KARNS CITY - Moniteau featured several stars Friday night, but no player's performance compared to that of Zach Thompson.

Two days after spraining his left ankle in practice, the junior forward was facing the possibility of sitting out against archrival Karns City.

"We didn't think he was going to be able to play," said Moniteau coach Randy Armagost. "We had ice on it all during the (junior varsity) game. He wanted to get in the game so bad, we finally put him in during the second quarter."

All Thompson did was tally 10 points and 12 rebounds as the Warriors grabbed a thrilling 63-62 victory on the Gremlins' Senior Recognition Night.

With the game tied at 59, Thompson's off-balance shot from the paint was partially blocked, but it was strong enough to find the hoop, giving Moniteau the lead for good with just over a half minute to play.

"It's hurting pretty bad now," Thompson said of his ankle, which was swollen and bruised following the game. "But to come in here and beat (Karns City), it's huge."

Following Thompson's go-ahead bucket, Karns City turned the ball over before watching Tyler Grossman drain two free throws for a 63-59 Warriors' lead with 11 seconds left.

After the teams exchanged turnovers, a last-second half-court shot by Karns City's Tyler Callihan accounted for the game's final points.

The Warriors received several standout performances, including Grossman's triple-double (18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists).

Matt Buczkowski did his part with 16 points and 11 rebounds while Matt Schandelmeier grabbed 13 boards.

"We knew coming in that we'd have to control the rebounds," said Gremlins coach Steve Andreassi. "And we did that in stretches, but overall, they beat us on the boards."

The Gremlins carried a 50-46 advantage into the final period, but Moniteau responded with an 11-5 spurt that put it ahead 57-55.

Callihan, who led all scorers with 27 points, scored the next two baskets to put his team up 59-57 with under three minutes to play. It was the last lead the Gremlins would enjoy.

"In a game like this, you can look at just about everything and magnify it," said Andreassi. "You can say 'if this' or 'if that' would have happened, … but Moniteau executed well tonight."

Nathan Knox added 10 points for Karns City (16-6, 10-2), while Josh Warburton drained three clutch 3-pointers for Moniteau.

The Warriors' win avenges a 77-58 loss to Karns City Dec. 15.

After starting the season 0-10, Moniteau (9-14, 7-5) has won nine of 13 games.

"The sad thing is we aren't going to the playoffs," said Armagost. "Our school's policy is that we have to finish .500 overall."

"Moniteau has had a great second half to the season," said Andreassi. "This was their playoff game."

MONITEAU 63

Tyler Grossman 5 5-6 18, Dave Rumbaugh 1 0-0 2, Matt Buczkowski 8 0-1 16, Matt Schandelmeier 4 0-1 8, Zach Thompson 5 0-0 10, Josh Warburton 3 0-0 9, Nick Morrow 0 0-0 0. Totals: 26 5-8 63.

KARNS CITY 62

David Black 3 0-2 8, Stephen Black 1 0-1 2, Tyler Callihan 11 3-4 27, Nathan Knox 5 0-1 10, Mark Ferguson 3 0-0 7, Ryan Earley 3 0-0 6, Josh Behrens 1 0-0 2. Totals: 27 3-8 62.

3-point goals:

Warburton 3, Grossman 3; Callihan 2, D. Black 2, Ferguson.

JV:

Moniteau 47-30

Monday:

DuBois C.C.. @ Karns City

Friday:

Moniteau @ Cranberry