Panthers play in winner’s bracket at Blue & Gold

The Mountain Grove Panthers’ basketball team entered the recent Blue Division of the Blue & Gold Tournament as the No. 6 seed.
A first round 60-37 victory over Miller moved them into the winner’s bracket.
Though they did not leave Missouri State University with a trophy, they did battle Class 6 Republic in a tight contest before falling to a now 10-win Clever squad.
In the opening round against the Cardinals, Miller opened the game with a 6-0 run.
The Panthers responded with a 16 straight points of their own with the help of two Bret Gardner 3-pointers.
Mountain Grove opened up a 22-12 lead and pushed it to 15 points at halftime.
Miller would end the third quarter with a 3-pointer to cut the edge to eight points before they were completely shut out in the fourth.
The Panthers went on a 15-0 run to cruise to the 23-point win.
Miller missed all nine of their shots in the final frame.
Kale Gardner led the Panthers with 17 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and one assist; Bret Gardner added 15 points, nine rebounds and one steal; Eli Golden tallied 10 points, seven rebounds and two steals; Aden Estep added nine points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals; Brody Emery scored five points, four rebounds, two blocks and one assist; Brady Harris had two points and two rebounds; Brady Anderson scored two points; and Carson Gibson had two points and three rebounds.
In the second round, the Panthers gave Republic a solid game, but fell short in the end, 60-54.
The Panthers trailed 18-11 at the end of the first quarter and trailed by six at halftime.
That margin would stay the same for the second half in spite of Kale Gardner’s nine points.
He finished the contest with a team-high 16; Golden and Estep both had 12 points; Emery had eight points; while Bret Gardner, Harris and Anderson each had two points.
Against the Bluejays, the Panthers took a nine-point lead into halftime with a boost from their 10-2 run before the break.
Unfortunately, Clever ended the contest on a 17-5 run for the seven-point win.
Bret Gardner scored a team-high 11 points in the tough loss for the Panthers.
Harris scored eight points in the opening frame and finished with nine points and Estep also had nine points.
Kale Gardner had seven points; Golden had three points and Emery added two points for Mountain Grove.