2008 All-CCAA Basketball (03/14/08) Boys MVP First Team Second Team Honorable Mention Girls MVP First Team Second Team Honorable Mention...

District Hoops Round-up (Boys)/'Cats, Chiefs move into semifinal round (02/27/08) CONCORDIA -- There may be no hotter boys' basketball team in the Class 2, District 8 Tournament field than Slater. The Wildcats came from behind again Tuesday for their fifth straight win, a 61-58 decision over host St. Paul of Concordia -- senior Aric Falls making four straight free throws during the final 1:05 to pull out the victory...

Girls Basketball/Tina-Avalon 86, Malta Bend 14 (02/26/08) NORBORNE -- District basketball games between Nos. 1 and 8 seeds are typically ugly, and Monday's such match-up in the girls' bracket of the Class 1, District 7 Tournament at Norborne was no exception. Favorite Tina-Avalon has two players who each score nearly what the entire Malta Bend team averages per game, and both exceeded their norms during an 86-14 first-round victory. ...

SPORTS (02/14/08) Gateway Academy 71, Malta Bend 44 MEXICO -- Gateway Academy of St. Charles went on a 42-15 rampage during the second and third quarters Wednesday to dispose of Malta Bend, 71-44, in the second round-robin contest of the Colonels Classic at Missouri Military Academy in Mexico...

Prep Hoops Round-up/'Cats end Salisbury jinx (02/13/08) SLATER -- Seniors Aric Falls and Austin Foster didn't start, but were around at the end Tuesday to help the Slater boys' basketball team end a 15-game losing streak against Lewis and Clark Conference rival Salisbury. Falls hit three shots down the stretch and Foster sank four free throws during the fourth quarter to give the Wildcats a 63-58 home victory -- their first over the Panthers since Feb. ...

Prep Hoops Round-up/Santa Fe gets I-70 road sweep (02/08/08) WINDSOR -- The Santa Fe girls' basketball team survived shaky free-throw shooting down the stretch and Windsor senior Megan Sheffield's 26 points Thursday to claim a 47-39 I-70 Conference road win. The Lady Chiefs led by only one point after the first period, but went on a 17-6 run during the second quarter -- getting six points from junior Dani Heimsoth and a three-pointer by junior Molly Blomberg -- to take a 25-13 advantage into halftime...

Prep Hoops Round-up/Lady Chiefs, "Hounds post I-70 Conference wins (02/06/08) ALMA -- The Santa Fe girls' basketball team jumped out to an early lead and added to it steadily during the second half Tuesday, pulling away from Wellington-Napoleon for a 53-37 I-70 Conference home win. Freshman Gia Baldwin scored eight first-half points as the Lady Chiefs took a six-point lead into the break. Junior Dani Heimsoth keyed a 14-8 third quarter with eight points...

Prep Hoops Round-up/Tigers 3-9 against Prairie Home (02/05/08) 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...

Prep Hoops Round-up/'Hounds come out of Windsor with trophies (01/28/08) WINDSOR -- The Sweet Springs boys' basketball team blew out to a 50-16 halftime lead and disposed of Chilhowee, 79-46, in Saturday's consolation final of the Windsor Tournament. Sophomore Zach Thomas buried a pair of three-pointers among his 15 first-half points for the 'Hounds, who gave up 25 points during the third period before holding their opponent to five points in the fourth...

Prep Hoops Round-up/Lady Chiefs return to finals (01/25/08) SLATER -- The seventh-seeded Santa Fe girls' basketball team pulled off another upset Thursday in the 27th Wildcat Classic at Slater. Two days after bumping off No. 2 seed Pilot Grove, the Lady Chiefs came from behind to register a 48-47 decision over No. ...

