Monett boys basketball finishes fourth at Crane tourney

Lady Cubs picked up two more wins last week, now impressive 12-2 overall
 
The Monett High School boys basketball team traveled to Crane last week to take part in the 59th Annual Crane Invitational Basketball Tournament and came home with a fourth-place finish.
On Saturday, Jan. 17, the Cubs took on Marionville in the third-place game but fell to the Comets 42-39.
Monett held an 11-10 first quarter lead and then increased that lead to 20-17 by the half. In the third quarter, Marionville was able to outscore the Cubs, 12-10 to cut the Monett lead to 30-29. In the final quarter of play, Marionville outscored Monett 13-9 to hold off the Comets for the three-point victory.
Jack Stephens had a double-double in the game with 16 points and 14 rebounds and Alex Meeks chipped in 12 points in the loss.
“We lost a close one to Marionville in the third-place game of the Crane tournament,” said head coach Andrew Ballock. “We were able to get a lot of really good looks at the rim, from the perimeter and around the basket, and shots just didn’t fall. Marionville did a good job slowing the pace and not letting us get out and play in transition. Our defense allowed us to be in the game late and have a chance to win, but the ball just didn’t bounce our way. I can’t take anything away from Marionville, they are a well-coached team, and they did a great job in the second half especially, not allowing us easy baskets.”
Monett played host to Crane in the semi-finals on Friday, Jan. 16 but lost to the Pirates 54-39.
Crane led 13-9 after the first quarter and 23-16 at the half. A 20-point third quarter began to put the game out of reach for Monett, as the Cubs entered the fourth quarter trailing 43-26. In the final quarter, Monett outscored Crane, 13-10 but lost the game by 15 points.
Stephens led Monett with 13 points.
“We lost to a really good Crane team at their place,” said Ballock. “We played a good first half, going into the break down only seven points after not being able to shoot well in that half. We had five turnovers in the third quarter that allowed Crane to get some easy baskets, pushing our deficit to double digits. We made a push in the fourth and fought back in the game but ultimately found ourselves in too big of a hole to climb out of. I thought we did a lot of really good things in the ball game, defended well, rebounded really well, got the looks we wanted offensively but they just didn’t fall. It’s a part of the game, all you can do is respond when the next opportunity presents itself.”
The Cubs reached the semi-finals with an opening round, 62-51 victory over Cassville on Monday, Jan. 13.
Monett was able to build an early lead, going up 15-10 by the end of the first quarter, IN the second quarter, the Cubs scored 25 points to increase their lead to 40-23. Cassville fought back in the third quarter, outscoring the Cubs 18-7 to cut the deficit to 47-41. Monett rebounded in the final quarter of play to outscore Cassville, 15-10 to secure the 11-point victory.
Brady Rhea paced Monett with 20 points, Stephens and Bryce Hoyt each had 10 points and Meeks led with 10 rebounds.
“We played a really good game,” said Ballock. “In the first half we shot the ball really well, making eight three-point shots, scoring 40 points in the first half. We had a scoring slump in the third quarter mixed with them hitting some outside shots, allowing Cassville to cut the game to six points going into the fourth but our guys responded pushing the lead back up to double digits and keeping it there. This game was one of our best offensive performances, the ball never stuck and always found the open man.”
Monett is 6-9 on the season and were scheduled to play at McAuley Catholic on Monday night and Clever last night before hosting Bolivar on Friday night.

Girls basketball
The Lady Cubs hosted Forsyth on Thursday, Jan. 15 and won the game by 24 points, 72-48.
Monett led 16-12 after the first quarter and 37-24 at the half. The Lady Cubs continued to shoot the ball well in the second half, scoring 19 points in the third quarter and 16 points in the fourth quarter, while holding Forsyth to 24 points in the second half.
Kilee Wilson led Monet with 34 points, Meredith Merriman added 12 points, and Avery Stokes had 10 points in the win.
Because of injuries, we had some girls step up and make plays when they had to,” said head coach Josh Kleine.
Monett traveled to Springfield on Monday night to take on Catholic and came home with a 45-39 win.
The Lady Irish led 17-14 after the first quarter and 24-22 at the half. In the second half of the game, Monett kicked up their defensive pressure, holding Catholic to just six points in the third quarter and nine points in the fourth quarter. Their offense also scored better in the second half, scoring 11 points in the third and 12 points in the fourth for the six-point victory.
Wilson led Monett with 12 points, Merriman had 11 points, and Stokes added 10 points in the win.
“We played a great second half and were able to handle the lead when they made some runs at us in the fourth quarter,” said Kleine.
The Lady Cubs are now 12-2 on the season and were scheduled to play in the Lady Comet Classic at Marionville this week.