Worth County's boys continued their torturous trek of being able to play close with anyone but unable to get over the top. They hung with Mound City, a team that went to the Elite Eight last year, for two quarters but had a bad third quarter and fell to the Panthers 67-54 in the opening round of the Stanberry Tournament last Monday. Against the Panthers, J.J. Mullock played his best game of the year as he was able to post up at will and score 15 points to take scoring honors for Worth County. He collected the first six points of the game for Worth County to help them stay close in the early going. Then, Zach Harmening hit a floater in the lane and a baseline jumper to tie the game at the 3:01 mark of the first quarter.
Mound City took a 16-10 lead after one quarter as the Tigers went cold and everything they threw up was going in and out. But Todd Harding countered by scoring all eight points in an 8-1 run that put the Tigers back in front at 18-17. Lucas Schwang countered by scoring the next six points on a shot from the right wing, a steal, and a drive to the basket but Zach Harmening got an inside shot off a feed from J.J. Mullock as the Panthers began collapsing on him. Eli Mullock followed with a backdoor layup to bring it back to 23-22. Josh Owens hit a shot from the right side, but Jordan Harding scored off a backdoor layup and Zach Harmening's basket put Worth County back in front at 26-25. Mound City moved back in front at 34-28, but the Tigers had every reason to feel they had momentum after Zach Harmening was fouled on a full-length three-point shot and knocked down two out of his three shots with no time remaining in the half to cut it to 34-30.
But the Tigers had a bad third quarter as bad passes, fumbles, and a general state of panic set in as Mound City had a 15-0 run to make it 51-32 at the 3:30 mark. Gage Rosier had seven during the stretch for Mound City with a pair of steals and a fast break that led to a 3-point play; Schwang added four on a pair of fast breaks as the Tigers were throwing up quick shots that were not going in, leading to easy fast break chances for the opposition. Finally, Bryce Ross hit a baseline jumper to break the run; a drive from Harmening and a layup from Ross off a Jordan Harding steal cut Mound City's lead to 53-38.
The Tigers were able to trade buckets with the Panthers in the fourth quarter, but were unable to get closer than the final score. J.J. Mullock got behind the Panther defense twice for layups and converted one into a 3-point play to have five in the period; Eli Mullock added six on a floater in the lane, a fast break, and a backdoor cut; Todd Harding had a drive and floater; Garrett Hawk rounded out the scoring for Worth County in the period with a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Schwang was able to run at will against the Tigers in the period, getting behind the defense for six points.
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