Tigers caged by Bulldogs, Cardinals
The Excelsior Springs varsity boys hoopsters ran into teams with high-octane offenses last week, just as their varsity girls basketball counterparts did (see related story).
Like the girls, the boys faced – and fell to – Kearney and then Raytown South in Greater Kansas City Suburban Conference-Blue Division play. First, they tumbled 8640 Feb. 6 at Kearney. They then fell 91-31 Feb. 9 to visiting Ray South.
KEARNEY NOTES
Sparked by a 10-2 opening run, Kearney led 29-14 after one quarter. The Bulldogs carried their hot shooting into the second quarter, outscoring the Tigers 23-9 to lead 52-23 at halftime.
Kearney then outscored Excelsior Springs 31-14 the third quarter. Both teams scored three fourth-quarter points.
Turnovers hurt Excelsior Springs. Officially, the Tigers committed 19 turnovers, with the Bulldogs scoring 28 points off those turnovers.
Offensively, the Tigers shot 43.2% from the field, including 57.1% from three-point range.
Junior Easton Ryan led Excelsior…