Nevada boys, girls fall at McDonald County

ANDERSON, Mo. -- The McDonald County Mustangs outlasted the Nevada Tigers for a three-point victory, 49-46, in double overtime Friday night, at McDonald County High School. The Lady Mustangs defeated Nevada, 30-28, in the first game of the doubleheader Friday night.

The two boys' teams battled, toe-to-toe, all night long and the score was tied, 37-37, at the end of the fourth quarter and again, 42-42, after the first extra session. Six-foot, 5-inch junior Austin Grotts put the Mustangs ahead for good in the second overtime with a layup.

Matthew Sommer's shot with a little more than 1 second remaining fell just short, as time expired. Damian Mansalvo led the Mustangs with 13 points off the bench, while Brandon Barker scored 11 and Easton Mitchell added 10 for Nevada.

The win evened McDonald County's record at 10-10 on the season, while the Tigers dropped to 5-13.

The girls' game also was close before McDonald County posted a two-point win. Nevada led, 13-11, at halftime, only to be outscored, 11-6, in the third quarter and McDonald County led, 22-19, going into the final 8 minutes.

The Lady Tigers had one last chance to tie the score at the end of the game, but came up short and their record dropped to 8-11 on the season, while the Lady Mustangs posted their 14th victory in 22 games.

Junior Mikayla Bartlett led Nevada with 13 points, while Nicole Ickes paced McDonald County with 12. Bartlett was followed by Morgan McNeley with seven points, Megan Payne with three, Michaela Brewer and Nikiya Feezell with two apiece and Kelsey McCall with one.

Nevada won both of the junior varsity games, 40-31, in the boys' game and 35-33, in the girls' contest.

The Lady Tigers and Tigers are to scheduled to host Springfield Central, inside William E. Wynn Gymnasium Tuesday night.