North Shelby Rally Falls Short Against Wellsville-Middletown

The North Shelby boys’ basketball team’s playoff run came to an end with a 66-59 loss to Wellsville-Middletown at Pershing Arena in Kirksville on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers used a 14-0 run over the latter part of the first quarter and into the second quarter to open a double-digit lead on North Shelby. Their lead would grow to as large as 16, but North Shelby rallied to get as close as five at one point in the second half. Wellsville-Middletown’s Keaton Mayes helped stop one Raider rally late in the third quarter.

Colin Schowe with the call on KTCM 97.3 and centralmoinfo.com. Mayes converted the free throw and finished with a game-high 22 points. The Tigers outscored North Shelby in every quarter except the fourth. North Shelby head coach Landon Daniel explained the challenges they faced from Wellsville-Middletown’s defense.

North Shelby senior Robert Uhlmeyer led the Raiders with 21 points. Brendyn McDaniel added eleven points and Landon Bender chipped-in ten coming off the bench. This season was the first in Daniel’s four-year tenure that the Raiders compiled a winning season. Daniel said this success is a tribute to his players.

North Shelby concludes the season with a record of 20-7 and will graduate five seniors. The tenth-ranked Wellsville-Middletown Tigers advanced to their first final four since 1987. Last year, the Tigers fell one game short of that mark by losing in the quarterfinals to Salisbury. Wellsville-Middletown coach Steve Lasman said he’s proud of his team for getting over the hump this year.