Van-Far boys’ comeback not enough in 60-58 loss at Bowling Green

The Van-Far boys were in quite a hole early from which they were almost able to dig out.

Van-Far vs Bowling Green Gallery

Almost because the Indians lost 60-58 at Eastern Missouri Conference foe Bowling Green. Van-Far trailed 30-22 at halftime and then 49-38 prior to mounting a 20-11 fourth quarter.

Bowling Green hit eight 3-pointers, including five in the third quarter that widened its lead, compared with Van-Far’s five from deep.

Head coach Pat Connaway said the Indians were down by as much as 17 points before Cody Smith eventually hit a 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds left to cut the deficit to two. Following a foul after the inbound pass, Bowling Green missed both free throws to leave Van-Far one more shot to win it.

“We ran a nice set and the inbounds pass was just off-line,” Connaway said. Nikos (Connaway) ran it down and shot a tough 18-footer from the baseline. He basically shot it over the backboard, and it rimmed out at the horn.”

Nikos Connaway led Van-Far with 23 points, 13 rebounds and six steals, Smith followed with 13 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Carter Jennings had six points and six rebounds.

“We didn’t finish and missed a lot of easy opportunities,” Pat Connaway said. “Mentally, we let their physical nature bother some of us and we were a bit timid until the second half. We have now dropped to 6-7 on the year and five losses are by an average of 3 points or less. We need to learn how to start finishing games.”

Van-Far opened its Tony Lenzini tournament stint in Palmyra with a 9 p.m. Tuesday game against Clark County (5-7).

Lady Indians pulled away from in second half, lose 56-43 at Bowling Green

The Van-Far girls are still searching for that first Eastern Missouri Conference win.

The Lady Indians lost 56-43 at conference foe Bowling Green (7-7, 3-1 EMO) on Friday, falling behind by more after trailing 23-17 at halftime.

Van-Far (2-11, 0-5 EMO) was led by its efforts in the post as Mara Jensen finished with 15 points and eight rebounds, and McKenna Engh-Hoffman had 14 points and eight rebounds. Carmen Wilburn had nine points, six assists and two 3-pointers.

The Lady Indians shot 39 percent from the field and were 6-for-15 from the free throw line.

Van-Far opened its Tony Lenzini tournament stay in Palmyra on Tuesday against Canton (9-6).

Community R-6 girls overcome slow start, New Franklin in 45-42 win

The Community R-6 girls had some work to do Friday night against Central Activities Conference foe New Franklin.

The Lady Trojans fell behind 15-4 after the first quarter in the first of the games that were moved to Central Methodist University in Fayette. Community chipped away until it trailed 23-18 at halftime and then led 32-30 after the third quarter before finally winning 45-42.

Head coach Bob Curtis said the Lady Trojans (13-2, 5-0 CAC) defeated New Franklin (11-4, 3-1 CAC) already on its home floor the previous Friday in the championship game of the New Franklin tournament, but it is difficult to defeat an opponent — especially a conference foe — twice.

“I think the switch of venues to a college floor kind of added a nervousness that we had to overcome,” Curtis said. “Playing at Central Methodist University was a neat experience for our kids but felt like a disaster the first 10 minutes. It is hard to beat a team twice, especially seven days after you did it the first time. I am so proud of how the girls reacted to some tough talks in some timeouts and chose to fight rather than lay down and take a loss.”

Sarah Angel led the Lady Trojans with 13 points, Olivia Kuda followed with 11 points, and Alyssa Beamer and Brooklynn Glasgow each had seven points.

Community played at Bunceton/Prairie Home (8-8) on Tuesday before going to Paris (3-11) for a 6 p.m. Friday game.

Trojans lose second one to state-ranked New Franklin 77-44

The Community R-6 boys had another shot against a state-ranked opponent Friday night.

The Trojans lost 77-44 to Central Activities Conference foe and Class 2 No. 8 New Franklin, unable to cool off the Bulldogs that are currently on an 11-game winning streak.

Gavin Allen led the Trojans with 20 points, Mason Carroll followed with 12 points and Brant Cope had five points.

Community (8-8, 3-2 CAC) lost 60-25 to New Franklin (14-1, 4-0 CAC) the previous week in the New Franklin tournament, and head coach Tad Shotten said he liked the Trojans’ effort the second time around.

“I don't think my guys could have played any harder,” Shotten said. “Their effort really stood out so I’m just really proud of them. New Franklin is a really deep team that plays a style that really fits their personnel and depth. They wear you down with their pressure. That's what beat us tonight was their depth and the lack of ours. We did some really nice things that we talked about after the game. We exploited some mismatches down low with our size that we had been working on.”

Community played at Bunceton/Prairie Home (2-12) on Tuesday prior to traveling to Paris (6-7) for a 7:30 p.m. Friday game.

Centralia boys lose close one 54-49 at Palmyra

The Centralia boys’ deficit ended up not any smaller at the very end.

After trailing by five points at halftime, the Panthers lost by the same margin 54-49 at Clarence Cannon Conference foe Palmyra (11-4, 1-0 CCC). Centralia (7-6, 1-1 CCC) trailed 28-23 at halftime.

Jack Romine led the Panthers with 16 points and four assists, Cullen Bennett followed with 15 points and six rebounds, and Logan Rosenfelder had 11 points and three steals.

Centralia hosts Marceline (1-12) at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Lady Panthers fall behind little by little at Palmyra, loses 63-48

The Centralia girls weren’t able to keep up with Palmyra.

The Lady Panthers’ Clarence Cannon Conference foe, who received votes in the latest Class 3 state poll, built a lead that grew bigger with each passing quarter until Centralia lost 63-48, bringing a five-game winning streak to an end.

Centralia (11-3, 0-2 CCC) was behind Palmyra (12-3, ) 18-14 prior to being outscored 20-12 in the second quarter for a 38-26 halftime deficit.

Braylin Brunkhorst led the Lady Panthers with 13 points and two steals, Jozelynn Bostick followed with 12 points, six assists and two steals, Shelby Lewis had 10 points and eight rebounds, and Raegan Anderson finished with seven points.

Centralia hosted Boonville (5-5) on Tuesday and will play Marceline (9-5) on its home court at 6 p.m. Friday.

Missouri Military Academy falls shorts 62-59 at New Haven in 2OT

Missouri Military Academy stayed close most of the night but finally fell on a last-second shot.

The Colonels lost 62-59 at New Haven on Friday night in double overtime — MMA’s second double-overtime contest in three games. The second overtime period remained scoreless until New Haven knocked down a 3-pointer to win.

Tsengeg Bayasgalan led MMA (4-5) with 28 points, Nathan Dempsey followed with 15 points and Albert Ogutu had 14 points.

After one quarter, the Colonels trailed by five points and were down by as much as 10 points in the second quarter prior to Bayasgalan leading them to tie the game at 28 going into halftime.

MMA trailed 44-42 after three quarters and forced the contest into overtime tied at 52 after allowing eight points in the fourth quarter and having five points scored by Dempsey.

The score was tied at 59 after one overtime prior to the game-winning shot by New Haven (5-8) at the end of the second period.

MMA plays all this week at the Belle Tournament, starting with Plato on Tuesday.