Wildcats top Rams after sluggish start

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Second-seeded Leopold struggled to score in the first quarter of its opening round game Monday at the Woodland tournament.

The Wildcats scored just 10 points in the opening quarter before scoring at least 20 in each of the next three on their way to a 77-49 victory over Scott City.

"We came out with no continuity on the offensive end," Leopold coach Shawn Kinder said. "I felt like our defense was doing a pretty good job. We didn't do a very good job stopping penetration like I thought we would, but I thought the worst thing in the first half was our continuity on the offensive end. We rushed shots."

Kinder said he hoped his team's inexperience and first-game nerves were to blame for the slow start.

"I've got a freshman playing a lot of minutes and three sophomores -- two sophomores that haven't seen the varsity level yet," Kinder said. "So I've got a lot of kids who have not been on this level, and it's a big jump."

Still, Leopold never trailed after taking a 10-9 lead with 15 seconds left in the first quarter.

"After we settled in in the first half and realized it's just a basketball game, we played better offense," Kinder said."

Sophomore Kyle Stroder, who also played on the varsity team a year ago, led Leopold with 29 points.

"Kyle's a real consistent player day in and day out," Kinder said. "He's not a flashy player by no means, but he gets the job done. He's hard to guard. He's hard for a lot of kids to guard his size because of his speed. He's one step quicker than a lot of big guys."

Senior John Bohnsack also finished in double digits with 19 points, including three 3-pointers, for the Wildcats.

Landon Robert led Scott City with 22 points and Zach Cotner added 12.

LEOPOLD 77, SCOTT CITY 49

Scott City 9 11 14 15 -- 49

Leopold 10 20 21 26 -- 77

SCOTT CITY (49) -- Landon Robert 22, Jesse Sanders 3, Alex Eichhorn 1, Hunter Cox 1, Justin Modglin 8, Zach Cotner 12, Ryan Fortner 1. FG 19, FT 5-13, F 20. (3-pointers: Robert 4, Modglin 2. Fouled out: Cox.)

LEOPOLD (77) -- Gregg Davis 4, Kyle Stroder 29, Robert Brown 3, Joe Elfrink 7, Cameron Davis 4, John Bohnsack 19, Lance Seiler 9, Matt Brotherton 2. FG 27, FT 18-26, F 17. (3-pointers: Elfrink 1, Bohnsack 3, Seiler 1. Fouled out: none.)