CHERRY TWP — While waiting for his team to work for patient shots Monday night, Randy Armagost ran out of patience himself.

The Moniteau boys basketball coach called a timeout with 2:26 left in the first quarter and his team trailing Karns City, 12-4.

"We were just catching the ball and shooting,"Armagost said. "We weren't fronting people on defense, either. Once we started passing the ball a little bit and getting open shots, we were fine."

The Warriors trailed 19-12 midway through the second quarter before going on a 14-2 run to assume a five-point halftime lead. Moniteau pulled away from the KSAC East-leading Gremlins in the second half for a 62-49 victory.

Karns City (15-7, 13-4) surrendered more than 60 points for only the third time this season.

"We looked sluggish out there all night,"Gremlins coach Steve Andreassi said.

Moniteau's 14-2 run was sparked by a number of players. Josh Loos sank two free throws to get it started. Tyler Armagost stuck back an offensive rebound and hit a pair of free throws himself. Adam Cousins nailed four free throws.

When the Warriors (12-10, 11-6) were at the line, they rarely missed. Moniteau sank 20 of 22 shots from the charity stripe and placed five players in double figures.

Tyler Armagost had 16 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Matt Buczkowski contributed 12 points and 13 rebounds.

Cousins had 10 points and three steals, and Loos and Nick Morrow had 10 points each.

Morrow hit a pair of 3-pointers to help extend the lead. The first gave the Warriors a 35-27 lead with 4:47 left in the third quarter, the second gave them a 46-34 advantage with 6:08 left in the game.

"This is how we should have been playing all year,"Buczkowski said. "This team has so much potential. I don't think we've peaked yet, but we're getting there."

Moniteau has won seven of its last eight games, the lone loss being a 65-47 decision to Keystone last week.

"That served as a wake-up call for these guys because we didn't play well that night,"Coach Armagost said. "I never worry about how we're playing early in the season. What counts is how you're playing late."

Moniteau had a 34-28 edge on the boards. Its lead peaked at 62-47 with 31.1 seconds left.

The teams combined for 42 turnovers — 22 by Karns City.

Cameron Turner paced the Gremlins with 16 points and seven rebounds while Kevin Beck added 11 points and six boards.

Any Karns City comeback bid in the fourth quarter was foiled by the team sinking just four of 12 free throws.

"We sank them early (7 of 8 in the first half) and missed them late again," Andreassi said. "I can't dwell on it. We don't have any time to practice them ... We play four games in five days. "

The Gremlins still control their own fate in terms of the KSACEast race. If they win at Redbank Valley today and defeat Clarion at home Thursday, they will win the division.

"We control what happens. But we have to win,"Andreassi said.

KARNS CITY 49Mike Senopole 4-9 0-0 9, Cody Terwilliger 1-5 0-0 2, Mike McConnell 1-5 0-3 3, Cameron Turner 5-7 6-9 16, Matt McConnell 2-9 0-0 5, Chris Harmon 0-0 1-2 1, Kody Craig 1-2 0-0 2, Trevor Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Dan Everetts 0-1 0-0 0, Kevin Beck 3-7 5-8 11.

Totals: 17-45 12-22 49

MONITEAU 62Matt Buczkowski 6-9 0-0 12, Aaron Randall 1-3 2-2 4, Nick Morrow 2-8 4-4 10, Adam Cousins 2-5 6-8 10, Josh Loos 4-9 2-2 10, Tyler Armagost 5-12 6-6 16, Mitch Czech 0-0 0-0 0.

Totals: 20-46 20-22 62

Karns City 12 9 11 17—49Moniteau 8 18 15 21—623-point goals: Senopole, Mi. McConnell, Ma. McConnell; Morrow 2

JV: Moniteau, 51-44 (M-Zach McCormick 16, Josh Madru 14, Brandon Simmons 11, KC-Chris Harmon 25)

Tuesday: Karns City atRedbank Valley, Moniteau atCranberry