East Prairie escapes Kelly with 58-55 win

BENTON, Mo. — East Prairie held off a furious comeback attempt at Kelly on Friday, Feb. 10.

Wyatt Williams had a game-high 21 points to lead the Eagles (19-6) to a 58-55 victory over the Hawks (11-13).

“We got up 13 early in the fourth quarter and managed to hold on,” said East Prairie coach Gary Scott. “[Williams] had a great game offensively.”

East Prairie will travel to Malden (14-8) for its regular-season finale on Tuesday, Feb. 14.

The Eagles received the sixth seed in the MSHSAA Class 3, District 1 Tournament, and will take on third-seeded Malden in the opening round at New Madrid County Central High School on Feb. 20.

Dalton Forck (13), Ross Peters (12) and Drew Klipfel (12) were Kelly’s top performers.

“We showed a lot of fight against an excellent team,” said Kelly coach Jeremy Brinkmeyer. “For some reason third quarters all year have been our stumbling block. We got down 10 or 12 points but didn’t quit, and had a shot to tie it with five seconds left. This has been such a fun year of coaching because our kids keep fighting every day. So we hope to have a good week of practice and game to prepare for districts next week.”

Kelly is on the road at Ste. Genevieve (17-4) for its regular-season finale on Thursday, Feb. 16.

The fifth-seeded Hawks will face the fourth-seeded Valle Catholic (14-9) in the first round of the MSHSAA Class 3, District 2 Tournament at Jackson High School on Feb. 20.

__EAST PRAIRIE 58, KELLY 55__

East Prairie 13 17 12 16 — 58

Kelly 16 11 6 22 — 55

__East Prairie (58) —__ Wyatt Williams 21, Noah Johnson 10, Connor Marcum 9, Rafe Byassee 6, Kamron Farmer 5, Evan Kenedy 4, Ty Wallace 3. FG: 23. FT: 8-15. F: 8. (3-pointers: Byassee 2, Wallace 1, Farmer 1. Fouled out: none.)

__Kelly (55) —__Dalton Forck 13, Ross Peters 12, Drew Klipfel 12, Reece Eftink 8, Michael Dollins 8, Brayden Volkerding 2. FG: 25. FT: 4-7. F: 15. (3-pointers: Klipfel 1. Fouled out: Peters.)