By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
Eliana Arambula scored a game-high 21 points and the Benton girls' basketball team (7-2) held off Class 6 Battle, 59-55, at the St. Joseph Area Sports Hall of Fame High School Holiday Hoops Classic at Civic Arena Thursday.
Benton got off to an 18-13 start and lost the lead briefly to Battle in the second quarter. The Cardinals ended the first half, however, on a 12-2 run to go up 34-26 at the break.
Battle (4-4) hung around in the second half, and didn't make any serious dent in their deficit until the closing minutes.
Benton was up 13 in the fourth, 56-43, but a 9-0 run by the Spartans made things more interesting with just over a minute left.
Still, the Cardinals stood firm, as Benton hit 5-of-6 free throws in the fourth quarter alone to preserve their lead. Andrea Simmons scored 14 points, while Avery Morlock logged 13. Emma Loehnig had 8.
Sway Jones came off the bench and led Battle with 13 points. Jaleah Brookins had 12.
Benton has won six of their last seven. They'll play Capital City on Dec. 27 in the first round of the Jefferson City Invitational.
Full game replay
Benton boys battle hard, Battle pulls away late for win
The Benton Cardinals held their own against Class 6 No. 8 Battle, but the Spartans (7-2) whittled away at Benton late, coming away with a 61-47 victory at Civic Arena Thursday.
Benton (4-4) got down by 11 in the first half, but made a nice push and only trailed 32-28 at the break.
It remained a single digit game for most of the second half, but the Cardinals were never able to get in front. Benton led 4-0 to start, but Battle fired back to lead it at 6-4, and never trailed after that.
Benton was held to just five made field goals in the second half. Battle scored 15 fourth quarter points to put it on ice.
Tate McCubbin led Battle with 15 points. Vernell Holt Jr. had 12. Sophomore Lincoln Goodwin had a game-high 19 to lead Benton. Carson Schmidt and Talan McDowell each had 10.
Benton takes part in the Neosho Holiday Classic next week. They'll play Seneca on Dec. 27 at 2 p.m.
Full game replay
Other scores from Civic Arena Thursday
Girls - North Platte 56 East Atchison 26
Boys - North Platte 66 East Atchison 46
Friday schedule
12:30 p.m. - East Buchanan vs. Maysville (girls)
2 p.m. - East Buchanan vs. Maysville (boys)
3:30 p.m. - St. Joseph Christian vs. DeKalb (girls)
5 p.m. - St. Joseph Christian vs. DeKalb (boys)
6:30 p.m. - Bishop LeBlond vs. North Andrew (girls)
8 p.m. - Bishop LeBlond vs. North Andrew (boys)
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.