Excelsior Springs’ late-season winning streak in varsity boys basketball got cut short.

After finishing the regular season with a win to snap a six-game losing streak, the Tigers opened the Class 4 District 15 Tournament by edging Northeast of Kansas City 53-47 Feb. 27 at Oak Grove, the host for the single-elimination tournament. And then, the two-game streak ended March 1 with a 5237 loss to eventual tournament champion Odessa.

Excelsior Springs had to rally to defeat Northeast, as the Vikings jumped out to a 10-3 lead. Damari Wesley drained a three-pointer to help pull the Tigers within four (10-6) entering the second quarter. Sparked by a 6-0 second-quarter spurt, the Tigers led 16-15 at halftime.

Northeast opened the third quarter with a 6-0 run. Excelsior Springs sophomore Carson Gholson and senior Ryan Gluhm connected on a left-side, give-and-go layup to help the Tigers outscore the Vikings 10-5 the rest of the quarter and take a 26-26 tie into the final quarter.

Excelsior Springs outscored Northeast 27-21 the final quarter.

Wesley helped the Tigers survive and advance by scoring a career-high 15 points. Other scorers were senior Rakai Gantt with nine points, senior Brendan Blackburn and sophomore Jake Zapata with eight apiece, Gholson and senior Trevor Stanton with six each and Gluhm with a free throw.

A slow start hurt the Tigers against Odessa. With the score knotted at 6, the Bulldogs took control with a 12-2 first-quarter run to lead 18-8 at quarter’s end.

The Tigers trailed 31-19 at halftime. They cut their deficit to single digits by outscoring the Bulldogs 8-4 the third quarter, but Odessa put the margin back in double digits with a 17-10 fourth quarter.

With the victory, Odessa advanced to face – and knock off – defending champion Richmond March 3.

Excelsior Springs finished 7-21. Gantt and Gholson finished Excelsior Springs’ season finale with 10 points apiece. Stanton added six points, Blackburn chipped in four, Zapata put in three, and Gluhm and senior Colson Moore each added two.