A lot of hard work, resulting in a lot of progress, is reflected in Mexico High School varsity basketball records now that the 2009-10 campaign has come to an end. State-ranked NCMC rival Moberly, earning both top seeds, closed the books Friday night on the second-seeded Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs in the Class 4/District 8 championship games at Moberly Area Community College.
Both Mexico squads gave it all they had, but came up short, the girls bowing 58-46 in the first contest and the boys falling 69-62 in the second. A 12-4 second quarter in favor of the Lady Spartans and a 20-10 third period in favor of the Spartans figured prominently in the outcomes. Moberly girls improved their record to 23-3, dropping Mexico to 18-8; Moberly boys moved to 18-8 and made Mexico 18-9.
MEXICO GIRLS: This game was a tight struggle early with four ties in the first quarter before a Kelsey Creed layup gave the Lady Bulldogs a 16-15 edge after one period. But Moberly made the first nine points of the second quarter and never looked back, holding a 27-20 lead at halftime.
Mexico trailed by as many as 14 points early in the final period as foul problems mounted for the Lady Bulldogs. A 3-pointer from the top of the circle by Danielle Ingrum cut the Moberly lead to 51-44 with just 1:52 to go, but Mexico got no closer.
Moberly outshot Mexico 50-33 percent from the field, including 60-25 percent from long range. The Lady Spartans also outscored Mexico 12-8 from the foul line with Tierney Seifert leading three Moberly players in double figures with 18 points. Ingrum and Seifert each hit a trio of treys.
For the Lady Bulldogs, Ingrum netted 21P, Erika Miller 14P, Brooke Costley 7P, Creed 2P and Delaney McNeil 2P. Ingrum and Miller shared high-rebounding honors with eight apiece, while Creed handed out five assists.
“I was pleased with our effort, especially with Sherrell Cooks out,” MHS coach Ed Costley said. “For as young as we are, I thought the atmosphere was good experience for the girls. With seven more wins than last year, I was really pleased with what we accomplished.”
MEXICO BOYS: The Spartans snapped an early 4-4 tie with seven straight points en route to a 14-8 lead after the opening period. But three 3-pointers by Sam Kelly fueled a 23-15 Mexico second quarter, giving the Bulldogs a 31-29 edge at the half.
Kelly’s fourth trey early in the third quarter put Mexico back on top 36-34, only to be followed by an 8-0 Moberly run that put the Spartans ahead to stay. Their lead got as high as 69-56 with 1:20 to play; back-to-back scores by Marcus Bush plus a Colby Willer basket gave the Bulldogs the last six points of the game.
For the Bulldogs, Austin Reed set the pace with 21 points; Kelly added 12P, Dillon Shoemaker 9P, Ta’Juan Williams 8P, Tyus Williams 4P, Bush 4P, Regan Mudd 2P and Willer 2P. Included among Moberly’s three scorers in double figures were Brennen Hughes with 19P and Cory Briggs 18P, the latter including four 3-pointers.
“We played right with them, but give Moberly a lot of credit; we held Hughes in check for the most part until the end, but they had other guys step up for them,” MHS coach Brennan Scanlon. “We’re making progress with first 10, then 15, now 18 wins and we’ve got quite few guys coming back.”
Mexico, Mo. —
