Top Seeds Advance at the Macon Tournament

The Mexico and Macon girls earned Macon Tournament semifinal victories Saturday, and Centralia and Kirksville won the boys semifinal contests.

The Moberly girls basketball team saw its championship hopes come to an end with a 54-48 loss to Mexico. In a back-and-forth affair, the Lady Bulldogs took control in the fourth quarter thanks in large part to a big shot from a bench player.

Colin Schowe with the call on 99.9 the Captain and centralmoinfo.com. Oetting’s three-pointer was her only basket of the game. Her shot extended Mexico’s lead to four halfway through the fourth quarter. Mya Miller led Mexico with 19 points. Mexico coach Ed Costley said Miller is only going to get better over time.

Reghan Smith added 11 points for Mexico. The Lady Bulldogs improve to 9-4 with the win. Moberly was led by Kennedy Messer with 18 points and Mary Billington with 15. A pair of free throws early in the third quarter allowed Billington to reach 1,000 points for her varsity career. Despite this effort, Moberly coach Tony Vestal said the Lady Spartans struggled at times offensively.

The loss snaps Moberly’s four-game winning streak and drops its record to 7-7. In the second semifinal, Macon used a 7-0 run to open the game on its way to a 52-32 win over Brookfield. Macon coach Richard Driscoll said the defense played a key role in the victory.

Macon improves to 12-4 with the win and will face Mexico in the championship Monday. Brookfield was led by Rylee Sensenich with 14 points. The Lady Bulldogs cut the early deficit down to four, but could get no closer. Brookfield coach Tony Fairchild said the big issue came on the boards in the second half.

Brookfield falls to 9-6 on the season and will face Moberly for third place.

Centralia topped Brookfield 57-45 in the first boys semifinal. For the second straight game, the Panthers controlled the third quarter.

Eric Duick with the calls. Centralia led by six at half then outscored Brookfield 15-6 in the third. Scott Humphrey’s Panthers are 11-3.

Centralia junior Jackson Wells provided 15 points. Four starters finished in double-figures. Brookfield head coach Carey Davison explained the difference in the semifinal matchup.

Cooper Cisna scored 21 for 10-5 Brookfield.

Kirksville outlasted Mexico 75-69 in the second boys semifinal. Mexico answered several Kirksville scoring spurts to pull within a few possessions for much of the fourth quarter, but Tyler Martin’s top-seeded Tigers held on.

13-1 Kirksville won its previous eight games by at least 16 points. Tiger forwards Noah Copeland and Ryan Ball combined for 42 points. Bulldogs head coach Darren Pappas reacted to the loss.

Bulldog senior Zach Watkins recorded a game-high 24 points, and Isaiah Reams added 20. 5-9 Mexico visits Moberly Tuesday before Wednesday’s third place game against Brookfield. Kirksville meets Centralia in the championship Wednesday.

Before Saturday’s semifinals, the Macon boys, Marceline boys, Kirksville girls, and Centralia girls all won consolation contests.

Coverage of the Macon Tournament continues with girls trophy day Monday at 4:50pm on KRES.

Hear full postgame interviews with the semifinal coaches below.

Centralia boys coach Scott Humphrey: