The basketball season came to an end for the Grundy R-5 boys on Saturday night in the MSHSAA Class 1A quarterfinals at Maryville.
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The basketball season came to an end for the Grundy R-5 boys on Saturday night in the MSHSAA Class 1A quarterfinals at Maryville.
The Panthers could not overcome a 13-point second half lead by Stewartsville as they lost to the Cardinals, 61-54.
?I was very proud of the boys,? Head Coach Les Jackson said. ?It was a super effort. Stewartsville?s size gave us problems.?
The boys quarterfinal came down to a pair of five-minute stretches. Stewartsville outscored the Panthers 18-8 to end the half, which helped the Cardinals take a 29-19 lead into halftime.
During that stretch, Grundy R-5?s Nick Allnutt was on the bench in foul trouble and Andy Peterson took just one shot. Stewartsville?s defense was able to hold Peterson scoreless in the first half, allowing him just two looks at the basket.
The Cardinals looked as if they would pull away from Grundy R-5 early in the second half as they scored the first three points of the period. The Panthers then answered with a 7-0 run, cutting the lead to six points, 32-26.
The Panthers full-court pressure caused Stewartsville to turn the ball over six times in the last three minutes of the third quarter. Despite the turnovers, the Panthers were only able to shave one more point off the Stewartsville?s lead. Brad Rains hit a three-pointer to end the third quarter and cut Stewartsville?s lead to 44-39.
Grundy R-5 saw its hope for a final four bid come to end in the fourth quarter as the Panthers came up empty on a pair of early turnovers by the Cardinals. T.C. Noel hit a pair of fourth quarter three-pointers to help build the Stewartsville?s advantage back to 53-49 with just under five minutes to play.
The Panthers were able to outscore Stewartsville in the second half, 35-32, but it was not enough.
Chris Motsinger led the Cardinals with 26 points, including 11 points in the first quarter. Jesse Saunders scored 14 points points, including a 9-of-10 performance from the free throw line. Noel finished the game with four three-pointers and 12 points.
?The boys battled to the very end,? Jackson said. ?We got beat by a solid team.?
Peterson led the Panthers with 20 points, including 14 points in the third quarter. Peterson added two assists and five steals. Allnutt finished with 11 points, seven rebounds, two assists and three steals. Rains and Tim Marsh added nine points each. Marsh had nine rebounds and Rains had two assists and two steals. Barry Richardson chipped in with five points, seven rebounds and two steals.
As a team, the Panthers were 6-of-12 at the free throw line, but missed five front ends of one-and-one situations.
The Panthers ended the season with an overall record of 25-5.