CHERRY TWP — If only Randy Armagost could bottle his team's latest performance.

With the District 9 Class AA playoffs looming, the Moniteau boys basketball coach watched five of his players score in double figures in a 72-57 win over Karns City Thursday night.

Zach Sloan led the way with 15 points, Zach McCormick and Kyle Armagost each tallied 14, Andrew Armagost had 12 and Jordan Smith 11.

Andrew Armagost tallied seven rebounds.

"We switched up our starting lineup a bit tonight," said Coach Armagost. "Andrew (freshman) and Jordan (junior) got their first varsity start of the year.

"Both of them have been playing so well in junior varsity games, I figured they deserved a shot at starting."

Karns City's 3-point shooting kept the Gremlins in the game.

Through three quarters, KC had made eight baskets from beyond the arc and trailed by five points entering the final period.

The Warriors, however, won the fourth quarter 26-16.

"We came in just hoping to be competitive and I was happy with where we were at after three quarters," said Gremlins coach Chris Bellis. "In the end, Moniteau just made more shots, especially in the paint."

The Gremlins have been dealing with a size disadvantage all season, but they kept things interesting against the rival Warriors.

KC (4-16, 3-12) drained 10 3-pointers, including five by junior guard Brad Fuhrer.

Jake Henry's four-point play with 1:25 left in the third quarter cut Moniteau's edge to 44-41.

But the Warriors (9-11, 9-7) opened the fourth period with a 10-4 run, which was capped by Andrew Armagost's 3-pointer with 5:18 left in the game.

Fuhrer led KC with 15 points and Evan Olszak tallied 13.

"I'd say 35 percent of our shots this season have been 3-pointers," said Bellis. "Part of it is due to our lack of size, but we also have some good outside shooters."

The Warriors' season has been a roller-coaster ride.

The team opened the year with two straight losses, followed by four wins in five games and then four losses in five games.

Since then, the team is 4-4.

"(Today's) game against Clarion-Limestone is very important," said Coach Armagost. "We need to show we can play good basketball consistently."

The Warriors will be the fourth seed in the upcoming playoffs and will host fifth-seeded Brockway either Tuesday or Wednesday.

KARNS CITY 57Brad Fuhrer 5 0-0 15, Cameron Harp 1 0-3 2, Brandyn Bowser 0 2-2 2, Aaron Markle 1 1-2 3, Jake Henry 2 1-1 7, Evan Olszak 6 0-0 13, Brandon Collier 2 4-6 9, Tucker Preston 1 3-3 6, Eric McCue 0 0-0 0, Adam Garing 0 0-0 0, Luke Gordon 0 0-0 0, Josh Wallace 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 18 11-17 57.

MONITEAU 72Kyle Armagost 4 5-6 14, Zach Sloan 4 7-11 15, James Shope 0 2-2 2, Zach McCormick 5 0-0 14, Jereme Loos 2 0-0 4, Andrew Armagost 4 3-4 12, Jordan Smith 5 1-6 11, Mitch Hunter 0 0-0 0, Lewis Martino 0 0-0 0, Heath Lominski 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 24 18-29 72.

Karns City 8 23 10 16—57Moniteau 16 16 14 26—723-point goals: Karns City 10 (Fuhrer 5, Henry 2, Preston, Collier, Olszak); Moniteau 6 (McCormick 4, A. Armagost, K. Armagost).

JV score: Moniteau 42-28 (M-Joe Holifelder 15 points; KC-Jake Henry 10)

Today: Clarion-Limestone at Moniteau; Karns City at Union