CONCORDIA -- Juniors Brett Case and Taylor Wesley each made all four of their free throws during the fourth quarter as the Santa Fe boys' basketball team eventually shook off tenacious St. Paul for a 57-44 decision Wednesday in the first round of pool play in the Lafayette County Tournament at Concordia.

Senior Kenzie Thorp scored all of his team-high 11 points during the first half, but the Chiefs only led by a deuce at the break. Three buckets by Case helped Santa Fe stay one step ahead of the Saints during the third period, in which seniors Steven Schlesselman and Andrew Lemmons combined for 15 points.

However, St. Paul's offense slowed down during the final frame, managing only seven points, while junior Bryan Sander hit three shots to extend the Chiefs' lead -- which was sealed at the charity stripe.

Lemmons wound up with 15 points and Schlesselman had 13 for the Saints (1-5).

Case and Sander each had 10 points as Santa Fe claimed its fourth straight victory. The Chiefs (6-1) will meet Concordia on Friday, a rematch of the I-70 Conference title clash won by the Orioles a month ago.

Sweet Springs 60, Prairie Home 46

NEW FRANKLIN -- Sweet Springs was off the mark on its shooting, but still had too many weapons for winless Prairie Home to handle Wednesday during a 60-46 consolation semifinal victory in the 79th annual New Franklin Tournament.

The Panthers (0-8) tried to keep up with the racing Greyhounds, sophomore Zach Glenn scoring a game-high 22 points, but foul trouble ended the night early for three of their starters -- and sent Sweet Springs to the charity stripe 46 times. The 'Hounds only made 22 of their attempts, including 10 of 21 during the fourth quarter, but that was enough.

Sophomore Billy Martin struck for 17 points, 11 in the second half, and sophomores Zach Thomas and Tyler Dohrman combined for 24 points. Sophomore Nick Peeples grabbed 15 rebounds for Sweet Springs (4-5), which meets Northwest of Hughesville for seventh place Friday.

Girls

Lexington 50, Santa Fe 24

CONCORDIA -- The Santa Fe girls showed a little better defense, but still couldn't shoot a lick, during its second loss to Lexington during a six-game slump.

The Minutewomen blew out to a 27-11 halftime lead and cruised the rest of the way for a 50-24 decision Wednesday in the first pool contest of the Lafayette County Tournament at Concordia.

Junior Karmen Swartz scored 10 of her 14 points during the first half for Lexington, which came up with nine steals and controlled the boards by a 39-27 margin during the game. Senior Lyndsay Swafford led all scorers with 16 points for the Minutewomen (5-4), who won their Dec. 17 meeting by a 66-23 margin.

The Lady Chiefs, who shot a dreadful 12.7 percent from the field, got nine points and seven rebounds from junior Dani Heimsoth. They play Wellington-Napoleon in their second preliminary match Friday.

Keytesville 49, Slater 37

NEW FRANKLIN -- Junior Heidi Koehl exploded for 29 points during Keytesville's 49-37 decision over Slater in Wednesday's consolation semifinal round of the New Franklin Tournament.

The Lady Wildcats were unable to take advantage of their 61-50 edge in field-goal attempts, having plus figures in both rebounding (6) and turnover (3) margins, converting only 23.0 percent of their attempts from the floor.

The Lady Tigers (3-5) weren't significantly better, but feasted at the free-throw line -- hitting 16 of 24 shots.

Sophomore Brittany Cornine tallied 10 points and seven rebounds for Slater (4-6), which plays Prairie Home for seventh place Friday.