Kelly

CHARLESTON, Mo. — After holding on to a 28-26 lead at halftime, the start of the second half was not how the Charleston girls basketball team had envisioned. Scoring the first points of the third quarter on a basket from senior Ashanti Jones, Charleston, at the time, held a 30-26 lead over No. 7-seed Chaffee in the first round of the Scott-Mississippi County Conference Tournament at Charleston High School on Saturday...

BENTON, Mo – Homecoming games don’t get much more exciting than Kelly’s Friday night nail-biter against state-ranked Delta. Sadly for Hawk fans, it was visiting Delta’s bench rushing the court to celebrate after senior Jon Bond’s buzzer-beating put-back allowed the Bobcats to escape with an 81-79 win...

Six Semoball boys basketball teams and two Semoball girls basketball teams are ranked in the latest state rankings provided by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association. Delta (14-3), which is unbeaten in the month of January, is ranked No. 8 in the Class 1 boys poll...

The Bobcats held the Hornets to one point in the first quarter and never looked back as they picked up a 63-33 home victory.

The Blue Jays used a 20-9 third quarter to pull away from the Hornets and pick up the home victory.

BENTON, Mo. — Kelly outscored Chaffee by 20 points, 26-6, in the third quarter to push its lead even further on Friday night at Thomas W. Kelly High School. Joel McClain led the charge, scoring nine of his 17 points in the frame. He tied Gavin Jansen for most points on the team as well...

ORAN, Mo. — Tied at five at the end of the first quarter, the Oran girls basketball team turned up the heat to end the first half on Thursday night. Oran (9-3, 4-0 Scott County-Mississippi County Conference) went on a 14-0 run to start the second quarter, led by the play of senior Kaylee Payne...

ORAN, Mo – Anyone expecting a repeat of Kelly’s 30-point loss to Oran from earlier this season when the two teams faced off again Tuesday night was in for quite the surprise. Not only did the Hawks control the first 12 minutes of the contest, but with a minute left in regulation, a clutch three had Kelly knotted up with the state-ranked Eagles...

BENTON — Cape Central earned a dominating 54-30 win at Thomas W. Kelly Monday. The Tigers (9-4, 2-0 Class 4, District 1) were paced by 6-foot sophomore Ella Vogel, who came off the bench to score 16 points, with all but four coming in the second half.

BENTON, Mo. — Kelly’s Alaney Moore scored her 1,000th career point Friday night in a 55-30 win over Advance. Moore finished with a game-high 29 points, including 17 fourth-quarter points as Kelly (7-6) pulled away in the final frame. Allison Owens added 16 for the Lady Hawks while Alandry Below led Advance (7-5) with 12 points...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — Cherei Jones added another pinfall victory to her total on Tuesday night, at a triangular match against Marion, Ill., and Poplar Bluff. Jones pinned Marion’s Haylie Nappier at 3:09, as the Bulldogs went on to win 18-6. Kate Grubbs also picked up a win, in 28 seconds, over McKayla Vavrik...

BROSELEY, Mo. — Allison Owens and Alaney Moore led the Kelly girls basketball team on Monday night, albeit in a losing effort to Twin Rivers. Owens had a team-high 17 points, while also adding five steals, five assists, and four rebounds. Moore secured a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds in the Lady Hawks 62-54 loss...

In several ways, the Notre Dame boy’s basketball squad defied logic in its victory over Cape Girardeau Central Saturday in the semifinals of the 75th annual Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament. Of the 22 games that had been played through three days of the event, not a single lower-seeded team had prevailed until the Bulldogs demolished the Tigers 70-54.

Advance took a nine-point lead into the final quarter of its consolation bracket championship game with Kelly Monday in the 75th annual Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament at the Show Me Center. However, it almost wasn’t enough, as the Hornets had to overcome some late turnovers and missed shots to hold on and beat the Hawks 60-55...

Advance boy’s basketball coach Dennis “Bubba” Wheetley has appeared to be a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to the postgame assessment of his team.

BROSELEY - With both teams coming off exhausting down-to-the-wire losses in Friday's semifinals, Saturday's third place battle at the Lady Royals Christmas Classic could fittingly be called the 'survival of the fittest game.' New Madrid Co. Central took the third-place trophy and the unofficial title of fittest in running past the Naylor Eagles 49-29...

Kelly jumped on Meadow Heights right from the opening tip to start the third day of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament at the Show Me Center. The Hawks (8-4) outscored the Panthers 14-3 in the opening quarter and cruised to a 52-37 win in the consolation semifinal...

