garrett Mantzey while Cooper Shull and Chris Bates scored 13 and 10 respectively. Wellington dropped to 1-5 with the loss with Jonny Hampton tallying 10 points and Trey Simsheuser tossing in nine on their behalf.
Other High School Scores From Saturday
Pilot Grove Tournament
Girls Third Place: Sturgeon 52 Prairie Home 36
Boys Third Place: Prairie Home 83 Smithton 68
Girls Championship: Northwest (Hughesville) 39 Jamestown 33
Boys Championship: Kingsville 49 Sacred Heart 31
Higginsville Husker Classic
Girls Third Place: Odessa 62 Cameron 42
Boys Third Place: Hogan Prep 57 Oak Grove 47
Girls Championship: Oak Grove 38 Warrensburg 34
Boys Championship: Richmond 68 Lafayette County 51
Centralia Tournament (Boys)
Consolation: Van-Far 80 Salisbury 50
Third Place: Centralia 53 Boonville 41
Championship: Hallsville 62 Moberly 29
100th Monroe City Tournament
Girls Third Place: Highland 56 Monroe City 53 (2 OT)
Boys Third Place: South Shelby 69 Marion County 53
Girls Championship: South Shelby 58 Palmyra 57 (OT)
Boys Championship: Monroe City 51 Palmyra 47 (OT)
Twelve Courts of Christmas Shootout (at Hy-Vee Arena in Kansas City)
Girls:
Brunswick 61 Faith Christian 31
Lincoln Prep 58 Cairo 53
Nodaway Valley 66 Westran 35
East Atchison 46 Northwestern (Mendon) 27
Boys:
Brunswick 69 Cairo 32
Westran 46 Nodaway Valley 38
East Atchison 64 Northwestern (Mendon) 30
Girls:
Pine Creek, Col. 59 Tipton 52