As they did in the football game between the schools this season, South Callaway boys basketball's Tayber Gray and Van-Far's Nikos Connaway -- each the starting quarterback on their football team -- played a significant role for their basketball teams.
And like the football meeting, Gray and South Callaway prevailed, defeating Connaway and Van-Far 69-53 Tuesday night in Mokane.
From start to finish, Gray was integral in South Callaway's team victory, recording 17 points (team-high), three rebounds, three assists and two steals. With Gray on the court, the Bulldogs outscored the Indians by 16 points, which was the second-highest plus/minus for South Callaway.
"Tayber has got the most varsity experience out of anybody on this team, and that really showed tonight," South Callaway coach Seth Thomas said. "He's a great player too. He kind of steadies the ship for us and makes everything a lot easier for everybody. He's gonna have a great year and a great senior year. I think he's a player to watch in the area."
While Gray received support from teammates, Van-Far's Connaway was doing most of the work himself. Connaway finished the contest with a team-high 23 points (14 more than any of his teammates) and tied for the team lead in rebounds with four.
"He's a great player," Thomas said. "He's a coach's kid, just like Tayber is. I mean, we thought we did a really good job because they have some other complementary players that are really good as well. I think we did a really good job with the scouting report, taking those other guys away. Nikos, it's just tough; good players are going to do that."
Early on, the Bulldogs were in total control and took an 11-point lead after a Gray steal and layup in transition that made it 28-17 South Callaway halfway through the second quarter.
"We're always talking about pushing the ball in transition and sharing the ball," Thomas said. "We did a great job of that tonight, really pushing the transition. I thought the tempo was our tempo there early. I think that's why we got up. Then we got kind of a little foul trouble there early in the first half and it kind of made things a little funky."
However, the Indians were able to trim the deficit. After Gray made it a double-digit Bulldogs advantage, Van-Far finished the half by making three 3-pointers, two free throws and a layup.
"When you play a good team, you're gonna have runs, and they're gonna have runs," Thomas said. "They had a huge run to get back in there early as well."
The Indians scored the final six points of the half and cut the deficit to five points by making two straight 3-pointers.
Van-Far's Connaway sunk the first trey, scoring a deep shot from the top right of the arc. Then, Gage Gibson -- who scored the Indians' second-most points with nine -- landed a 3-pointer from the top right of the 3-point line.
Those two plays made the Van-Far team hopeful of a comeback as they trailed 35-30 at halftime.
After the break, it was an even start to the second half before the Bulldogs' Evan Sconce-Martin collected an offensive rebound and, while getting the board made a layup in midair. The play made it 42-36 South Callaway.
"I think (it) turned the tide for us," Thomas said. "Then, we got huge contributions up and down the roster from guys, and then we started stringing some stops together and scoring as well. I think that really kind of put it out, and then we have some really smart high IQ basketball players and put the ball in their hands there late, and they made the right decisions."
Between Sconce-Martin's great bucket and the end of the third quarter, the Bulldogs outscored the Indians 8-2.
South Callaway's Colten Crocker capped off the third by scoring the final points on a wide-open 3-point shot from the right corner. On Van-Far's final offensive possession in the third, Crocker stole the ball and kept the Bulldogs up by double digits, 50-38.
South Callaway had a double-digit lead throughout the final quarter, primarily due to the Indians fouling them and the Bulldogs going 4-of-6 from the free-throw line.
As the game was nearing its conclusion, South Callaway's student section chanted, "start the bus," knowing a Bulldog home-opener victory was all but sealed.
"I thought we had a great crowd," Thomas said. "I love seeing the students over there getting into it, really; these guys really appreciate that. I hope we're seeing more of that as the year goes on. It's always good to win at home. You want to protect home court, and you want to have that home court advantage. And you know districts are going to be here and everybody's goal at the end of the season is to have a shot at doing something special at districts. So it's good to get a win and get off 1-0 at home."
The Bulldogs have another opener on the horizon, this one being its first Show-Me Conference game of the campaign. South Callaway (2-0, 0-0) will take on Class 4 No. 9 Fatima (3-1, 1-0) at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Mokane.
"They're a good team," Thomas said. "Coach (Ryan) Robertson has been there for a while. He's an excellent Coach. Nate Brandt over there is a great player for him. We're gonna relish this victory tonight, and we'll get back to work Wednesday and Thursday and put our focus towards Fatima and trying to have some success against them. We know that we have our hands full with Fatima."