Centralia Avoids Upset from Macon; Kirksville Rolls Past Moberly in District Openers

The high seeds won on the opening night of the Class 4 District 8 Boys Tournament with third-seeded Kirksville and fourth-seeded Centralia advancing to Thursday’s semifinals.

The nightcap saw Centralia edge past sixth-seeded Macon 47-46. The Panthers led most of the way and held a lead as large as eight in the third quarter. The Tigers responded with a late third quarter run capped by Jonathan Bray.

Colin Schowe with the call on KWIX AM-FM and centralmoinfo.com. That three-pointer by Bray gave Macon just its third lead of the night at 34-33. The Tigers expanded the lead to three in the fourth quarter but Anthony Ford provided the necessary response for the Panthers.

Ford completed the three-point play and shot a perfect 6-6 at the free throw line to help push the Panthers back ahead by seven. He led the Panthers with 16 points while Logan Rosenfelder added 12. Coach Scott Humphrey said they were both crucial to the victory.

Centralia improves to 16-11 and will face Hallsville in a district semifinal on Thursday. Macon finishes the season 6-19. The Tigers rallied late on a pair of bank shot three-pointers but never got a shot to win at the end. They were led by sophomores Kace Holman with 15 points and Hagan Ritter with 13. Coach Dale Devenport said the future is bright for the Tigers.

Bray and Jace Terry are the lone senior graduates for the Tigers.

The night opened with the Kirksville Tigers posting a wire-to-wire 67-49 victory over the Moberly Spartans. Cole Kelly scored 17 of his game-high 26 points in the first half as the Tigers raced out to a 33-20 halftime advantage. Justin McKim added 16 in the win. Kirksville coach Tyler Martin discussed his offense’s execution.

After hitting 16 three-pointers in their previous meeting with Kirksville, the Spartans were held to eight in the rematch. Cameron Doubrava hit five to finish with a team-high 15. BJ Godreau and Ty Rucker finished with 10 each. Moberly coach Brett Boyer said they fought an uphill battle all night.

Moberly concludes the season at 12-15. Kirksville improves to 17-8 and will face top-seed Mexico in Thursday’s district semifinal.

Centralia coach Scott Humphrey

Kirksville coach Tyler Martin

Macon coach Dale Devenport

Moberly coach Brett Boyer