KARNS CITY — The season is over far too soon for Moniteau coach Randy Armagost.

“If we would have played a little bit better at the beginning of the season,” Armagost lamented, “we'd still be going.”

After a 2-10 start, the Warriors have finished strong, winning four of their last five, including a 60-45 win in the season finale at Karns City Tuesday night.

Moniteau (8-14) started slow — a microcosm of its season — and led 20-19 at the half.

But the Warriors found a spark in the second half, scoring 40 points in the final two quarters on the way to the win.

“We made some halftime adjustments,” Armagost said. “They came out and did exactly what we wanted them to do.”

Mainly, go to the hoop and score.

James Bair scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half, many coming off steals and layups.

Denny Pry led Moniteau with 24 points and 14 rebounds.

Pry, a senior, has played his best basketball down the stretch.

“I tell you what, that kid, he's played so well for the last 10 games,” Armagost said. “He's really stepped up. I don't know what to see. Defensively, too. He's had quite a few blocks in the last few games.”

Bair is only a sophomore and has shown glimpses this season.

He scored 10 points in the fourth quarter against Karns City as the Warriors stretched their lead.

“He had a broken nose coming into tonight and in the first half, he was scared of getting hit,” Armagost said. “We have a mask, and he didn't want to wear it because he was embarrassed. So, at halftime, I challenged him to either wear the mask or go out and play.”

He played. And so did the Warriors, who led 31-26 late in the third quarter before going on a 10-2 run to get some breathing room early in the fourth.

“We hung around despite some foul trouble in the first half. I was happy with where we were at despite the trouble we had scoring,” said Karns City coach Chris Bellis. “We were only down by one, but coming out in the third quarter, they just played harder than we did. They took the ball to the basket better and got some stops. We didn't take the ball to the basket very well and didn't finish when we did.”

Karns City (7-15) never looked in sync on offense. Bellis called several timeouts in an attempt to revive his struggling attack.

The Gremlins didn't have a player reach double digits on the night. Tyler Kepple and Logan Moroney each had nine points to lead Karns City.

The Gremlins' season has been the opposite of Moniteau's. Karns City started the season well, winning five of its first seven, but closed with 11 losses in the final 12 games of the season.

Karns City lost nine games by five points or less.

“I felt we were a lot more competitive this year than we have been,” Bellis said. “We learned to compete this year and now we just need to take the next step.”

MONITEAU 60

Zach Timblin 1-4 1-2 3, Cody Skiver 3-7 0-0 6, Andrew Armagost 0-5 2-6 2, Colton Cumberland 2-4 2-5 7, Denny Pry 9-12 6-10 24, James Bair 8-11 0-0 16, Dustin Geagan 1-3 0-1 2, Steven Hagg 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 24-46 11-24 60.

KARNS CITY 45

Andrew Johnston 2-8 2-4 6, Tyler Kepple 3-11 1-2 9, Austin Murray 0-0 1-2 1, Josh Wallace 2-7 0-0 4, Ryan Pfeifer 1-2 0-1 2, David Olszak 3-8 2-3 8, Logan Moroney 2-9 5-7 9, Christian Turner 2-6 2-2 6, David Markel 0-2 0-0 0, Ethan Conto 0-0 0-0 0, Brad Bowser 0-0 0-0 0, John Snyder 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 15-52 13-21 45.

Moniteau 12 8 15 25—60

Karns City13 6 7 19—45

3-point goals: Moniteau 1 (Cumberland). Karns City 2 (Kepple 2)