Boys basketball

Long scores 1,000th point to lead Mexico boys to 62-42 Senior Night win vs Hannibal

There wasn’t just one but two special basketballs presented at Gary Filbert Court on Tuesday night.

Mexico Senior Night Photo Gallery

Prior to the game, Mexico boys head coach Darren Pappas was recognized for winning his 100th career game on Feb. 10 at St. Elizabeth and then had the honor of giving junior DJ Long a special ball for scoring his 1,000th career point at the end of the first half of Mexico’s 62-42 victory against North Central Missouri Conference foe Hannibal (8-16, 3-7 NCMC). The Bulldogs (17-9, 8-2 NCMC) won their regular season finale — the same night seniors Jordan Shelton, Anthony Shivers and Dante Kelley were honored on Senior Night.

The momentous bucket occurred right before Mexico took a 29-23 lead into halftime as Long glided through the air before finishing at the rim in transition. The Bulldogs were effective on the run and were clicking after the first quarter thanks to the play of their point guard Long, head coach Darren Pappas said, which goes beyond the team-high 18 points he had on Tuesday.

“He’s a really good offensive player and scorer, but I think, most importantly if you watched this game tonight, he had a ton of assists too. He’s not just a one-track minded offensive player. He can definitely dish it out as well, reading what the defense was giving him and finding the open man.”

Pappas said Long has provided the Bulldogs with the right balance of scoring and facilitating from the point guard position the previous two years. Long arrived in Mexico after playing his freshman year at Van-Far. 

Ever since becoming a Bulldog, Pappas said Long has developed a chemistry with his teammates as he was spreading assists to everybody. Shelton finished with 13 points, Shivers followed with 10 points and two 3-pointers, PJ Perkins had eight points and seven rebounds, and Jaydon Eldridge had seven points and seven rebounds.

“If everybody eats, it comes out as a win as we’ll end up with more points,” Long said. “I make sure I get everybody the ball and they make sure they give me the ball so everybody is getting some points on the board and contributing to the team.”

No. 3 seed Mexico opens districts with No. 6 Moberly (3-21) at 7:30 p.m. Monday in the Class 4 District 8 tournament in Moberly.

Look for the full story in the Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, edition of the Mexico Ledger.

Hallsville 68 Centralia 42 in Hallsville. The Panthers end the regular season at 14-11 and face the No. 4 seed Indians again at 6 p.m. Monday in the first round of the Class 4 District 8 tournament in Moberly as the No. 5 seed.

Girls basketball

Mexico sends off seniors with stronger 2nd half, lose 58-46 to Hannibal

The Mexico girls refused to give up on Senior Night but couldn’t win their season finale.

The Lady Bulldogs trailed North Central Missouri Conference foe Hannibal 30-17 at halftime before thundering back with a stronger second half that wasn’t enough to avoid a 58-46 loss. Seniors Lexie Willer, Messiah Simpson, Capri’Ona Fountain and Kierstan Epperson were honored after the game during Senior Night festivities.

Head coach Ed Costley said he just didn’t think Mexico (9-17, 5-5 NCMC) didn’t play aggressive enough in the first half as it was in a 21-6 hole after the first quarter that didn’t shrink much in the second quarter, despite holding Hannibal (18-7, 7-3 NCMC) without a bucket until just south of three minutes. Claire Hudson knocked down the Lady Bulldogs’ first 3-pointer around that same time.

“In the second half, we did a better job of being more aggressive, getting to the middle but also attacking on the baseline side of it,” Costley said. “We got more paint opportunities and got to the free throw line more in the second half.”

Hannibal had a hot shooting start as the Lady Pirates knocked down five 3-pointers, including Kyliah French hitting three from beyond the arc off the bench. Hannibal was only able to hit two more 3-pointers in the final three quarters.

“In that first half, we just didn’t do a good job of keeping their dribbler out of the paint in the first quarter,” Costley said. “They hit two 3s (early in the first quarter) and those two 3s came off the dribble in the paint off kickouts. We did a better job in the second half of not giving them the easy kickouts.”

Claire Hudson led the Lady Bulldogs with 18 points, sinking three 3-pointers including a four-point play before the end of the third quarter. Willer led the team with three steals to go along with 10 points. Karlee Sefrit added eight points off the bench, and Fountain had a team-high eight rebounds.

Hannibal still had 11 different players score as its top three scorers of French with 14 points and four 3-pointers, Siena Minor with 11 points and seven rebounds, and Zaria Reese with eight points all came off the bench. 

The No. 6 seed Lady Bulldogs will be able to mount a quicker start at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday against No. 3 Hallsville (14-10) in the first round of the Class 4 District 8 tournament in Centralia. Mexico lost 64-30 to the Lady Indians back in January.

Look for the full story in the Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, edition of the Mexico Ledger.

Centralia 55 Hallsville 29 in Hallsville. Lady Panthers win 12th consecutive game to finish regular season 23-3. As the No. 1 seed, they face the winner of Kirksville and Macon at 6 p.m. March 2 in the semifinals of the Class 4 District 8 tournament in Centralia.

Girls district basketball

North Callaway improves gradually for 49-18 opening-round win vs South Callaway

It wasn't the best start for the North Callaway girls on Tuesday but it still ended in victory.

The Ladybirds defeated South Callaway for the third time this season, winning 49-18 in the first round of the Class 3 District 7 tournament in South Callaway.

Lakyn Hartley led North Callaway (15-11) with 19 points, six rebounds and three steals off the bench, Abrielle Burgher followed with 17 points and three steals, Riley Blevins had six points and eight steals, and Jalyn Leible finished with six rebounds.

Reagan Arrowood led South Callaway (1-24) with seven points, with all of them happening in the fourth quarter.

The Ladybirds led 7-4 after the first quarter but then scored 10, 14 and 18 points in the final three quarters.

North Callaway faces No. 2 seed Hermann (14-12) at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

Sturgeon 59 Van-Far 40 in Class 2 District 5 tournament in Sturgeon. Van-Far ends season with a 6-19 record.

Clopton 52 Paris 26 in Class 2 District 5 tournament in Sturgeon. Paris ends season with 8-19 record.