The North Callaway boys literally had their shots Tuesday to knock off the conference leader but couldn’t topple the Wildcats.

Montgomery County is a perfect 4-0 in Eastern Missouri Conference after handing North Callaway a 51-48 loss in Montgomery City. The Thunderbirds had some looks late at a potential game-tying 3-pointer but couldn’t make the shot.

Despite that, Matthew Weber nailed five 3-pointers to lead all scorers with 22 points, Isiah Craighead followed with 14 points, and Trenton Jones had six points and a team-high eight rebounds. Sam Pezold had seven rebounds, but the team’s leading scorer this season couldn’t buy a bucket all night, finishing without a field goal and two points at the free throw line.

Clayton Parker led Montgomery County (6-4) with 18 points, and Isaiah Thomas and Jay Rodgers followed with 10 points each.

North Callaway (4-4, 2-1 EMO) fell behind 33-25 at halftime after a 21-9 second quarter by Montgomery. Head coach Matt Miller said he liked how his defense did as the Wildcats were averaging 56.8 points going into Tuesday but couldn’t make those shots fall when time was dwindling in the fourth quarter.

“We held a high-scoring team to only 51 points,” Miller said. “Normally, you’d come away with a win, but they just didn’t fall for us tonight.”

North Callaway travels to Hallsville (6-1) for a quadruple header with junior varsity starting at 6 p.m. Dec. 27.

Ladybirds five-game win streak snapped by 52-31 loss at Montgomery County

The North Callaway girls are the losing team for the first time in six games after playing at reigning Eastern Missouri Conference champion Montgomery County on Tuesday.

The Ladybirds led 13-11 after one quarter but never led again once the Lady Wildcats tied the score at 15 in the second quarter to lose 52-31.

Riley Blevins made two 3-pointers in the first quarter before eventually leading North Callaway (6-4, 2-2 EMO) with 12 points, and Natalie Shryock followed with nine points.

Montgomery County (7-3, 3-0 EMO) had three double-digit scorers, including Olivia Shaw with 21 points, Maddy Queathem with 12 points and Malia Rodgers with 11 points.

Head coach Tim Turlington said the Ladybirds definitely didn’t play their best game of the year and are looking forward to getting back in the gym to start strong after the break.

North Callaway faces Hallsville (6-2) in that quadruple header starting at 6 p.m. Dec. 27 after junior varsity and before the boys.

Centralia girls finish strong against district foe Moberly in 63-56 victory

Centralia didn’t have long to celebrate a last-second win Saturday as the Lady Panthers had a tough district opponent on Tuesday.

After a 24-13 fourth quarter, Centralia won 63-56 at Moberly behind four double-digit scorers that was almost five.

Braylin Brunkhost, who hit the game-winning shot Saturday, led the Lady Panthers with 14 points and three assists, Annie Robinson followed with 11 points, five rebounds and three assists, Morgan Ross had 10 points, Jozelynn Bostick finished with 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals, and Harper Sontheimer had nine points and three assists.

Centralia (8-2) was ahead of Moberly (6-3) at halftime 31-29 before trailing 43-39.

The boys defeated the Spartans 42-41 after playing to a tie of 18 at halftime.

The Panthers (5-3) play at Bowling Green (3-4) at 7 p.m. Jan. 3. The Lady Panthers face Bowling Green (4-5) right before that at 5:30 p.m.

Mexico girls 3s fall, deficit doesn’t in 56-42 loss vs Boonville

The Mexico girls’ Tuesday night home game against Boonville saw 13 shots made from beyond the arc.

The Lady Bulldogs knocked down six 3-pointers but lost 56-42 despite cutting the deficit to as little as five points in the third and fourth quarters.

Claire Hudson led with 15 points and four 3-pointers, Kenzie Taylor followed with six points, and Jo Thurman and Capri’Ona Fountain each had five points.

Head coach Ed Costley said Mexico (3-8) stepped up in some areas and offered the “juice” he’s been looking for out of them. Fountain was more aggressive inside, and Kylie Burnett and Karlee Sefrit made “impact plays” off the bench he would like to see through four quarters.

For Boonville, Zoe Davis led with 26 points, and Karagyn Cooper followed with 15 points on five 3-pointers. The Lady Pirates 17-10 lead after the first quarter and didn’t outscore Mexico by any more than three points in each of the final three quarters.

Mexico plays in the Moberly Area Community College Shootout at 5 p.m. Dec. 30 against Van-Far (2-7).