Salisbury Sweeps Championships at Sturgeon Tournament

Photo Courtesy of Austin Ward, Alpha Media Moberly, MO

The Salisbury boys and girls both brought home championships from the Sturgeon Tournament Saturday.

It was the third Sturgeon Tournament title in four years notched for the Salisbury Panthers with a 59-48 victory over the New Franklin Bulldogs. The Panthers held a 29-27 halftime lead but the Bulldogs got an early third quarter surge to take a four-point lead. Hayden Wooldridge erased that on part of a series of three-point plays.

Colin Schowe with the call on KTCM 97.3 and centralmoinfo.com. The Panthers ended up pushing their advantage to 14 in the fourth quarter to run their record to 17-1. Coach Kenny Wyatt said the switch to their half court trap was critical.

Cooper Francis led all scorers with 30 points while Hayden Wooldridge added 11 points. Drake Clark was the lone Bulldog in double figures with 19. New Franklin falls to 16-3. Coach Jim Schlotzhauer said this was a good learning experience for his team.

Salisbury won its third straight Sturgeon Tournament girls championship 51-47 by holding off a big Westran rally. After Westran got out to an 8-2 lead, the Lady Panthers grabbed control and led by as much as 17 in the second quarter. Westran got back in it by winning the third quarter 16-6.

Austin Ward with the call. The Lady Hornets got as close as two but never completed the comeback. Tori Ricketts led 13-5 Salisbury with 16 points while Emersyn Hammons knocked down four threes and finished with 14. Coach Cloe Billington was happy with how her team adjusted.

Emma Wortmann scored a game-high 17 for 13-6 Westran. Kate Hollman ended with 14. Coach Alex Thomas…

The South Callaway boys used a 12-0 fourth quarter run to take control of a 66-58 win over Westran for 3rd place. There were two ties and seven lead changes in the second half. Dane Daugherty provided a crucial bucket.

Tayber Gray led the 12-6 Bulldogs with 21 points, including going seven-of-eight from the free throw line in the fourth quarter. 12-6 Westran trailed 12-3 early before going on a 14-2 run. Coach Chris Sander felt the third quarter was the difference.

The Hornets got 16 points from Marshall Kitchen and Trent Brandow finished with 14.

Community beat New Franklin 41-39 in the girls third place game. The Lady Trojans fell behind 19-16 at halftime, but early baskets in the third quarter by Kylie Brooks and Brooklyn Glasgow gave the Lady Trojans their first lead of the game. They outscored the Lady Bulldogs 14-4 in the third quarter and led by as many as ten before an 11-0 run by the Lady Bulldogs gave them a 31-30 lead. However, a third three-pointer of the game by Peyton Beamer put the Lady Trojans back on top for good. Beamer finished with nine points while Brooks led the Lady Trojans with ten. Coach Bob Curtis praised Beamer’s play.

The Lady Trojans won despite shooting 17-for-32 at the free throw line. This marked their third win of the season against New Franklin. Lily Chitwood led the Lady Bulldogs with 16 points. Coach Parker Gross said fatigue played a factor.

Community improved to 11-7 while New Franklin fell to 9-11.

Sturgeon redeemed an earlier season loss to New Bloomfield 41-27 for the boys consolation championship. New Bloomfield cut its deficit to six at 28-22 after scoring the final eight points of the third quarter, but the Bulldogs regained control by notching the first 13 points of the fourth. Coach Jacob Youse was impressed with the defense.

Ethan Benskin led 7-11 Sturgeon with 12 points. Josh Kelly had 10. 7-12 New Bloomfield got 17 points from Jacob Fuhriman.

Sturgeon fell in the girls consolation championship 39-23 to the Paris Lady Coyotes to open the day. The Lady Coyotes opened up a 12-2 advantage after one quarter and were never threatened the rest of the way. Reese Sutton led Paris with 13 points while Melanie Moore added 11. Coach Garrett Thomas said he liked the way his team approached the game.