BROSELEY, Mo. — Alaney Moore scored 26 points for the Kelly girls’ basketball team on Saturday, as the Lady Hawks defeated East Carter 52-48 to win the consolation championship of the Lady Royals Christmas Classic. Moore led all scorers, while Allison Owens pitched in with 14 points of her own. Allison Riley finished with nine, while Mallory Glastetter had eight to round-out the totals...

WELLSTON, Mo. — Christen Phillips scored a game-high 25 points, as the New Madrid County Central boys’ basketball team defeated Northeast (Kansas City) 71-26 on the first day of the Normandy Holiday Invitational. Donnie Ray Brown added 12 points, while Ansel Underwood and Ke’von Williams each had eight points...

The second round of the 75th annual Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament got underway Friday with four games in the consolation bracket and four in the championship bracket.

It may have been hard to assess just how good of a basketball player Bell City junior guard Luke Nichols was Thursday. After all, his team ended up losing 75-25 to Jackson in the opening round of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament at the Show Me Center. However, after watching the 5-foot-11 athlete score 19 of his team’s 25 points, it wasn’t difficult for veteran Indian coach Darrin Scott to evaluate Nichols.

The opening day of the 75th annual Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament consists of eight games.

Editor’s note: This is a series of articles leading up to the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament on Thursday.

Four Jackson boys were in double figures and shot a total of six 3-pointers Saturday as the visiting Tribe defeated Hickman in basketball action in Columbia, Missouri, 77-63. Jackson (3-2) shot 73% from the charity stripe in defeating the Kewpies. The Indians pulled away in the second half to seal the victory...

BROSELEY, Mo. - New Madrid County Central Eagles coach Toby Heeb went back to the drawing board at halftime of his squad’s contest against the Kelly Hawks. But he didn’t draw up a play. “All I wrote on the board was rebound,” Heeb said. “I knew if we rebounded we would find a way to win and luckily when it really matters we attacked the glass.”...

SIKESTON — Keron Banks scored a team-high 17 points, as the Scott County Central boys basketball team fell to Chaffee 63-42 on Friday at Ronnie Cookson Gymnasium. Johnny Sisco had seven for the Braves, while Jeremiah Watkins finished with six. Shemaur Baker finished with four, while Levi Glueck and Bralyn Porter had three. Colton Vance rounded out the scoring with two...

LEOPOLD, Mo. — Gavin Jansen scored a game-high 15 points, as Kelly defeated Leopold on Wednesday. Drew Dirnberger added 10 points in the Hawks 41-35 win. Bryce Morgan added eight points, while Joel McClain and Jay Noon each had four. Paul Deck led Leopold with 14 points. Connor Lincoln finished with six, while Cameron Abernathy had five, and Caleb Schaab and Kane Duncan each had four, and Austin Warner finished off the scoring with two...

New Madrid County Central's Ansel Underwood inflicted enough damage before fouling out, scoring nine of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, in a 61-58 victory over Notre Dame on Tuesday at Notre Dame Regional High School. Underwood hit a pair of 3-pointers and all three of his free-throw attempts in providing half of his team's points in the final quarter as the Eagles outscored the Bulldogs 18-14 to overcome a one-point deficit...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — Tied at 58 and Notre Dame with possession, New Madrid County Central was hoping to make a crucial stop and head into overtime at Notre Dame Regional High School on Tuesday. Senior Christen Phillips had other ideas, though. Phillips stole the ball and heaved a half-court shot that had a 50-50 chance of going in. ...

NEW MADRID, Mo. — Brayon Hamilton and Creighton Sarakas led the Sikeston freshman boys’ basketball team to a double-digit win over New Madrid County Central on Monday night. Both Hamilton and Sarakas had 12 points. Mike Coaker added 11 points, while Justice Taylor had seven and Harrison Arndt six, in the Bulldogs 57-35 win...

WARDELL, Mo. — Three East Prairie players reached double-figures in scoring on Friday night against North Pemiscot. Jack Scruggs led the team with 14 points, draining a pair of three-pointers in the process. Jase Aycock had 13 points and made three three-pointers, while Harrison Moore added 13 points as well, in the Eagles 68-24 win over North Pemiscot...

MFCA ALL-STATE The Missouri Football Coaches Association announced its all-state teams. Players from the SEMO Conference included (with school, year, height and weight): CLASS 5 First team QB — Cael Welker, Jackson, jr., 5-11, 180 OL — Connor Tollison, Jackson, jr., 6-5, 285...

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. — Drew Irby and A.J. Hicks each scored 20-plus points for Portageville, as the Bulldogs defeated East Prairie 71-61 at East Prairie High School. Irby led the team with 24 points, while Hicks had 23. Brendan Garmon added 16, while Lamonte Dixson had four, Joey Chamberlain three, and Alex Winsor one...

