The Van-Far boys secured victory after one half on Friday night.
In the Indians' Eastern Missouri Conference opener at home, they defeated Louisiana 67-31, coming away with 21 steals and allowing nine field goals in the game. Van-Far had 16 steals and three field goals allowed after one half, leading 44-16 at halftime following a 22-4 first quarter. Pacey Reading scored 26 of his 29 points in the first half and finished with five steals and three 3-pointers, Kasen Christian followed with nine points, Evan Utterback finished with eight points and Gaven Gaston had eight steals and five assists.
Van-Far plays host Centralia (1-2) at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the first round of the Centralia Invitational. The Indians go in with a 6-0 record but know they have to be better against bigger schools in the tournament field. They will feel good with at least two wins next week like in last year's tournament.
"Going into Centralia, us and Salisbury are the only 2A schools there," head coach Pat Connaway said. "Centralia is a 4A school, and we play them in the first round. We got off to a good start but are still not quite in basketball shape. We're getting healthier over sickness. We're going to find out what we're made of next week."
Look for the full story in the Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, edition of the Mexico Ledger.
