Knights, Lady Knights fall on Senior Night

Northeast Vernon County's Jacob Hazel sneaks around Hume's Austin Sullins to score his only two points in Tuesday's Senior Night loss.

WALKER -- Senior Night is always an exciting time for high school athletes and coaches alike, but also can be a bit of a bittersweet moment, as well, as it marks the last home game of the season.

Such was the case for the Knights and Lady Knights of Northeast Vernon County High School as they hosted the Hornets and Lady Hornets of Hume. Throughout the course of the night, head coach Jeremy Barger and the rest of his squads celebrated the high school careers of Camille Buttorff, who has been a force for the Lady Knights' basketball team for four seasons, as well as a Lady Knights softball and volleyball player; softball and volleyball player Abigail Gilpin, who was also a cheerleader and dancer; cheerleader, dancer and softball player Erin Kitsmiller; and softball and volleyball player and cheerleader Tiffany Scheer.

Though the celebration of those careers was a highlight of the night, the games didn't quite go as well for the hosts as they might have hoped. Both the boys' and girls' contests ended up being close, but the Hornets and Lady Hornets both came out on top.

Hume's Hope Yarick shoots for two of her nine points in Tuesday's win at Northeast Vernon County High School.

In the girls' game, the Lady Hornets found themselves tied, 18-18, after the first 8 minutes, but went on to outscore the Lady Knights, 17-8, in the second quarter on their way to a 53-45 victory.

Megan Sutcliffe led the offense for the winners with 14 points, but was followed closely by Madison Cannon with 13 and Kaitlee Metcalf with 11. Hope Yarick added nine, while Brooke Best had four and Michala Lantzberger rounded out the scoring with two.

For Northeast Vernon County, Buttorff was the overwhelming offensive leader, as she finished the night with 34 points. Haley Hays had seven and Karleigh Conner and Amber Bogardus rounded out the offense for the home team with two apiece.

"The girls played very well as a team," Lady Hornets head coach Delanya Thompson said. "Their defense won the game for them."

The boys' game was a very similar affair as the Hornets picked up the victory by a nearly-identical, 54-45 score.

In that contest, Dakota Thornburg led the offense for the Hornets with 17 points and was joined in double figures by Chris Ahrens with 13 and Austin Sullins with 12. Riley Patton added eight and Cain Crawford rounded out Hume's offense with four.

For the Knights, Mitchell Longstreth led the offensive effort with 16 points on the night and was joined in double figures by Ty Davis with 13. Drue Hoagland and Jacob Hazel each finished the night with two.

The Hornets and Lady Hornets were scheduled to take their turn hosting NEVC Thursday, but those results were not available at press time.