OAK GROVE -- A strong fourth-quarter run couldn't make up for the Marshall boys' basketball team being what head coach Richard Berry called "flat" coming out of halftime Thursday during a 52-42 non-conference loss at Oak Grove.

The Panthers, a fellow Class 4, District 14 member, used a powerful attack in the paint to take a 13-point lead into the final frame. However, senior Anthony Thompson came up with three steals and forced a couple of other turnovers, while tallying nine points down the stretch, to get the Owls to within five points with three minutes remaining.

However, Marshall was unable to score on seven of its next eight possessions while the home team sank seven of 12 attempts from the free-throw line during the fourth quarter to seal the win.

"They were a lot more physical and stronger than we were," Berry admitted. "We did a good job of handling the rough play, kept our poise, but they overpowered us inside."

The main weapon for Oak Grove (7-3) was 6-foot-4 senior Adam Polen, who rang up 16 points. Senior Adam Hightower, who has given the Owls trouble in the past, was held well under his 20-point-per-game average with four points.

Thompson finished with 17 points and four steals, sophomore Matt Buford had 13 points and senior Cody Dusenberry added six rebounds, five steals and four assists for Marshall (3-5) -- which hosts Smith-Cotton today.

Keytesville 59, Slater 56

NEW FRANKLIN -- The Slater boys will again play on Saturday night in the New Franklin Tournament, but it will be for third place instead of first.

The defending tourney champion Wildcats fell behind due to a 20-8 third quarter Thursday and were unable to make up the slim deficit during the final frame of a 59-56 loss to Keytesville in the semifinal round. The Tigers won the game at the free-throw line, making 14 of 22 during the fourth quarter -- while Slater missed six of 11 attempts.

Sophomore Tyler Linneman scored 17 points and sophomore Brandon Drummond had 13 for Keytesville (7-2), which downed the Purple by a point Nov. 30 in the Glasgow Tournament. The Tigers will play No. 1 seed Pilot Grove, a 52-44 winner over Westran, Saturday for the title.

Senior Austin Foster and junior Kyle Durham each had 11 points and 10 rebounds for Slater (4-7), which committed 29 turnovers and had four players foul out.

The 'Cats will take on Westran for the third time this season in the third-place contest.

Girls

Westran 52, Sweet Spgs. 21

NEW FRANKLIN -- Sweet Springs head girls' coach Boyd Jones has big plans for his young squad down the road.

For the moment, though, there's the reality of the present.

Despite the heady success of a seven-game winning streak, the Lady Greyhounds crashed headlong into the brick wall of reality Thursday with a 52-21 loss to No. 1 seed Westran in the semifinal round of the 79th annual New Franklin Tournament.

The Lady Hornets, who won the tourney last year en route to a second place finish in the MSHSAA Class 2 Championships, are the state's top-ranked team -- and established their dominance early with a 19-7 first-quarter run behind nine points from all-state senior Kayla Rice.

That was pretty much the case throughout the evening for Sweet Springs, which trailed by 17 points at halftime and 32 points going into the fourth quarter -- played under the continuous clock rule.

"Hopefully, we learned how good you have to be to achieve wonderful results," Jones said. "We did some good things, but Westran put great pressure on us both offensively and defensively."

Rice wound up with 22 points for the Lady Hornets (10-0), who meet New Franklin for the title Saturday.

Senior Laura Keesaer's seven points were tops for the Lady 'Hounds, with sophomore Holly Heaper contributing six points off the bench.

Sweet Springs (7-2) meets Pilot Grove in Saturday's third-place match.