The Tri-County Mustang basketball teams were back in action Wednesday night in the Class 1, District 13 Tournament in Meadville. The girls squad clinched a trip to the finals with a 26-24 win over Southwest Ludlow, while the boys’ season came to an end with a 67-30 loss to number one-seeded Meadville.
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Lady Mustangs
The Lady Mustangs came out in the first quarter displaying a good offense and a solid defense. By the end of the first quarter of play, Tri-County had a 15-10 lead. After the first period, however, the game would be decided by defense. Only seven points total were scored in the second quarter, but the Lady Mustangs again outscored South-west Ludlow, 4-3. At halftime, Tri-County held a 19-13 advantage.
Tri-County’s defense was good in the third quarter as well, but Southwest Ludlow’s was even better. The Lady Mustangs were only allowed one point in the third. Tri-County’s defense was up to the challenge, however, holding Ludlow to just six points. The Lady Mustangs went into the final frame clinging to a 20-19 lead. The game continued to go back and forth in the final quarter, but the Lady Mustangs had just enough to get the job done. Tri-County outscored Ludlow 6-5 in another very defensive quarter to hold on for the two-point victory.
The Lady Mustangs didn’t have a player hit double digits in the very defensive contest, but were led by Taryn Dustman, who had nine points. Bailey Huston had seven and Laurie Eads put up six.
The win moves the Lady Mustangs to 20-6 on the season and sets them up for a showdown with Meadville (26-0, ranked first in the state) Friday night in the championship game. Tip off is set for 6 o’clock.
Mustangs
The Tri-County boys’ season came to an end as they were unable to unseat the number one-seeded Meadville.
It didn’t take long for Meadville to show Tri-County why they were the number one seed. The Mustangs were shut out in the first quarter, falling behind 12-0. The Mustang offense began to show some signs of life in the second quarter as they put up their first nine points of the game. Meadville, however, put up 17 and took a 29-9 lead over the Mustangs at halftime.
The third quarter saw both teams find the hoop several times, but Meadville again had the upper hand. Tri-County was outscored 23-16 in the third and 15-5 in the fourth, losing in the end.
“We were outmatched,” Head Coach Terry McCollum said. “We couldn’t do much offensively.”
The Mustangs were led by Russell Prescott, who scored a team-high 12 points, while pulling down seven rebounds.
The loss gave Tri-County a final season record of 7-19.