Mustangs Earn Win After Streak
The McDonald County Mustangs took out the frustrations of a threegame losing streak on Life Way Christian School. The boys posted a 59-29 win over the Warriors on Jan. 20 in the seventh-place game of the Tri-State Basketball Classic in Jay,
Okla.
The McDonald County Mustangs took out the frustrations of a threegame losing streak on Life Way Christian School.
McDonald County never trailed on the way to posting a 59-29 win over the Warriors on Jan. 20 in the seventh-place game of the Tri-State Basketball Classic in Jay, Okla.
McDonald County led 10-6 early in the first quarter before outscoring Life Way 17-3 to close out the period with a 27-9 lead. Cooper Reece led the Mustangs’ biggest one-quarter output of the season with 16 first-quarter points.
The Mustangs kept their foot on the gas in the second period. McDonald County opened the second quarter with eight straight points to build a 35-9 lead. After the Warriors scored to cut the margin to 35-11, the Mustangs rattled off 12 consecutive points to lead 47-11 before the Warriors scored the final five points of the half to enter the locker room trailing 47-16.
Reece continued his hot hand, scoring eight points in the quarter, including his third and fourth three-pointers.
McDonald County used a 10-7 advantage in the third period before reserves took over in the fourth quarter.
“We really executed well and shot it well,” said coach Kyle Fields. “The game is easy when you are knocking down shots. I was really happy with how we ran the floor and how we defended. We got down and got after it. We defended the ball really well. There was a little bit of relief. It seemed something was lifted off our shoulders. I am happy with how we played.”
Reece finished with 24 points, all in the first half, to lead the Mustangs. Peyton Barton added 11 points, followed by Blake Gravette with nine, Boston Dowd five, Cole DelosSantos and Tim Shields four
each and Saul Garcia two.
Jay
McDonald County dropped a 70-56 decision to top-seeded Jay to open the tournament. Jay led 16-13 after the first period and then held the Mustangs to two points to take a 35-15 lead at intermission. McDonald County closed to 44-35 at the end of three, but couldn’t overcome its second-quarter woes.
“I was really happy with how we played in the first and third quarters,” Fields said. “I was happy with our kids and how they dealt with the officiating in Oklahoma. We got tougher in the second half.”
Reece scored 16 points and Dowd 11 to lead McDonald County. Rounding out the scoring were Shields with nine points, Gravette eight, Garcia six, Barton four and DelosSantos two.
Locust Grove
In the consolation semifinals, Locust Grove rallied from a 39-33 fourth quarter deficit to pull out a 47-41 win.
The Pirates had trailed since the middle of the second quarter before taking a 42-41 lead on a three-pointer by Tyler Madison
with 48 seconds left. Locust Grove then closed out the game with four consecutive free throws to seal the win.
“We had a little bit of laying an egg game, but played well for three quarters,” Fields said. ”Hopefully, we are getting better.”
Reece led the Mustangs with 26 points, including all eight of the Mustangs’ fourth-quarter points. Rounding out the scoring were Shields with five points, Barton four and Gravette, Dowd and Bucky Harrell two each.
Webb City
Dowd hit consecutive three-pointers, including a half-court heave to end the third quarter, to cut a 12-point Webb City lead to six to begin the fourth quarter, but the Cardinals answered with a 20-2 run on the way to a 77-58 win on Jan. 22 at Webb City High School.
Webb City took a 19-12 lead at the end of the first quarter and led 33-27 at halftime. The Cardinals stretched the lead to 44-31 late in the third period, but Shields scored four points and Dowd’s bomb from beyond half court cut the Cardinal lead to 49-41 entering the fourth quarter.
Dowd opened the fourth with another trey, but the Cardinals took over, outscoring McDonald County 27-14 the rest of the way.
Reece scored 19 points and Dowd and Shields added 13 each to lead the Mustangs. Gravette added seven points, followed by Barton with four and DelosSantos with two.
McDonald County falls to 5-12 for the season. The Mustangs hosted Carthage on Jan. 23 before border rival Neosho comes to town on Jan. 26. Games begin at 5 p.m. in both gyms.
Webb City added a 64-48 win in the junior varsity game. The Cardinals led 16-14 at the end of the first quarter and 33-27 at halftime before outscoring the Mustangs 31-21 in the second half.
Cade Smith scored 13 points and Ben Mora and Koby McAlister had nine each to lead the Mustangs. Rounding out the scoring for McDonald County were Tae-Shawn Alik with six points, Kirby Townsend five and Saul Garcia, Dylan Allison and Colliar Gottfried two each.
Webb City made it a threegame sweep with a 54-15 win in the freshman game.
Jackson Clarkson scored six points to lead the Mustangs, followed by Irael Marcos with four, Trayce McCool and Logan Renner two each and Parker Harris one.