Monett Cubs basketball finishes second at Southwest Tournament

Lady Cubs knock off Thomas Jefferson Independent Day
 
The Monett High School boys basketball team traveled to Southwest to compete in the 43rd Annual Southwest Boys Holiday Tournament and came up just short, as the Cubs fell to East Newton in the championship game 40-23 on Tuesday, Dec. 30.
The Pirates led 11-9 after the first quarter and then pushed that lead to 21-12 by the half. Both teams scored seven points each in the third quarter, before East Newton put the game away with a 12-point fourth quarter.
Alex Meeks led Monett with 10 points in the loss.
The Cubs reached the championship game by defeating host Southwest in the semi finals on Monday, Dec, 29, 40-32.
Monett played great defense in the first quarter, holding the Trojans to just five points, while putting up 12 points to lead by seven going into the second quarter of play. Both teams played great defense in the second quarter as the two teams combined for just 12 points, but the Cubs went into the half leading 17-12. In the third quarter, Monett added 12 more points to increase their lead to 29-22. In the final quarter of play, Monett outscored Southwest 11-10 to win the game by eight points.
Jack Stephens led Monett with 18 points and Meeks had 14 points in the win.
“Our guys played with a ton of energy and urgency throughout the entire game,” said head coach Andrew Ballock. “We didn’t shoot the ball great from the perimeter, but our defense was very good, allowing us to limit easy baskets for Southwest and holding them to 32 points for the game. We grabbed 18 offensive rebounds as a team which gave us a ton of second chance points. I loved the way the group played together with a lot of passion and intensity.”
Monett is 4-6 on the season and were scheduled to host Seneca last night before heading to Mt. Vernon on Friday night.

Girls basketball
The Lady Cubs ran their record to 9-1 after hosting and defeating Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School on Friday, Jan. 2, 53-24.
Monett played stifling defense in the first half, allowing just one point in the first quarter and six points in the second quarter, while combining for 28 points to lead by 21 points at the half. The Lady Cubs added another 16 points in the third quarter to increase their lead to 44-16. In the fourth quarter, Monett scored nine points and the Lady Cavaliers added eight points, but it didn’t matter as the Lady Cubs won the game by 29.
Kilee Wilson led Monett with 16 points and Avery Stokes added 10 points for Monett.    
The Lady Cubs were scheduled to host Seneca on Monday night before traveling to Mt. Vernon tomorrow night.