Atlanta Boys and North Shelby Girls End Lengthy La Plata Tournament Title Droughts

Photo courtesy of Mitch Kaminski, Alpa Media Moberly

The Atlanta boys rallied late to claim their first La Plata Tournament title since 1971 while North Shelby held on late against Schuyler County to win the tournament for the first time since 1987.

The boys’ championship saw the Atlanta Hornets make a fierce rally in the fourth quarter to defeat Green City 63-62. Atlanta raced out to a 12-2 lead but Green City quickly responded to lead by as many as 16 points in the second quarter. Ty Hall played a large role in the Gophers’ first half barrage.

Colin Schowe with the call on KTCM 97.3 and centralmoinfo.com. Hall finished with 16 points all in the first half. The Gophers led 39-27 at the half and the Hornets still trailed by twelve with five minutes remaining in the game. A pair of three-pointers by Mason Reed and buckets by Landon Gilliland and Roman Phillips keyed the comeback. Atlanta’s defense then forced a turnover with 27 seconds left, trailing 62-61. That set the stage for JJ White to be the hero for the Hornets.

White finished the game with nine points. Reed led the Hornets with 19 points. Atlanta coach Jason White analyzed the final events of the game.

Atlanta improves to 19-3 and has now beaten the Gophers in two of three meetings this season. Green City was led by Xander Salas with 20 points as they fell to 18-3. Green City coach Matt Ayers said this game will serve as a good lesson for his team.

The North Shelby Lady Raiders defeated Schuyler County 54-49 to capture their first La Plata Invitational title since 1987. Caroline Linberger led the way for the Lady Raiders with a game-high 24 points. The Lady Rams took the lead early in the second quarter and never gave it back. Schuyler County was able to cut it down to one possession multiple times in the fourth quarter but a Natalie Thrasher layup helped put the game away with 41 seconds remaining.

Mitchell Kaminski with the call. North Shelby outscored Schuyler County 19-14 in the fourth quarter. Head Coach Chris Parson talked about how his team’s defense was the difference maker.

Despite the loss, Schuyler County Head Coach Thomas Kirkland thinks the championship environment will pay dividends for his team the rest of the season.

North Shelby improves to 3-1 in the season series against Schuyler County and 19-3 on the season.

The Canton Tigers defeated the Schuyler County Rams 61-46 to take third place in the La Plata Invitational. Preston Brewer led the Tigers with 17 points while Kaden Oliver and Kyle Frazier also reached double figures.

Tigers coach Dalton Armontrout was pleased with the balanced attack.

Kale Windy scored his 1,000th career point en route to a game-high 19 points.

However, a 15-2 Canton run to open the second half doomed the Rams. The loss drops Schuyler County to 12-5 while Canton improved to 15-10 on the year.

In the girls’ third place game Canton went on an 18-0 run to close the first quarter and rolled to a 67-44 win over La Plata. Macy Glasgow scored 14 of her game-high 18 points in the first half to key the Lady Tigers’ victory. Coach Danielle Baker said she was placed with how her team came out following a tough semi-final loss.

Canton improves to 16-7 with the win. La Plata was led by freshman Layne Mack with 14 points while Claire Coy scored eleven points coming off the bench. The Lady Bulldogs drop to 11-13 with the defeat. You can hear full postgame interviews with the coaches online at centralmoinfo.com

Atlanta boys coach Jason White