By Brian Hall
Monett, MO – It was Homecoming night for Monett and Sarah Childress was named queen prior to the varsity game. It was during the Big 8 conference game that Aurora’s Preston Naylor was “king” and the Houn’ Dawgs held court, walking away with a 46-30 victory.
Aurora (11-12; 4-1) never trailed in the game as they opened up a 15-3 lead in the first period. Houn’ Dawgs Head Coach, Daniel Cutbirth, was pleased with how his team came out strong. “We started off shooting the ball really well. We did some really good things offensively,” said Cutbirth.
Starting the second quarter up 13 points, the Houn’ Dawgs settled in to the lead, maintaining it, but not really building on it. “We just kind of coasted,” sad Coach Cutbirth. “I wasn’t too pleased with our execution offensively and our shot selection after the first quarter. We sputtered there for several minutes.”
And while Aurora didn’t score as much in the second frame, their defense was up to the task. Monett only made one field goal the entire first half.
“We’ve had games where we’ve struggled but we haven’t struggled like that,” Said Cubs Head Coach Jeremy Land. Monett’s shooting woes continued the whole night as they were only 2-for-15 from beyond the arc.
“We couldn’t throw it in the ocean,” said Land.
Much of scoring for Aurora came from senior guard Preston Naylor. Naylor led all scorers with 24 points, hitting from both inside and outside. Coach Cutbirth lauded Naylor and fellow senior Devon Hilton. Though Hilton’s scoring was down this game he still was effective for the Dawgs.
“Devon does an awesome job running our team. The past few weeks he’s been scoring the ball well but didn’t really have much opportunity tonight,” Coach Cutbirth said.
Monett (3-19; 1-3) did much to hamper Aurora’s offense. The Houn’ Dawgs have averaged 74 points in their last three games so holding them to under 50 points was a bright spot for the Cubs.
“I thought we defended really well against them,” said Coach Land. “We defended well and rebounded well but, in the end, you’ve got to make shots. We didn’t make shots.”
The scoring for Monett was concentrated in the hands of perimeter players Gavin Carr and Garrett Tharp who each scored 10 points for the Cubs.
Aurora will face a tough challenge next Friday as they will host 16-3 Lamar. Lamar is undefeated in the Big 8 and ranked seventh in Class 3. Monett will also face Lamar on the road in their next game on February 14.
Monett: 4 – 5 – 6 – 15 — 30
Aurora: 17 – 9 – 8 – 12 — 46
Monett: Carr, 10; Johnson, 3; Sangston, 1; Spencer, 3; Tharp, 10; Turner, 3
Aurora: Dunning, 6; Erickson, 6; Hilton, 1; Miller, 7; Naylor, 24; Shoemaker, 2
