KC dominates 2nd quarter, rolls to 15-point win at Moniteau
CHERRY TWP — Opponents that allow Karns City’s boys basketball team to take control of a game are playing with fire. The Gremlins have the ability to put a firm grip on momentum and make the rest of the game extremely frustrating for their foe.
Moniteau knew this going into Thursday’s clash with the visiting Gremlins, but the Warriors hit the slippery slope in the second quarter and never recovered.
Trailing the Warriors 18-17 after the first period, KC outscored Moniteau 18-6 in the second and the lead was never threatened in a 63-48 victory.
“A big part of it was their best player (guard Chason Rugg) was on the bench with foul trouble,” said KC coach Zach Kepple. “In a rivalry game like this, a game you expect to be close, you have to take advantage of situations like that and go on a run. I’m proud of our guys for stepping up and doing that tonight.”
Five different players made field goals for the Gremlins in the second period. With 2:20 left in the half, however, Moniteau’s deficit was just 27-22. KC added an 8-2 spurt before halftime, including Hobie Bartoe’s basket with 10 seconds left that made the count 35-24 at the break.
“We were attacking the basket,” said Bartoe. “We have a lot of guys capable of scoring in double figures and are playing with a lot of confidence right now.”
Moniteau coach Mike Jewart wanted his team to avoid a slow start like it had in a 70-60 loss at Karns City just over two weeks ago.
The Warriors achieved that Thursday, playing well in the first quarter and taking the lead on Andrew Zepeda’s bucket with six seconds left.
“Chason came out of the game with two fouls late in the first quarter,” Jewart said. “After that, nobody other than Andrew wanted to shoot the ball, we stopped communicating, stopped playing defense.
“We were coming off our best game of the season defensively against Redbank (in a loss on Tuesday), and then we come out and lay an egg tonight. I can’t explain it.”
Chances of a rally faded. The Gremlins (7-3) led 49-33 after three quarters and Moniteau shot just 32 percent (10 of 31) from the field in the second half.
Bartoe paced the balanced scoring from the Gremlins with a career-high 20 points. Jacob Callihan added 16 points and Taite Beighley 12.
Moniteau entered the season with high hopes, but the Warriors (4-6) have lost three straight and five of their last six.
“The front end of our schedule was loaded with a lot of good teams,” said Jewart. “I still thought we’d be able to put full games together and tonight, other than the first quarter, we just were not competitive.
“That Karns City team is very good. They know how to finish shots with contact and are relentless on the glass.”
Aydan Jackson scored 15 points to lead Moniteau, followed by Zepeda (13) and Rugg (11).
KARNS CITY 63
Hobie Bartoe 7 6-7 20, Taite Beighley 4 4-5 12, Luke Cramer 4 0-3 9, Jacob Callihan 5 6-6 16, Shane Peters 3 0-0 6, Colson Ritzert 0 0-0 0. Totals: 23 16-21 63.
MONITEAU 48
Chason Rugg 4 0-0 11, Andrew Zepeda 6 0-0 13, Aydan Jackson 5 4-7 15, David Dessicino 3 0-0 6, Landon Kelly 1 0-0 2, Dawson Cooke 0 1-2 1, Connor Ealy 0 0-0 0, David Martino 0 0-0 0, Brendin Sankey 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 5-9 48.
Karns City 17 18 14 14 — 63
Moniteau 18 6 9 15 — 48
3-point goals: Karns City 1 (Cramer); Moniteau 5 (Rugg 3, Zepeda, Jackson).
Monday: Moniteau at Cranberry
Wednesday: Karns City at Union
