Boys Pull Off Close Wins
The Mustangs Boys Basketball team survived a Monett rally to pull out a 62-61 win on Jan. 14 and outscored Seneca in the last five minutes of a game to overcome a seven-point deficit for a 63-59 win on Jan. 17 at Seneca High School.
The McDonald County High School boys basketball team outscored Seneca 16-5 over the last five minutes to overcome a sevenpoint deficit to pull out a 63-59 win on Jan. 17 at Seneca High School.
“That was an outstanding win,” said coach Brandon Joines. “We earned it. We gave it away for a little bit, but the kids fought back. I am really proud of them.”
Seneca turned a 24-23 halftime deficit into a 45-42 lead entering the fourth quarter.
A basket by Teddy Reedybacon and a three-pointer by Pierce Harmon tied the game at 47-47 with 6:52 left.
Seneca answered with a 7-0 run to take a 54-47 lead before Reedybacon hit a short jumper to end the run.
Seneca’s Levi Ketchum scored to extend the lead to seven once more, but McDonald County freshman Cross Dowd scored five straight points to cut the lead to 56-54 with 2:42 left.
A three-pointer by Seneca’s Layne Henning gave the Indians a five-point lead with 2:16 left but a basket by Cade Smith and a threepointer by Harmon tied the game at 59-59 with 1:32 remaining.
After a Seneca miss, Smith put the Mustangs up 61-59 with 1:02 left. Seneca then missed twice before the teams traded turnovers, the Mustangs’ error giving Seneca the ball with 24.5 seconds left.
But Dowd stole a Seneca pass and was fouled. He calmly sank two free throws with 15.5 seconds left to seal the win.
“Offensively, we moved the ball well,” Joines said. “We got the shots we wanted, but we went cold for a little bit before that flurry in the fourth quarter. You could see it in the eyes of the boys that this was a chance to make a statement and we finally broke through. It would be awesome if this would carry over to Lamar (Jan. 23). I am thrilled to death. Kudos to Seneca. They played a heck of a ballgame and Henning was hitting everything he shot. They are tough to guard. We showed a lot of heart to fight back. I am just really proud of the kids.”
The teams traded baskets in the first quarter before McDonald County took a 10-9 lead at the end of the period. The Mustangs built a 20-13 in the second period, but Seneca closed out the first half with a 10-4 run to cut the lead to 24-23 at intermission.
The lead traded hands twice and the score was tied twice to start the third quarter before Seneca scored
six straight points to take a 39-33 lead. Cole Martin cut the lead to 39-37 with a rare four-point play before Seneca took its 45-42 lead after three periods.
McDonald County had five players score in double figures, led by Smith and Martin with 14 points each. Dowd finished with 13 points, Reedybacon had 11 and Harmon had 10. The Mustangs’ final point came on a free throw by Koby McAlister.
Seneca was led by Henning with 20 points and Isiah Grotjohn with 19.
McDonald County improves to 4-7 with its second straight win, both Big 8 Conference matchups to start conference play with a 2-0 record. The Mustangs are at Lamar on Jan. 23 before returning home to host Joplin on Jan. 24.
The McDonald County junior varsity dropped a 62-59 decision after leading 28-24 at halftime.
Bo Leach led the Mustangs with 18 points, followed by Dowd with 16, Eli McClain 13, Garrett Gricks four, Devin Swanson and Sterling Woods three each and Matthew Mora two.
McDonald County claimed a 39-27 win in the freshman game.
The Mustangs were led by Weston Gordon and Isaac Behm with 10 points each, followed by Woods with seven, Jack Parnell and Jaxon Harrell four each and Dalton McClain and Kasen Hahn two each.
Monett
McDonald County took a five-point lead into the fourth quarter, but had to survive a Monett rally in order to pull out a 62-61 win on Jan. 14 at Monett High School.
McDonald County jumped out to a 26-17 lead at the end of the first quarter and took a 34-27 lead at halftime before Monett outscored the Mustangs 34-28 in the second half.
Harmon scored 19 points and Reedybacon, Smith and Irael Marcos had 12 each to lead McDonald County. Rounding out the scoring for the Mustangs were Dowd with three and Martin and Dylan Allison with two each.
The McDonald County junior varsity added a 44-33 win. Dowd scored 19 firsthalf points to lead McDonald County, followed by Swanson with seven points, Woods with six, Leach five, Gricks three, Colton Ruddick two and Eli McClain and Matthew Mora one each.