YATES CENTER — Yates Center High’s basketball teams proved to be rather inhospitable hosts, at least on the basketball court, as the school opened its midseason tournament.
The Wildcat boys took the early lead, then erased any doubt to the outcome with a monster third quarter in defeating Crest, 56-30, on Tuesday.
Yates Center’s girls also were victorious, defeating the Lady Lancers, 37-29.
In the boys game, Yates Center turned a 31-20 halftime lead into a 52-24 advantage by the end of the third period.
Carter Burton and Cash Cummings led the way for the Wildcats, with 14 and 10 points, respectively. Blake Audis was next with eight, Preston and Sean Hurst both scored six, while Jayston Rice, Jack King and Taven Smoot all had four.
Statistics for Crest were unavailable.
In the girls contest, the score was knotted, 8-8, after one quarter before the Wildcats earned the upper hand. Yates Center outscored Crest 21-13 over the next two periods to seize the upper hand.
Morgan Collins scored a game-high 18 points to lead the victors. Molly proper was next with 11. Liberty Cavender was next with five, Grace Westerman had two and Callyn Miller scored one.
Aubree Holloran scored 17 for the Lady Lancers, followed by Kayla Hermreck with nine. Haylee Beckmon scored two and Caty Nolan one. Holloran also led with eight rebounds. Beckmon pulled in three steals. Hermreck had a pair of steals as well.