ORAN, Mo. — Continuing its winning ways, the Oran boys basketball team routed Risco on Tuesday night. The Eagles outscored the Tigers 22-9 in the fourth quarter on their way to an 87-57 win at Oran High School. Tyson Goodale led all scorers with 30 points...

Notre Dame, Jackson, and Saxony Lutheran all competed in the Ladue Girl’s Swim Invitational with the Bulldogs finishing fourth, the Indians finishing 11th and the Crusaders finishing 13th.

CHAFFEE, Mo. — Oran dominated it’s way past Puxico in the first round of the Chaffee Lady Red Devils Invitational on Monday. The Lady Eagles won 65-1, as three players reached double-figures in scoring. Kaylee Payne led the way with 13 points, two rebounds, four assists, and four steals. Katie Webb had 12 points, four rebounds, and two steals, and Heather Gosche added 10 points, to go along with one rebound, three assists, and three steals...

It’s been four years since Scott City and Kelly matched up in their opening boy’s basketball games of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament.

ORAN, Mo. — Nothing was keeping Oran junior Ty Johnson from helping his team win a third-consecutive Oran Invitational Tournament on Friday night. Johnson erupted for 32 points, on 11 of 21 shooting and 6 of 11 from three, as the Eagles defeated Kelly 79-49 in front of a packed house at Oran High School...

ORAN, Mo. — Free throws can make or break a team down-the-stretch of a game. An unguarded shot can cause teams trouble, but for Kelly senior Devin Heuring, that was not the case, in the Hawks 87-84 overtime win over Advance in the semifinals of the Oran Invitational Tournament on Thursday night...

A pair of area basketball players earned the top spots in this week's Semoball.com Athlete of the Week poll voting.

POPLAR BLUFF — Jimmy May scored more points than any player in SEMO Conference history and the Scott City senior was presented with the Carr Trophy as the conference's most outstanding player Wednesday night at the 74th Poplar Bluff Gridiron Banquet...

ORAN, Mo. — The 64th Annual Oran Invitational Tournament kicked off Monday with No. 1-seed Oran facing No. 8-seed Bell City. Oran stepped on the gas pedal quickly, leading 30-6 after the first quarter and 52-16 at halftime, in the Eagles 81-34 win. Langdon Scheeter led Oran (1-0) with 21. Cooper Priggel and Tyson Goodale added 15 points each, while Ty Johnson had 14 and Todd Priggel 11 to round out the double-digit scorers for the Eagles...

High school basketball teams throughout the Missouri Bootheel begin play in opening-season basketball tournaments Monday.

NEW MADRID, Mo – It didn’t take long for Charleston to get its first gut-check of the year. In their season-opener against Memphis Day Academy, the Bluejays surrendered a double-digit second-half lead before a late stand helped Charleston emerge victors 76-71 Friday at the Riverbend Shootout...

SIKESTON — Needing 13 points to reach 1,000 points for her career, Oran senior Kaylee Payne reached that mark in the Lady Eagles 69-52 win over Scott County Central at Ronnie Cookson Gymnasium. Payne had 17 points total, on 7 of 24 shooting, along with three rebounds and seven assists...

Katie Webb recorded another double-double with a game-high 26 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lead the Oran girls basketball team to its second win of the season in the 69-52 conference victory over Scott County Central on Tuesday...

BENTON, Mo. — With seconds remaining and Kelly trailing by three, head coach Darrin Pruitt had a play in-mind that ensured his best player touched the ball. Alaney Moore wound up getting the final shot off but missed a chance to send the game into overtime, as Kennett (1-0) grabbed the miss and secured a 40-37 win...

Head Coach: Fred Johnson, first season (N/A) Last Season: 9-16 Postseason: Lost to New Madrid County Central in the Class 3, District 1 quarterfinals 75-43 Notes: Consistency is the one word that Johnson is bound to preach this season. As the former Oran Eagle standout enters his first season with Kelly, Johnson said that consistency is the one thing he’s looking forward to teaching the most for a team that finished the season losing seven of its last 10 games...

Head Coach: Darrin Pruitt, third season (25-27) Last Season: 17-12 Postseason: Lost to New Madrid County Central in the Class 3, District 1 championship game 52-28. Notes: Last season’s 17-12 record was the best mark since the 2014-2015 season for the Kelly girls basketball team...

SIKESTON — Kelly junior Alaney Moore earned second-team all-state honors for Class 2 last week. Joining her on the second team were four pitchers, three catchers, five infielders, four outfielders, and one at-large. Moore, an infielder, earned a spot alongside Baylee Jobson (Sr., Marceline), Jodi Polly (Sr., Eugene), Rylee Lunn (Sr., Summit Christian), Aubrie McRoberts (Sr., Warsaw), and Lexus Hagood (So., Neelyville)...