MEDORA
The Medora boys basketball team kept it close with Class A No. 9 Lanesville in the first half of Saturday’s contest, but couldn’t hold on in the final 16 minutes to pull off an upset.
After trailing 32-26 at halftime, Lanesville tallied 20 points in the third quarter while holding Medora to 11 before securing the win by limiting the Hornets to five points in the fourth for the 59-42 victory.
The first quarter was all Chase Booker in the points column for the Hornets.
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Booker hit back-to-back 3-pointers and managed a field goal to narrow Medora’s deficit to 10-8 with 3:14 left in the first quarter.
The Hornets senior drained another trey before the end of the opening period as Medora trailed 16-11.
With 5:48 left in the first half, Hornets substitute Mike Jones made his presence felt immediately when he stepped on the court scoring four straight points in 20 seconds to bring Medora within one point.
Free throws by Medora senior Kam Flynn put the score at 21-20 Lanesville at the 4:19-mark.
The Eagles then went on a 7-0 run, but the Hornets never went away as Flynn scored five-straight, with one 3-pointer.
An alley-oop off an in-bounds play from Lanesville capped the 1st-half scoring.
Lanesville made a concerted effort on the offensive glass.
“The first half, we played really well,” Hornets coach Michael Leitzman said. “The only reason we weren’t winning at halftime was because we gave up too many offensive rebounds. We gave up 12 offensive rebounds and 12 turnovers — way too many.”
The Eagles went on a 17-7 run to start the third quarter behind two 3s by sophomore Evan Ash.
Ash scored 11 points in the third quarter to help Lanesville take a 52-37 lead into the final eight minutes of play.
Neither side could manage much offense in the fourth quarter, as the Eagles recorded seven points to Medora’s five.
Booker led the Hornets with 20 points and Flynn chipped-in 13.
Joe Ferree topped Lanesville’s scoring with 15, Elijah Wilkin totaled 13 and Riley Cook had 11.
The Eagles dominated the boards with 38 rebounds to Medora’s 25.
Eagles senior Luke Beach had 14 rebounds and Wilkin pulled-down seven.
“Size isn’t our strong point, but we’re not going to use that as our excuse,” Leitzman said. “No matter who we’re playing our objective is to out-rebound the other team. We didn’t do it tonight, and it was a problem.”
On Friday, the Hornets outlasted Martinsville Tabernacle 60-58 to pick up their first win of the season.
Following a 15-14 lead after eight minutes, the Hornets outscored Tabernacle 14-11 in the second quarter to lead 29-24 at halftime.
The Hornets were outscored in the next two quarters, but were able to hold on for the victory.
Booker led the Hornets with 21 points and 14 rebounds, Jalen Beesley added 18 and Brandon Moore recorded 13 behind three 3-pointers.
Nathan Gerber topped Tabernacle’s scoring with 18 points.
Medora (1-4) will play at Orleans on Dec. 18.
“I thought the kids played a great game against Lanesville,” Leitzman said. “I’m upset, and they’re upset, because we expect to win every game. Yes, (Lanesville) is undefeated but we expect to win and our kids are confident going into games.”