Boys show signs of life before bowing to Eureka

By DAVID COLBURN

News editor

After a season-opening 62-35 loss Friday at Herington that included a scoreless first quarter, Peabody-Burns boys basketball coach Bob Kyle said he didn’t have much time to make adjustments before Monday’s game against Eureka in Marion.

Whether it was something he said or just sheer determination on the part of his players, the Warriors came out swinging against the bigger, more athletic Tornadoes, streaking to a 19-18 lead at the end of the first quarter.

A Chance Elliott basket and two 3-point bombs by Rocco Weerts put the Warriors ahead 8-4.

After falling behind 12-10, Peabody-Burns turned on the speed. Tyler Entz scored on a press break, then Jacobo Penalver grabbed a rebound and drove the length of the court for another basket. Taking a pass in backcourt, Weerts streaked past his defender and scored a layup in traffic to put Peabody up 16-12.

The Warriors grabbed their largest lead, 19-14, when Penalver converted a bucket and free throw with 53 second left in the quarter.

Abandoning an ineffective press in favor of a swarming zone defense, the Tornadoes went on a 15-0 blitz to take a 29-19 lead. The Warriors committed 9 second-quarter turnovers, but a late Bryant Young trey and a baseline bucket-and-one by Elliott had Peabody-Burns within 37-30 at the break.

Eureka doubled up Peabody-Burns in the second half, scoring 40 points against Peabody-Burns’ 20 to coast to a 77-50 win.

Eureka turned 24 Peabody-Burns turnovers into 27 points, while the Warriors scored just 6 points off Eureka miscues.

Chance Elliott nailed three 3-pointers en route to a game-high 19 points. Weerts knocked down 12 points.

The Warriors’ first-half performance was an encouraging turnaround from Friday’s 62-35 debacle at Herington, which included a scoreless first quarter and a 41-11 halftime deficit. Entz was the only player in double-figures for Peabody-Burns with 15.

An undersized, inexperienced girls’ team, with only one returning starter in Tori Pickens, found out just how far they have to go to be competitive in a 41-13 loss to Herington and a 69-10 pasting by Eureka.

Pickens hit a driving layup for the Lady Warriors’ sole first-half bucket against Herington and had 7 of her team-leading 10 points before Sydney Hodges became the only other player to notch a field goal on a third-quarter jumper.

Coach Scott Bauer’s trepidation about facing tougher foes in the Marion Classic tournament played out against Eureka. Peabody-Burns trailed 44-3 at the half and lost 69-10.

The Lady Tornadoes converted 43 Lady Warriors turnovers into 41 points. Eureka put up 58 shots and hit 51 percent from the field, while Peabody-Burns was just 3-of-19 shooting for the game.

Pickens again led scoring with 6 points.

“We know what we need to do and where we need to be; it’s just seeing it quicker and understanding the defense,” Bauer said after the Herington loss. “The speed, it’s tough to mimic there in practice the way it will be in the game. We don’t have a lot of height, so we’re going to have to be more physical.”

Peabody-Burns will be back in action Thursday in Marion against Berean Academy. The girls’ game is at 4 p.m., followed by the boys at 5:30 p.m. The Marion Classic tournament concludes Saturday.