Verona held off a fourth-quarter charge from Pierce City with strong free throw shooting to upset the No. 4 seed Eagles 65-63 in the opening round of the Class 2 District 12 tournament.
The Wildcats, the No. 5 seed, avenged 67-64 loss to the Eagles from the Pierce City Tournament consolation final on Dec. 3.
Pierce City held a two-point advantage after one quarter at 12-10. Verona outscored the Eagles 17-11 in the second quarter to take a 27-23 into the break. In the third quarter, Verona extended its lead to 47-40.
Pierce City made a run in the fourth quarter led by Quortin Parks. He scored 10 of his 12 points in the final frame.
It wouldn’t be enough, as Verona went 9-for-10 from the free throw line to hold onto the win. Jacob Stellwagen hit five of the six free throws in the fourth quarter on his way to a game-high 25 points. Jessy Gamel and Andrew Martinez each scored 15 points in the win.
Austin Beaty finished with 20 points to lead Pierce City.
Verona (11-15) advances to face No. 1 seed Marionville on Wednesday at 6 pm in Verona. Pierce City finishes its season with a 12-15 record overall.
Verona 10-17-20-18 — 65
Pierce City – 12-11-17-23 — 63
V: Jacob Stellwagen 25, Jessy Gamel 15, Andrew Martinez 15, Westin Shrum 8, Isaac Alvarado 2
PC: Austin Beaty 20, Quortin Parks 12, Luke Perry 6, Tyler Johnson 6, Judah Linn 6, Emmitt Price 4, Zane Clayton 4, Layton Mack 3, Clayten O’Hara 2
