The passes, sets and offense were not sharp for Sacred Heart, and its lead melted at a concerning pace late against Kirksville in a 63-58 victory Friday at the Marshall Tournament.
It is exactly what an early-season win against a Class 4 school looks like.
“It’s a good step forward against a big school,” said Gremlins head coach Steve Goodwin.
Trent Lyles led Sacred Heart with 18 points, Colby Young scored 15 and Micah Tanguay had 10 on 6-for-10 shooting at the free-throw line.
Alden Harding and Tucker Nicholson chipped in eight points apiece.
Teams played to a 10-point tie eight minutes into the game. Sacred Heart forced turnovers and ran on the Tigers in the second quarter, outscoring Kirksville 22-4 to claim a 36-19 lead at halftime. Lyles spun, hit a jumper and drew a foul in the final seconds of the first half.
Lyles ended the third quarter with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, and the Gremlins led by 15 going into the fourth.
With five minutes to play, began a 12-2 run that saw Kirksville block an Easton Webb attempt at one end of the court, and score on a Lane Kephart drive at the other end before a timeout. Tanner Schilling hit a corner three to make it 55-52 with less than two minutes to play.
Goodwin said the Tigers were more physical than Sacred Heart in the second half.
“They came out and scrapped real hard,” Goodwin said. “We needed to make better passes in the third quarter.”
Harding and Lyles delivered key assists to Webb and Tanguay, respectively, to give Sacred Heart breathing room down the stretch.
The Gremlins (2-1) face the winner between Marshall and Camdenton at noon Saturday in Marshall for fifth place in the Marshall Tournament. Sacred Heart lost to Grain Valley 55-48 Tuesday in the tournament’s opening round.
