Lady Wildcats win at Aurora, fall to McDonald County

The Cassville girls basketball team opened conference play with a 68-52 road win at Aurora on Jan. 4. Cassville jumped out to a 9-2 lead early and led throughout, stretching the advantage to 16 points by halftime. Aurora cut the lead to eight in the second half before Cassville pulled away to secure the win. Cassville scored 16 points in the first quarter, 21 in the second, 14 in the third and 17 in the fourth. Aurora scored 14, seven, 20 and 11. Audrey Kennedy led Cassville with 17 points, followed by Taylor Kennedy with 16. Briley Artherton scored 10, Alex Holycross and Aubrey Stoufer had 9 each, Aubrie Atkinson scored 4 and Tomi Blankenship added 3. Cassville won the JV game 31-26. On Friday, Cassville traveled to McDonald County and fell 57-45. The Lady Wildcats trailed by 10 at halftime and kept the game within single digits for much of the second half, but were unable to overcome the deficit. Cassville scored 7 points in the first quarter, 11 in the second, 15 in the third and 15 in the fourth. McDonald County scored 12, 16, 16 and 13. Stoufer led Cassville with 12 points, followed by Taylor Kennedy with 11. Holycross and Audrey Kennedy each scored 8, Tomi Blankenship had 5 and Atkinson scored 1. Cassville fell in the JV game, 40-25. Cassville finished the week 1-1, moving to 8-5 overall and 1-1 in conference play.

Wildcats sweep ‘Houn Dawgs in hoops

The Cassville boys basketball team traveled to Aurora on Tuesday, Jan. 6, sweeping all three games. In the varsity contest, Cassville earned a 59-56 win. Aiden Whittington led the Wildcats with 18 points, Tyson Bohmke added 12 and Masin Bryan scored 9. Cassville won the C game, 19-18, with Kaden Stearns hitting a buzzer-beater to secure the victory. The Wildcats won the JV game 53-35, led by Jayden Ritchie with 15 points and Dylan Bohmke with 14. Cassville later faced McDonald County, where the varsity team fell, 63-47. Bryan led Cassville with 9 points and Whittington added 8. The Wildcats earned a 53-43 win in the JV game, with Brayden Phillips scoring 19 points, Dylan Bohmke adding 16 and Wylan Farris scoring 13. Cassville also won the C game, 22-7, led by Mquade Farris with 10 points and Kaden Stearns with eight. Cassville is scheduled to compete in the Crane Tournament this week.

Eighth-grade boys open season 2-1

The Cassville eighth grade boys basketball team opened its season with three games in four days, finishing the week with a 2-1 record. Cassville opened the season on the road Jan. 5 at Logan-Rogersville, jumping out to an early 10-2 lead before the hosts rallied back following a timeout. Logan-Rogersville took the lead and did not give it back, handing Cassville a 51-33 loss. Leading scorers for Cassville were Kelby Lee with 9 points, Will Ray with 7, Tristan Larson with 6, Deagan Gross with 5, Vinny Griffanti with 4 and Colton Yockey with 2. The Wildcats bounced back the following night with a 58-41 road win at Forsyth on Jan. 6. Cassville trailed 12-10 after the first quarter but tightened up defensively, allowing just 10 points in the second quarter to take a 26-20 halftime lead. Cassville extended the advantage in the third quarter by outscoring Forsyth 19-13, then held the Panthers to four points in the fourth quarter. Griffanti led Cassville with 19 points, followed by Lee with 18 and Ray with 10. Yockey scored 6, Garret Matthew had 3 and Gross added 1. Cassville closed the week with its home opener Jan. 8 against Clever, earning a 47-30 win. The Wildcats led 19-16 at halftime in a back-and-forth first half, then pulled away with strong defense in the fourth quarter, holding Clever to three points. Lee scored 18 points to lead Cassville, followed by Griffanti with 17. Gross added 5, Larson scored 4 and Ray had 3.

Cassville middle school boys turn in strong week

Cassville’s middle school boys basketball teams turned in a strong week, with both the seventh and eighth grade squads finishing with 2-1 records. The eighth grade team opened with a road loss at Logan-Rogersville before rebounding with a 58-41 win at Forsyth and a 47-30 victory over Clever. Defensive improvement was a key factor throughout the week, as the Wildcats limited scoring opportunities and created offense in transition. The seventh grade team followed a similar path, opening the week with a loss at Logan-Rogersville before picking up a 46-34 road win at Forsyth. Cassville closed the week with a 50-44 win over Clever, using balanced scoring and strong play on both ends of the floor.