Nonconference game
Central (4-9) 12 19 8 14--53
Glendale (12-1) 14 18 19 14--65

Central — Johnson 2, Smith 2, Brandon
14, Vann 18, Bergman 6, Deal 3, Small 2,
Bradley 6.
Glendale — Harbour 6, McAmis 17, Lewis
26, Dunn 2, Hannah 8, Burrows6.

Lebanon's fourth-quarter woes keep
Glendale out of reach
By Andy Knutson

Lebanon made the trip to Springfield on
Tuesday night, taking on this year's Blue
and Gold Tournament champion
Glendale, losing another heartbreaker
65-52.

Lebanon came into Tuesday night's
contest with a unique opportunity. After
a tough loss against last year's Blue and
Gold winner Parkview, Lebanon's
schedule gave them the first look at
Glendale since its Blue and Gold
tournament win, giving them another
chance at affirmation of their emergence
as an improving team.

The first quarter began without
disappointment. Lebanon and Glendale
came out hard and ready to play, neither
team shying away from the other.
Glendale found its offense from the
outside.

Moving without the ball, hitting open and
contested jump shots, and taking
advantage of what turnovers Lebanon
gave up Glendale was able to keep pace.

Lebanon found its offense in the first
quarter, much like the remainder of the
game, when they took advantage of
what was given to them.

Backdoor cuts, smart passes, open jump
shots and aggressive play on the boards
found Lebanon trailing by only two at the
end of the first quarter 17-15.

"Anytime you can win the Blue and Gold
Tournament, you're definitely one of the
top teams in southwest Missouri. We
came out and had good play
defensively," said LHS head coach Jacky
Payne. "When we're patient on offense,
we look pretty good."

Glendale attempted to create some extra
offense in the second quarter with full
and half-court pressure, but Lebanon
didn't buckle, trailing by a mere three
points at the half, 35-32.

"(Kurtis) Allen did an outstanding job
handling their pressure," said Payne.
"He's a warrior out there, he came out
and really brought it tonight."

Coming out of the gate in the third
quarter, Lebanon jumped on the Falcons.

The 'Jackets moved without the ball,
nailing some open shots and got up on
the Falcons by as many as five early in
the third quarter before turnovers began
to plague Lebanon.

"We just couldn't handle being in the
lead. We made some silly turnovers,
didn't rotate on defense. Then the fourth
quarter came along and they made some
shots and things simply didn't go our
way," said Payne.

The 'Jackets finished the game with 21
turnovers, nine over their season
average.

Glendale came out in the fourth quarter
and put a box-and-one on 'Jacket
sharpshooter Connor Lowe, putting
Lebanon's offense on its heels.

"Connor has got to learn to work a little
harder when teams start doing that to
him. We had some opportunities in the
fourth quarter on the offensive end,
we've got to have more people stand up
and want to make plays.

Lebanon's only scorer in the fourth
quarter was Kris Farmer with six, while
Glendale produced six players scoring in
the fourth for a combined 19 points.

Leading the 'Jackets in scoring was
Farmer with 13, Ryan Southard, 11;
Lowe, 11; Brian Decker, three; Tyler
Headley and Kyle McClure, four; and
Allen, Derrick Mitchell and Max Meckem
all with two.

Assist leaders for the 'Jackets were Allen
with four and Mitchell, Decker and
Southard all adding three.

Southard also led the way for Lebanon in
rebounding with 10, giving him a
double-double.

"Our basketball team is getting better.
Day by day, practice by practice, game
by game, if we keep improving like this
we're going to be a tough out before it's
all over," said Payne.