Prep Hoops Round-up/Lady 'Hounds romp in tourney debut (01/22/08) WINDSOR -- The Sweet Springs girls' basketball team responded to their disappointing Homecoming loss Friday to I-70 Conference rival St. Paul by whipping Calhoun, 66-31, Monday in the first round of the Windsor Tournament. Five Lady Greyhounds scored in double figures, led by junior Stephanie Krause with 13 points. That was matched by Melanie Hendricks of the Lady Eagles (1-11), who found themselves buried when Sweet Springs went on a 17-4 run after coming out of halftime with a 14-point lead...

Tigers take CCAA tilt (01/18/08) PRAIRIE HOME -- Junior Ryan Armstrong scored 10 of the 21 fourth-quarter points rung up by the Malta Bend boys' basketball team Thursday during a 53-52 CCAA decision at Prairie Home. It was a seesaw contest through three periods, the Panthers using a 14-7 run out of the halftime break to take a six-point lead into the final frame. ...

Valley/Malta Bend Basketball (01/16/08) Culver-Stockton 66, Missouri Valley (M) 61 CANTON -- A second-half comeback bid fell short Monday for the Missouri Valley College men's basketball team, dropping a 66-61 Heart of America Conference decision at Culver-Stockton. A three-pointer by senior Jelani Hicks and junior Brandon Toliver's two buckets inside allowed the Vikings to open with a 9-4 lead, but junior Chris Booth twice posted up inside and senior Harris Jordan knocked down a jumper with 11:35 left in the first half to put the Wildcats in front.. ...

Tigers swept at Pilot Grove (01/11/08) PILOT GROVE -- The league-leading Pilot Grove boys' and girls' basketball teams disposed of visiting Malta Bend for easy CCAA victories Thursday. The Tigers lived up to their No. 9 ranking in Class 1 by demolishing Malta Bend, 70-33. Pilot Grove jumped out to a 25-5 first-quarter lead, then pushed it to 48-9 by halftime...

New Franklin Tournament (01/07/08) Boys Westran 66, Slater 51 NEW FRANKLIN -- The third meeting of the season between Lewis and Clark Conference rivals Slater and Westran went to the Hornets, the Wildcats losing Saturday's third-place game in the 79th annual New Franklin Tournament, 66-51, while playing without senior Aric Falls -- their leading scorer, who injured his hand two days earlier...

test upload (12/31/07) STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) -- Barry Stewart set career highs of 24 points and seven assists and started a game-winning rally with a 3-pointer as Mississippi State beat Missouri 87-75 Sunday. The Bulldogs (8-5) lost a 12-point lead early in the second half but recovered late after Stewart hit the 3 and Jamont Gordon tipped in a missed shot on consecutive possessions in the final four minutes...

'Hounds hit century mark (12/19/07) MALTA BEND -- It was bound to happen eventually. All the run-and-gun Sweet Springs boys' basketball team needed to break the 100-point barrier was an opponent that had enough firepower to stay close enough so that the "continuous clock" rule wouldn't be invoked during the fourth quarter...

Prep Hoops Round-up/'Cats outlast Malta Bend (12/18/07) SLATER -- There was no lack of offensive firepower during Monday's cross-county hook-up between Malta Bend and Slater. The Tigers got 29 points from junior Ryan Armstrong, but that wasn't enough to counter the 36 points racked up by senior Aric Falls to lead the Wildcats to a 78-62 non-conference home win...

Tigers pick up first win (12/14/07) JAMESTOWN -- The Armstrong brothers proved to be too strong a combination for the Jamestown boys' basketball team to handle Thursday during Malta Bend's 61-42 CCAA road win. Leading by three points at halftime, the Tigers went on a 19-5 splurge during the third quarter -- sophomore Tyler Armstrong hitting four shots and junior Ryan Armstrong making a three-pointer and a lay-up. ...

Prep Hoops Round-up/Owls beaten in NCMC debut (12/05/07) For the second night in a row, an opponent with no player over 6-foot-1 used its quickness to beat the Marshall boys' basketball team. Visiting Mexico went on a 15-5 third-quarter run Tuesday to defeat the Owls in their NCMC opener, 49-34. Senior Alex Gardner scored eight of his game-high 18 points during the decisive stretch for the Bulldogs...