No matter the sport, going 3-0 against a team in a season is challenging. South Callaway boys basketball had the chance to do that against Russellville, but the Bulldogs couldn't get the win this time.
The Indians won their first Show-Me Conference game of the season, beating rival South Callaway 72-55 on the Bulldogs' Senior Night Tuesday in Mokane.
While the result may look one-sided, it was anyone's game in the first half, as there were seven lead changes and three ties. Unfortunately for South Callaway, it just couldn't put the ball into the basket enough in the second half.
Like the first meeting between the teams this season, it was a dogfight in the first half as both teams excelled at their playing style. South Callaway's bread and butter is lockdown defense leading to transition offense and shooting 3s when it has an open look.
Russellville also relies on 3-pointers, too. The Indians scored the game's first points on a shot from deep by Charlie Miller, who scored a game-high 26 points.
Giving it his all on his Senior Night, JT Thomas responded on the Bulldogs' ensuing possession, converting a layup from a Ryan Lepper assist.
Thomas kept it up, stealing the ball from Russellville on its next possession. Then, on the offensive end, Dane Daugherty drained a left-corner 3, giving South Callaway its first lead, 5-2.
Christopher Seaver answered for the Indians, landing a 3 on their ensuing drive to tie the contest at 5-5. Russellville made it back-to-back scoring possession, taking a 7-5 lead after Bryce Bryant scored a layup.
From there, the Indians went on a 9-3 run, before the Bulldogs fought back toward the end of the first quarter. After Miller hit a 3 that made it 15-9 Russellville, South Callaway went on a 12-2 run, which started late in the first and ended early in the second quarter.
During that run, Daugherty scored the Bulldogs' fourth and final 3 of the first quarter, putting South Callaway up 17-15. But the Indians tied it when Bryant made two attempts from the free-throw line.
Through one quarter, it was all knotted up at 17-17. The start of the second quarter was slow for both teams, with five scoreless possessions to begin it.
On the last of those drives, Tayber Gray took the ball from Russellville and scored a transition bucket to give the Bulldogs a 19-17 lead. Gray finished with a team-high 14 points, which was a quiet night for his standard.
Russellville evened the game at 19-19 after Bryant hit a layup following a South Callaway turnover. Then, Miller continued his excellent scoring night, draining a shot from beyond the arc that put the Indians in front, 22-19.
South Callaway clawed its way back before halftime, outscoring Russellville 9-5. Lepper put up the Bulldogs' final four points of the half; he made two attempts from the charity stripe to give South Callaway a 28-27 advantage at halftime.
Keeping up its 8-0 run at the end of the first half; South Callaway extended it to 14-0 in the second half before the Indians finally scored. After Russellville stopped the run, the wheels fell off for the Bulldogs.
The Indians outdid South Callaway's long scoring surge, going on a 15-0 run that ended up being the dagger for the Bulldogs. Russellville stayed on top for the rest of the contest, after Bryant made a layup that made it 36-35 Indians.
Before the final buzzer, Russellville recorded another 36 points, while South Callaway had just 20 after Bryant's game-deciding bucket. Missed shots killed a Bulldogs comeback more than anything, as South Callaway had just five turnovers in the second half.
"They're a good team, and we're kind of going back and forth," South Callaway coach Seth Thomas said." ...They outplayed us; they played harder than we did tonight. Shots didn't fall. We let our inefficiencies on the offensive end dictate how we play defense because we're a much better defensive team than what we showed tonight."
The Bulldogs' atypical shooting night sent them to .500 (10-10, 3-2), while the Indians (9-11, 1-2) avoided going 0-3 against South Callaway and won its first conference game on the season.
"it sucks because it was a conference game," Thomas said. "But it's hard to beat a team three times, but it's not an excuse for us. ...Hats off to them and how they played and how they coached, and it's a learning experience. From our guys, it's sad that we couldn't get JT the W on Senior Night. It doesn't take anything away from the type of player (or) the type of person that he is. We gotta move on."
On the bright side, the Bulldogs' only senior, Thomas, was recognized before the game. He played his heart out, guiding South Callaway offensively in the first quarter by scoring six of his eight points then.
"He's a great program kid, and he's been great for us as a three-sport athlete for us," Thomas said. "He's one of those guys that you can always count on for whatever you need done. JT's gonna do it.
"He's an even better kid off the floor. There's a ton of things I could say about him, but we're gonna miss him so much when he's gone. It's just been an absolute joy coaching that kid and how hard he plays -- everything he does for us."
South Callaway will hope to play spoiler as Russellville did, when the Bulldogs play conference opponent Linn (8-12, 2-1) for its court warming at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Linn. The Wildcats ended Eugene's undefeated conference run Tuesday, winning 67-63 Tuesday at Eugene; Fatima is now the only unbeaten Show-Me Conference team.
"They're a good team," Thomas said. "They're big. They're physical. They can shoot the 3. They play mostly zone, and we haven't seen a lot of zone here lately. So I mean, it's gonna be a good matchup. They're gonna be pumped up ready to go with the court warming, so we got to bring it.