The Grundy R-5 boys basketball team is headed to the Class 1 playoffs.
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The Grundy R-5 boys basketball team is headed to the Class 1 playoffs.
The Panthers defeated Northwest of Mendon on Saturday in the District 7 championship game, 60-41. The Tri-County girls also advanced into the Class 1 playoffs after beating Braymer, 49-46.
Grundy R-5 Boys 60,
Northwest of Mendon 41
The Grundy R-5 boys opened the game with a 14-7 lead in the first quarter and led at halftime, 24-18.
“An outstanding defensive effort,” Head Coach Les Jackson said. “Colby Searcy helped hold Smith, one of their leading scorers, to six points.”
Grundy R-5 outscored Mendon in the third quarter, 17-12. The Panthers were able to take care of the basketball in the final period and increased their lead to 19-11.
“I was really pleased with the way the boys worked the ball around. We were patient this season, especially in close games. We have played like we were down by 20 points,” Jackson said. “We worked for good shots on Saturday.”
Kyle Larson led the way for Grundy R-5 with 24 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. Alex Peterson had 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists and five steals. Logan Jackson had 11 points, 10 rebounds and three assists. Colby Searcy had five points and Corey Gott chipped in with six rebounds.
Derrick Ostermann led the way for Mendon with 16 points.
“The boys did a nice job of getting to loose ball and rebounds,” Jackson said. “You could really see the extra effort the boys were giving and that made a big difference.”
The Panthers improve to 22-6 and will play New Franklin in sectionals on Tuesday in Harrisburg at 8 p.m. New Franklin defeated Pilot Grove, 61-47.
Tri-County Girl 49,
Braymer 46
The Tri-County girls built an early 10-point lead, but ended up fighting for their district lives at the end of the game.
The Lady Mustangs led the Lady Bobcats at intermission, 21-18. Braymer’s full-court pressure helped get the Lady Bobcats get a lead with just over a minute to play in the game.
“We didn’t handle their pressure very well early in the fourth quarter,” Tri-County Coach Curtis Finley said. “But in the final minute I thought we played very well.”
The Lady Mustangs trailed 46-42 with just under a minute to play when Taryn Dustman hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to 46-45. Lauren Waterbury hit a pair of free throws to give Tri-County the lead.
“Taryn scored 14 of 16 points in the fourth quarter,” Finley said. “Our point guard Laurie Eads did a great job of handling the ball, especially against Braymer’s full-court press. Laurie holds us together.”
Dustman led the way for Tri-County with 21 points. Waterbury chipped in with 10 points.
The Lady Mustangs travel to Chillicothe on Tuesday night for a sectional matchup with Gilman City. The two HDC school have meet three times this season. Tri-County won the first meeting, but Gilman City has won the last two games, including the championships of the Gilman City and the HDC Conference tournaments. The game is set to tipoff at 6:30 p.m.