Mexico Holds Off Moberly, Hallsville Surges Past Centralia In First Round

The Moberly Spartans gave the Mexico Bulldogs all they could handle in their first round of their class four district eight matchup on Monday night. However the Bulldogs were able to pull away late to secure a 74-59 victory in Moberly.

The sixth seeded Spartans led 17-14 through the first eight minutes over the three seed until Mexico used a 23-7 second quarter run to slingshot into the lead at halftime. Moberly rallied after the halftime break cutting the deficit to just four early in the fourth quarter. That’s when the Bulldogs backcourt duo of DJ Long and Jordan Shelton came alive to slam the door on the Spartans

Mitchell Kaminski with the call on KTCM and streaming live on centralmoinfo.com. Long scored a game high 31 points while Shelton chipped in 23. The pair combined for 23 of the Bulldogs 25 points in the fourth quarter.

Mexico coach Darren Pappas discussed their performance

Despite the 15 point defeat Spartans head coach Brett Boyer thought they played some of their best basketball of the season.

The Spartans end the year with a 3-23 record. Mexico improved to 18-9 on the year and set up a second round matchup with the number two seed Kirksville.

Full Postgame Interviews

Moberly head coach Brett Boyer:

Mexico head coach Darren Pappas:

The Hallsville Indians ran away with a 59-39 over the Centralia Panthers in the first matchup of the night featuring a clash between the four and five seeds. The Panthers defense stood tough in the first half earning them a 20-19 lead heading into halftime. Kolton Garner, who scored 12 of the Indians 19 points in the first half picked up right where he left off in the second half.

Garner scored a game high 25 points, and spearheaded a 40-10 second half run to put the game out of reach. Centralia head coach Scott Humphrey discussed his team’s struggles in the second half.

Panthers finished the season with a 14-12 record. Hallsville will face Macon in the second round.

Full Postgame Interview

Centralia head coach Scott Humphrey: