CHERRY TWP — Moniteau boys basketball coach Mike Jewart was in a much better mood Saturday.

After 12 and 10-point losses to Keystone and Karns City, respectively, the Warriors found their way back into the winning column Saturday with a 55-44 non-league victory at home over Slippery Rock.

“We came out with a lot of spark today and did a better job working on the little things,” Jewart said. “Our offense requires setting a lot of hard screens and kids don't want to work at that sometimes.

“We're a small school and for a lot of our guys, basketball isn't their prime sport. They want to have fun and working to set those screens isn't always fun. But we did a good job of it today.”

Moniteau (5-2) jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the first two minutes — on treys by Ethan McDeavitt, Kyle Pry and Nate Tack — and never trailed.

Slippery Rock (1-6) trimmed a 26-15 deficit with 4:31 left in the half to 26-21 by halftime. Jack Allen scored eight of the Rockets' 12 points in the second quarter.

“That's the best quarter Jack's played all year,” Slippery Rock coach A.J. Motta said. “We talked at halftime about how the beginning of the third quarter was going to be big for us. But give Moniteau credit. They took control of the game.”

The Warriors began the third period on a 15-4 run, opening up a 41-25 lead with 1:06 left in the quarter. The margin was Moniteau's biggest of the game and the lead never left double-digits from that point.

“Playing an afternoon game was a little out of the norm for us,” Moniteau point guard Ethan McDeavitt said. “But we wanted to get back on track in this game.

“Our defense was aggressive and my job on offense is to help make my teammates better.”

Slippery Rock turned the ball over 18 times, a number of those occurring in the third quarter as Moniteau extended its lead.

“We're just not consistent on offense so far,” Motta said. “We have guys who have been producing for a quarter here, a quarter there, in spurts. We need to develop more consistency.”

Quinton Scriven came off the bench to score 15 points for the Warriors. He hit all six of his field goal attempts.

McDeavitt had 11 points, six rebounds, five assists and five steals. Tack had 10 points, Kyle Pry seven points, five rebounds and three steals.

Gage Neal contributed six points and five assists.

“Ethan goes hard all the time,” Jewart said. “Almost everything we do begins with him. He's very quick and makes good decisions with the ball.”

“We've got experience and I feel like we can make something happen this season,” McDeavitt said.

Judah Roth led Slippery Rock with 20 points. Allen added 10 points. Nathaniel Willison, Ethan Plesakov and Shane Thompson all had five rebounds.

The Rockets had a tough day shooting, hitting 30 percent of their field goal attempts and only 13 of 26 free throws.

“Turnovers haven't been a problem for us as much as foul shooting has this season,” Motta said.

Jewart said he's never questioned Moniteau's effort from game to game.

“Our effort is always there. We just need to play with more focus on a regular basis,” he said. “Like I said, it's doing the little things that help you win games.

“The kids saw a positive result today due to that focus. Hopefully, we carry that forward.”

SLIPPERY ROCK 44

Brady Prementine 2-3 1-2 5, Tyler Christy 0-2 0-0 0, Judah Roth 7-14 4-9 20, Zach Caldwell 1-5 1-2 4, Ethan Plesakov 0-6 0-1 0, Jack Allen 3-9 4-6 10, Nathaniel Willison 0-2 3-4 3, Shane Thompson 0-2 0-0 , Zack Thompson 1-2 0-2 2. Totals: 14-45 13-26 44.

MONITEAU 55

Dean Hershey 0-2 0-0 0, Gage Neal 2-6 2-3 6, Tanner Williams 2-4 0-0 5, Mason Mershimer 0-1 1-2 1, Nate Tack 2-4 5-9 10, Quinton Scriven 6-6 2-2 15, Ethan McDeavitt 4-8 1-2 11, Kyle Pry 2-7 1-1 7, Cory McKinley 0-0 0-0 0 . Totals: 18-38 12-20 55.

Slippery Rock 9 12 7 16 — 44

Moniteau19 7 17 12 — 55

3-point goals: Roth 2, Caldwell; Williams, Tack, Scriven, McDeavitt 2, Pry 2.

JV: Slippery Rock, 47-38 (SR: Joe Michel 15, M:Cory McKinley 12)

Monday: Hickory at Slippery Rock

Friday: Moniteau vs. Mercer, Mercer Holiday Tournament