EXCELSIOR SPRINGS – Varsity boys basketball coach Chad Wright and his Tigers program got off quarantine just in time to have one in-person practice before they had to play a round of the Missouri River Valley Conference West Tournament. The Tigers played that round Dec. 18 at Clinton, falling 61-50. The teams played an evenly matched affair in the first quarter. The Tigers and Cardinals traded buckets until Clinton led 14-12 after one quarter with a buzzerbeating bucket. The Tigers and Cardinals continued to trade buckets until the Tigers took a 21-19 lead about midway through the quarter and held on for a 23- 22 halftime lead. For the third quarter, the Tigers put up 11 points. But Clinton’s offense put up 23 to take a 45-34 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Tigers battled back with an 11-0 fourth-quarter run to make it a three-point ballgame, but the Cardinals answered with a run of their own to take the 11-point win. Senior Tanner Phillips led Excelsior Springs with 15…