Worth County’s Tigers ousted Winston from Class 1 state action Tuesday night in convincing fashion, 57-39, to set up a three-peat rematch with #1 ranked and unbeaten North Andrew in Friday night’s quarterfinal round at St. Joseph Civic Arena.
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The Tigers came into the game, also at the Civic, with a definite height advantage but it was outside shooting that stung the Redbirds at the most inopportune times.
Worth County led the entire game, jumping out to a 14-2 lead off the opening tip. Jacob Lewis produced Winston’s lone bucket in the first four minutes off a steal and layup but nailed back-to-back three-pointers to begin a series of comeback moves that never quite reached parity.
A baseline drive by Lewis produced the first quarter’s final points when he drew defenders and dumped the ball off to teammate Logan Caldwell, who laid the ball in ahead of the buzzer. That cut Worth County’s lead to 17-12.
The Redbirds were able to recover in the half court game during a slowed down second quarter. Lewis passed ahead to Marshall Ferrell for a layup that cut the gap to 17-15. Jakub Hisel hit one of two free throws to make it a one point game, but the Tigers came roaring back with a 3-ball by Cade Allee that carried his team to a 22-16 advantage at the midway break.
The Tigers continued to pour it on from the three-point arc, building a 10-point lead in the third before the Redbirds mounted a rally, capped by Hisel’s only field goal of the night, a three-pointer from the outside. However, the Tigers continued to hold the hot hand as Caleb Parman busted a trey and Allee added a bucket from near the top of the circle.
Winston had one opportunity to grab its first lead midway through the third but could not convert on a very important possession. The Tigers outscored the Redbirds, 21-9, in the fourth quarter to ice the victory.
Lewis finished with 21 points to lead all scorers. Uthe and Caldwell chipped in six points each for the Redbirds. Hisel finished with four points and Farrell tacked on two points.
Allee paced Worth County with 18 points and combined with Parman for eight of their team’s nine three-pointers. Parman finished with 16 points and Kinsella tacked on 14 for the winners.
Worth County has faced North Andrew twice during the regular season, losing by eight and 23 points. North Andrew is looking to return to Columbia and the Final Four after finishing third there last season
Winston 60, Southwest 36
Few boys’ teams in Northwest Missouri have been more dedicated to winning at the district level than Winston over the course of the last five seasons.
The Redbirds waltzed through District 13 last week, beating teams by an average of 30 points per game. Winston nailed down the district title with a 60-36 victory over #2 seed Southwest on Friday.
The Redbirds have played for five straight Class 1 district titles, winning three times to advance to the sectional round. Winston recently wrapped up a fifth straight HDC Conference title to go along with five consecutive HDC Tournament crowns.
Uthe and Lewis combined for 51 points and six treys in the district game victory over Southwest. Uthe hit four 3-balls and finished with 26 points. Lewis added a pair of treys and 25 points.