Senior Aric Falls (12) scored 13 of his 26 points during the fourth quarter to give Slater a leg up in defense of its New Franklin Tournament crown. (Photo by Chris Allen/Democrat-News) [Click to enlarge]

NEW FRANKLIN -- Defending boys' champion Slater held onto a slim lead during the fourth quarter Saturday to beat Northwest of Hughesville, 49-41, for a first-round victory in the 79th New Franklin Tournament. Meanwhile, the fourth-seeded Sweet Springs girls produced a mild upset with a 44-42 decision over the Lady Mustangs.

Boys

Slater 49, Northwest 41

A nip-and-tuck contest was decided during the fourth quarter by Slater senior Aric Falls, who erupted for 13 of his game-high 26 points to extend his team's slim three-point lead heading into the period.

The teams were tied 10-10 after the first quarter and 20-20 at halftime, but Northwest had trouble scoring the rest of the way. Senior Trevor Cunningham knocked down a pair of three-pointers during the second half, but the Mustangs were unable to get any momentum.

Falls' quickness was too much for Northwest, which saw him slash to the hole for four buckets and three more trips to the free-throw line down the stretch -- when he made five of seven attempts. Junior Kyle Durham helped out with a pair of field goals.

The Mustangs (2-7) were topped by senior Austin Blackburn's 13 points.

Falls collected a dozen rebounds and sophomores Cody Skinner and Chris Scott contributed 12 points between them off the bench for the 'Cats (4-6), who take on Keytesville -- which beat them by a point Nov. 30 in the Glasgow Tournament -- in Thursday's semifinal round.

Westran 97, Sweet Springs 66

Sweet Springs ran into another club more than willing to run with it, Westran scoring 33 first-quarter points en route to a 97-66 victory.

Junior Roscoe Robinson tallied 12 of his game-high 30 points during the opening period for the Hornets, who doubled their opponent's total for the stretch. Behind a combined 10 points from sophomores Billy Martin and Nick Peeples, the Greyhounds chipped into the deficit during the second frame -- but Robinson, sophomore Bryce Enyard and freshman Tycie Linneman each knocked down three shots as Westran rang up 29 third-quarter points to pull away.

Enyard wound up with 20 points and Linneman had 18 for the Hornets (4-4).

Sophomore Zach Thomas led Sweet Springs with 15 points and four steals, while Martin and Peeples -- who collected 10 rebounds -- each scored 13 points. The 'Hounds (3-5) will face winless Prairie Home today in the consolation semifinals.

Girls

Sweet Springs 44, Northwest 42

Sophomore Kathleen Tyler's three-pointer with 20 seconds remaining won the game for Sweet Springs, which had lost the four-point lead it possessed heading into the fourth quarter.

Lady Greyhounds head coach Boyd Jones called it "a hard-fought game with everyone showing signs of Christmas rust." This was most evident at the free-throw line, where the two clubs shot a combined 21 of 55.

Senior Laura Keesaer scored eight points during the first half, as Sweet Springs took a 22-17 lead into the break. However, sophomore Meredith Norfleet knocked down six shots during the second half to push Northwest ahead.

The Lady Mustangs couldn't make a bucket down the stretch, but were still within striking range because of two missed charities. Norfleet finished with a game-high 15 points for Northwest (5-3).

Sophomore Kristin Jones had 11 points and Keesaer added 10 points and seven rebounds for the Lady 'Hounds (7-1), who take a seven-game winning streak into Thursday's semifinal contest against top-seeded and undefeated Westran -- the No. 1 team in the state in Class 2.

Pilot Grove 55, Slater 41

Slater had a hard time getting everything in sync during a 55-41 loss to third-seeded Pilot Grove, the defending CCAA champion.

When the Lady Wildcats clamped down on defense, they couldn't score -- suffering a 9-1 second-quarter deficit which put them behind by 12 points at halftime. When Slater's shots dropped, so did the Lady Tigers' -- tallying 21 points during the third period.

Seniors Kayla Thomas and Clair Lorenz each scored 13 points, with Thomas collecting 13 rebounds and dishing out three assists, to pace Pilot Grove (7-2).

Junior Rachel Gonzalez had 13 points and eight rebounds and sophomore Niki Kruger added 10 points for the Lady 'Cats, playing without senior forward Erika Yager. Slater (4-5) takes on Keytesville today.