A couple of boys teams are playing on Saturday in the Centralia Invitational. Van-Far defeated Macon 65-43 to bounce back from a Tuesday loss, Centralia will play for third place on Saturday after losing 55-40 to state champion Salisbury, and senior Sam Pezold scored his 1,000th career points in North Callaway's 61-49 loss to Boonville.
Van-Far won its first Centralia Invitational game after five tries in three years to face Boonville at 5 p.m. Saturday. The Indians lost to host Centralia 64-52 on Tuesday but felt better about their defense against Macon with 14 steals that helped nine players score. Nikos Connaway led with 20 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and four steals, Pacey Reading followed with 10 points and two 3-pointers, Gage Gibson had nine points and two 3-pointers, and Brayden Lay finished with eight points and three steals.
Centralia turns its attention to Moberly at 6:30 p.m. Saturday after being outscored 18-1 in the third quarter on Thursday against Salisbury. The Panthers tied the game at 23 right before halftime against the reigning state and Centralia Invitational champion but had several shots rim out in the second half. Logan Rosenfelder led Centralia with nine points and three 3-pointers, Noah Kropf followed with eight points and six rebounds, and Anthony Ford had eight points.
North Callaway's Pezold had his special moment in the second quarter on a 3-pointer, which was one of four as part of his 19 points, five rebounds, five steals and five assists. Boonville kept him at bay in the second half while Evan Bishop had 23 points and six 3-pointers for the Pirates. Isiah Craighead was the next best contributor for North Callaway at eight points and eight rebounds and Austin Brown had eight points and two 3-pointers.
Look for full stories in the Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, edition of the Mexico Ledger and on the website on Saturday.
