Monett boys basketball lose to Lamar in overtime, Lady Cubs knock off Lighthouse and Lamar last week

The Monett High School boys basketball team had just one game last week, traveling to Lamar on Tuesday, Feb. 17 losing in overtime, 74-65.
 
Lamar led 11-10 after the first quarter but trailed the Cubs, 26-25 at the half. A 20-point third quarter from the Tigers put them back in the lead, 45-42. In the fourth quarter, Monett rallied to score 16 points to tie the game at 58-58. Lamar scored 16 points in the overtime to win the game by nine points.
 
“We did a lot of really good things on the offensive end throughout the game,” said head coach Andrew Ballock. “We fought through adversity with some players out, foul trouble, and a late deficit to come back and force overtime. In OT, we ran out of gas, Lamar made a few big plays, and they were able to come out with the win. I was really proud of the way our group fought from the first horn to the last. We never gave up and continued to play really hard.”
 
Jack Stephens ended the game with a double-double, scoring 25 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. Bryce Hoyt had 20 points, five assists and four steals in the game.
 
Monett is 9-16 on the season and were scheduled to play against Reeds Spring on Monday night. The Cubs are the fourth seed in their upcoming Class 4, District 12 Tournament in Nevada. Nevada is the top seed, followed by East Newton, Mt. Vernon, Monett, Cassville and Seneca. The tournament is scheduled to run from March 3-7.
 
Girls basketball
The Lady Cubs hosted Lighthouse Sr High on Tuesday, and defeated the Chargers, 67-60 in overtime.
 
Lighthouse led 12-7 after the first quarter and 22-20 at the half. Monett battled back with a 13-point third quarter to pull within one point, 34-33. Both teams shot lights out in the fourth quarter, with the Lady Cubs scoring 20 points and the Chargers putting in 19 to tie the game at 53-53. In the overtime period, Monett doubled up Lighthouse, 14-7 to win the game by seven points.
 
“Having played a game the night before, we looked a bit lethargic in the first half, but we battled in the second half and found a way to win in overtime,” said head coach Josh Kleine.
 
Kilee Wilson led Monett with 26 points, Meredith Merriman had 20 points, and Kalli Hohensee ended the game with 11 points.
 
Monett began their week by traveling to Lamar and defeating the Lady Tigers 52-44 on Monday, Feb. 16.
 
The Lady Cubs led 16-13 after the first quarter, but Lamar battled back in the second quarter to tie the game 24-24 at the half. Monett scored 14 points in the third quarter to retake the lead 38-35. The Lady Cubs would add another 14 points in the fourth quarter to take the game by eight points.
 
“It’s a nice win on the road against a conference opponent,” said Kleine
 
Wilson paced Monett with 20 points and Fenlie Wilson had 12 points in the win.
 
Monett is now 17-8 on the season and were scheduled to finish out their regular season at home against Springfield Central last night.