Mustangs’ Run Ends In Tournament
COACH HONORS FOUR SENIORS WHO KEPT THEIR COMMITMENT TO THE TEAM
The Aurora Houn Dogs ended the McDonald County Mustangs’ run in the Missouri Class 4 District 10 Basketball Tournament with a 58-26 win in the tournament semifinals on March 2 at McDonald County High School.
The Aurora Houn Dogs ended the McDonald County Mustangs run in the Missouri Class 4 District 10 Basketball Tournament with a 58-26 win in the tournament semifinals on March 2 at McDonald County High School.
Aurora led 13-12 at the end of the first quarter and held just an 18-14 lead midway through the second period before scoring nine unanswered points, including Preston Naylor’s dunk on a lob at the buzzer, to close out the half with a 27-14 lead.
“We felt good going into the game, but we didn’t play very well,” said coach Kyle Fields. “We were a little disappointed with our defense in the first quarter, but it wasn’t bad. We were down four points in the second quarter and we gave them seven points on live-ball turnovers in the final two minutes of the half. That really hurt. We went in down 13 points at half instead of being right there with them.”
“I am proud of our kids this year. … I know it’s hard with a new coach coming in, and I thought they responded well. I appreciate their four-year commitment and the effort they gave this year. We had a lot of fun this year. We had a blast, and speaking on behalf of all of our coaches, the kids are a great group to be around.”
Kyle Fields
MCHS Basketball Coach
McDonald County’s Brandon McAdams scored a pair of quick buckets to open the second half to cut the scored to 27-18, but Aurora answered with a 14-0 run on the way to taking a 44-20 lead after three quarters.
Aurora led 48-25 in the final quarter before scoring 10 consecutive points for the Houn Dogs’ third consecutive scoring streak of nine or more points in the game to take its largest lead at 58-24 before McDonald County’s Segio Dozal hit one of two free throws for the final point of the game.
McAdams finished with 11 points to lead McDonald County. Rounding out the scoring for the Mustangs were Devon Aubrey with six points, Boston Dowd five, Cooper Reece three and Dozal one.
Aurora was led by Matthew Miller with 20 points while Naylor finished with 15 and Devon Hilton added 10.
McDonald County finished the 2016-17 season with a 4-24 record in Fields’ first season as coach.
“I am proud of our kids this year,” Fields said. “I thought we improved and got better. I am really proud of our seniors (McAdams, Aubrey, Dozal and Noah Jones) the way they battled. I know it’s hard with a new coach coming in, and I thought they responded well. I appreciate their four-year commitment and the effort they gave this year. We had a lot of fun this year. We had a blast, and speaking on behalf of all of our coaches, the kids are a great group to be around.”