The Bill Burns Classic

Lathrop High School hosted its annual Bill Burns Classic basketball tournament last week, welcoming teams from throughout Northwest Missouri for a six-day battle for the championships. The Lathrop Lady Mules bounced back from an early loss to win consolation in the tournament, while the Lathrop boys team finished fourth in their bracket.

Tough Competition at Bill Burns Classic

Mules fourth, Lady Mules fifth at annual home tournament

(Above) Lathrop basketball player Mason Zollman beats a defender around the corner in the Bill Burns Classic third-place game Saturday, January 16, at Lathrop High School. The Mules were unable to come up with the win, finishing fourth in the tournament.

For some basketball teams, last week was a quiet one, but that was far from the case in Lathrop, as the school hosted its annual Bill Burns Classic basketball tournament.

The Lathrop boys basketball team had to settle for fourth in the tournament, while the Lathrop Lady Mules bounced back from a first round loss to win consolation.

The Lathrop boys were seeded sixth for the tournament and started in pool play against second-seeded Mid-Buchanan and third-seeded Northland Christian. The Mules split in pool play, defeating Northland Christian 67-47 and falling to Mid-Buchanan 58-44.

(Above Left) Lathrop freshman Gabby Breuer shoots the three against Van Horn. (Above Right) Lathrop’s Mason Adwell prepares for the in-bounds play.

 Against Northland, Senior Nick Knight led the team in scoring with 23 points, while Brendan Fine scored 19 points to go with six rebounds. Nathan Fine scored 10 points and Mason Zollman added eight points. In the loss to Mid-Buchanan, Nathan Fine had 13 points with five steals, while Knight scored five points and raked in 11 rebounds. Brendan Fine and Matthew Miller each added nine points and Jackson Gentzell had four rebounds.

The Mules faced off against University Academy in the tournament’s third-place game, falling Saturday at Lathrop High School by a score of 65-50. Knight put up an impressive 28 points while pulling in eight rebounds. Brendan Fine added 11 points.

The fifth-seeded Lady Mules basketball team led off the tournament with a loss to fourth-seeded Mid-Buchanan 54-43 on Monday, January 11, at Lathrop High School. Senior Maycee Nichols led the team with 16 points, nine rebounds and three steals. Freshman Keylie Beane had nine points and three steals, and senior Josie Wright scored eight points with eight rebounds.

The Lady Mules were able to bounce back in the consolation semifinals, scoring a 62-36 win over seventh-seeded Van Horn last Thursday. This time it was Beane leading the way, as the point guard put up 19 points with seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. Kaitlyn Morgan added 16 points with seven rebounds and three steals, and Autum Nichols scored nine points.

(Above Left) Lathrop senior Josie Wright on defense. (Above Right) Lathrop senior Nick Knight with the shot.

That victory saw Lathrop through to the consolation finals on Saturday (in a game postponed the evening before due to the weather) at Lathrop Middle School. The Lady Mules dominated University Academy, 48-19. Senior Arissa Jackson put up 11 points in the contest with Maycee Nichols adding eight points. Beane, Bailey White and Morgan each put up six points in the victory.

(Above) Lathrop basketball player Kinsley Patton battles for the rebound in the consolation semifinals last week against Van Horn. The Lady Mules won the game and then went on to win the consolation championship of the tournament.

Last week is traditionally a tournament week for many Missouri teams, and as such, both Plattsburg basketball teams and the East Buchanan boys team didn’t see competition. That wasn’t the case for the East Buchanan Lady Bulldogs, however, as they jumped into some of their hardest competition of the year.The Lady Bulldogs welcomed St. Pius, state-ranked in Class 5, to EBHS on Monday, January 11, falling to the visitor 50-38. The ladies were back at home the following day to take on Maryville, losing to state-ranked Class 4 Lady Spoofhounds 45-32. As it stands, Maryville and St. Pius are currently a combined 22-2 on the season.

Against St. Pius, senior Lilly Schilling scored 20 points with five rebounds. Maya Watkins added 10 points with 11 rebounds and six assists. Kinzie Woodside had three assists with five rebounds.

It was a milestone day for East Buchanan senior Lilly Schilling against Maryville, as she put up 12 points, becoming just the 12th player to eclipse the 1,000-point mark for the East Buchanan program. Watkins scored nine points with three assists. Erin McPike led the team with seven rebounds. Woodside had four assists, four steals and five rebounds.