KC survives Moniteau rally
KARNS CITY — In both games against Moniteau last year, Karns City’s boys basketball team needed double-overtime to top the rival Warriors.
No such extended labor was needed Tuesday night, but there were still some unsure moments for the Gremlins and their faithful.
Holding a 20-plus point lead for much of the second quarter, the host Gremlins saw their edge dwindle to seven points late in the fourth period. But Moniteau’s rally ran out of gas as KC earned a 70-60 victory.
“We told our guys at halftime (with KC leading 38-20) that Moniteau would start making shots,” said Gremlins’ coach Zach Kepple. “They’re a good team and made a great run at us in the fourth quarter.”
The Warriors’ shooting actually came around in the third period when they made nine of 11 attempts from the floor. But KC’s Luke Cramer, who did not score in the first half, nailed three treys and scored 11 points in the period and the Gremlins entered the final eight minutes with a seemingly comfortable 60-41 lead.
Moniteau coach Mike Jewart, who was left scratching his head after a dismal first half, watched his team dominate for much of the fourth period.
Chason Delarosa-Rugg scored five points in the first 56 seconds of the quarter and Aydan Jackson completed a conventional 3-point play. Meanwhile, Karns City missed its first four attempts from the floor in the period and committed six turnovers.
“The positive was, once we woke up, we started to play the way we’ve been practicing,” Jewart said. “We started rebounding and playing defense, making shots. We really started to work in the third quarter and I’m happy with the comeback.
“It’s just, the way we started tonight, I was flabbergasted. If this was a 10-round fight, we would’ve been knocked out in the second, or at least given a standing 8-count.”
Hobie Bartoe’s basket with 4:06 remaining was KC’s first points of the fourth quarter and pushed the lead back to double digits at 62-51.
Another 3-point play from Jackson and David Martino turning a KC turnover into two more points made it 67-60 with 1:04 on the clock. That’s when the well went dry for the Warriors (3-2).
KC (4-2) led 16-7 after one quarter and hit another gear in the second period.
“We were really dominated on the glass against Redbank Valley (a 67-66 loss last Thursday),” said Kepple. “We talked about rebounding at both ends of the floor tonight and we really started to do it in the second quarter.”
The Gremlins outrebounded Moniteau 13-3 in that 8-minute span and 6-foot-6 junior forward Shane Peters drained three of his seven field goals. He showed his range with several made jump shots.
“I worked on it during the offseason and feel good taking those shots now,” said Peters, who added six rebounds. “We started to slow up in the second half and just needed to get our tempo back.”
Jacob Callihan had 15 points and seven boards in the win. Taite Beighley added 15 points and Cramer 13.
Delarosa-Rugg paced Moniteau with 21 points. Jackson and David Dessicino both added 12 points.
The Warriors will have their chance to avenge Tuesday’s loss when the teams meet at Moniteau on Jan. 4.
MONITEAU 60
Chason Delarosa-Rugg 7 5-5 21, David Martino 3 0-1 6, Andrew Zepeda 4 1-1 9, Aydan Jackson 5 2-2 12, David Dessicino 5 2-3 12, Brendin Sankey 0 0-0 0, Landen Kelly 0 0-0 0, Connor Ealy 0 0-0 0, Dawson Cooke 0 0-0 0. Totals: 24 10-12 60.
KARNS CITY 70
Colson Ritzert 2 0-0 6, Hobie Bartoe 3 0-4 7, Taite Beighley 4 5-6 15, Luke Cramer 5 0-0 13, Jacob Callihan 4 7-10 15, Shane Peters 7 0-0 14, Jacob Jones 0 0-0 0. Totals: 25 12-20 70.
Moniteau 7 13 21 19 — 60
Karns City 16 22 22 10 — 70
3-point goals: Moniteau 2 (Delarosa-Rugg 2); Karns City 8 (Cramer 3, Ritzert 2, Beighley 2, Bartoe)
Friday: Moniteau at Franklin
Dec. 27: Karns City at Franklin Holiday Classic
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