It took a comeback but Crest High’s Lancers snagged their 11th win here Tuesday night in a 51-42 victory over Marais Des Cygnes Valley High’s Trojans.
The Lancers moved to 11-8 on the season and locked up the top seed in next week’s Class 1A, Division II substate they will host in Iola.
A sluggish start had the Lancers behind 12-9 in the first quarter. The Trojans outscored the Lancers 18-13 in the second.
“We didn’t play horrible in the first half but we were just a little flat,” said Travis Hermreck, Lancer head coach.
The second half was an entirely new ball game for the Lancers, he said. An emphasis on play without the ball had Crest back in business.
“In the third quarter we just absolutely clamped down on defense,” Hermreck said. “We guarded, we rebounded and everything else just kind of fell into place.”
Holding the Trojans to just 12 second-half points, the Lancers closed the game on a 21-5 run for the nine-point win.
Crest’s Kyle Hammond had a game-high 22 points and Jordan Morton chipped in 15.
“This was huge win for us. I saw a little spark in the boys tonight and it looked like they were having fun again,” Hermreck said. “It’s really important that we keep this momentum going into the substate.”
IN GIRLS’ action, Crest fell big to the Lady Trojans, 62-30. The Lady Lancers found themselves in a deep hole early, 19-7. The Lady Trojans stretched their lead to 30 points at the break.
Crest was led by Erica Holman’s 11 points.
Crest boys (9-13-8-21—51) (FG/3-pt): C. Bowen 1-0-1-2, Boone 0-0-4-0, Morton 3/3-0-1-15, Hammond 6/2-4-3-22, Brallier 1/1-0-1-5, J. Bowen 0-0-4-0, Ellis 2-3-1-7. TOTALS: 13/6-7-15-51.
MDCV (12-18-7-5—42): Case 1-0-1-2, Coffman 6-1-3-13, Vanderpool 3-2-1-8, Schimmel 2/1-1-2-8, Jones 4-3-0-11. TOTALS: 16/1-7-7-42.
Crest girls (7-4-7-12—30) (FG/3-pt): Stephens 1-0-1-2, Frank 1-0-1-2, Strickler 1-0-2-2, Gilliland 4-1-2-9, Gray-LaCross 0/1-0-1-3, Holman 5-1-1-11, Kellar 0-2-2-2. TOTALS: 12/1-3-10-30.
