(Chris Allen/Democrat-News) Sophomore Tim Trelow attacked the iron during the Tigers' 65-60 CCAA win over Prairie Home. [Click to enlarge]

MALTA BEND -- When it was crunch time, the Malta Bend boys' basketball team put it all on the line.

That was literally the case Monday, when eight straight free throws down the stretch gave the Tigers a 65-60 home win over CCAA rival Prairie Home, which lost to them for the third time since Jan. 17.

Malta Bend trailed by as many as four points during the fourth quarter, but sophomore Tyler Armstrong's three-pointer closed the deficit to one point and a pair of charity shots from junior Ryan Armstrong with 2:19 remaining put the Tigers in front, 59-58.

While the Panthers were being stopped on three straight possessions, Malta Bend hit six more freebies in a row -- two each by the Armstrong brothers and another pair by sophomore Dillon Edde -- to seal the victory.

Prairie Home (2-15, 1-6 CCAA) got a huge night from sophomore Zach Glenn, a forward who played taller than his listed 6-foot-1 while racking up 32 points -- almost all of them in the paint.

Three bombs from senior Eric Kirschman, who had 14 points, also did some damage for the Panthers.

Tyler Armstrong spearheaded the Tigers' attack with 28 points, including four perimeter jumpers, while Ryan Armstrong added 14 points and Edde came off the bench for 10.

Malta Bend (5-9, 3-4) will be back at home today for a CCAA contest against Bunceton.

St. Mary's 71, Sweet Springs 68

INDEPENDENCE -- Senior John Dean came up with 10 fourth-quarter points, sinking six straight free throws down the stretch, as St. Mary's of Independence came from behind for a 71-68 victory over visiting Sweet Springs.

Sophomore Billy Martin connected on three outside jumpers during the first half to give the Greyhounds a nine-point lead, but they only managed six points during the third period as the Trojans got back into contention.

Sophomore Blake Scofield scored 10 of his game-high 18 points during the first half, with Dean tallying 17 points as St. Mary's (1-14) posted its first win of the season.

Martin led four Sweet Springs players in double figures with 16 points, sophomore Zach Thomas adding 13 points off the bench. The 'Hounds (6-12) will be at home today in search of their first I-70 Conference win, hosting Windsor.

Girls

Sweet Springs 44, St. Mary's 40

INDEPENDENCE -- Sweet Springs survived shaky shooting from both the field and free-throw line Monday for a 44-40 non-conference decision at St. Mary's of Independence.

The Lady Greyhounds got an early lift from sophomore Kathleen Tyler, who came off the bench to bury three bombs during the first half to take a seven-point lead. However, things got tight near the end when junior Tess Hart scored seven of her game-high 17 points for the Lady Trojans during the fourth quarter while Sweet Springs was missing eight of 10 charity attempts.

Fortunately for the Lady 'Hounds, sophomore Kristin Jones came up with three buckets down the stretch to keep St. Mary's (8-9) behind. Jones wound up with 10 points to lead Sweet Springs (13-6), which avoided its first three-game losing streak of the season.

Prairie Home 41, Malta Bend 19

MALTA BEND -- The Malta Bend girls kept Monday's CCAA contest against visiting Prairie Home within reach for a half, but the Lady Panthers pulled away during the second half for a 41-19 decision.

The deficit tied the season-low margin for the Lady Tigers, who scored the game's first five points on jumpers by sophomore Paige Wattenbarger and junior Jerrian "Flower" Johnson in the opening four minutes. Prairie Home answered with an 8-0 run and went into the break up by 10 points.

Sophomores Amanda and Ashley Coffelt each scored eight points to pace the Lady Panthers (4-15, 3-4 CCAA).

Johnson had nine points and junior Emily Warner six for Malta Bend (0-14, 0-7).