Sheldon teams fall to Thomas Jefferson

The Sheldon Panthers and Lady Panthers were in action Thursday night in Joplin, as the boys team was defeated 65-47 by Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School, while the Sheldon girls were edged 46-41.

The non-conference loss brings the Panthers record to 2-2 overall (1-1 GVVC), while the Lady Panthers are now 0-4 overall (0-2 GVVC).

Boys contest

The Panthers trailed by five at the conclusion of the first quarter, before Thomas Jefferson increased its advantage to 17 at halftime.

"The boys overcame a sluggish start on offense in the first half and focused hard on defense in the second half," Panthers head coach Dusty Murray said.

After making some halftime adjustments, Sheldon outscored T.J. 14-12 in the third quarter.

"We played to get one stop at a time, and our offense came out clicking in the second half ---- and we had much better ball movement," Murray said. "The boys played with 110 percent effort the entire game. All credit to Thomas Jefferson and their coach, as we went up against a complete team top to bottom today."

For Sheldon, point guard Zavery Lamb finished with a team-high 21 points

"Zavery did a good job attacking all game," Murray said.

Murray said he was impressed with the play with the defense of senior guard Matt Bogart, who finished with seven points. Likewise, Murray was pleased with the play of sophomore center Brett O'Connor, who finished with six points.

"Brett played played really well on the glass, taking on tough competition down low," Murray said.

Murray added that Alex Hibbits, who finished with six points, provided a spark of energy off the bench. Chipping in with four points was Clayton Loyd, while Kaleb Martin added a pair of free throws. Murray noted that he was happy with Bryce Lamb's play, as Lamb was "had some solid defensive rebounds."

Girls contest

The Lady Panthers trailed 16-9 at halftime, before outscoring Thomas Jefferson 22-20 in the second half.

"The girls overcame a sluggish first half and made adjustments, to make the game a competitive and hard fought overall game by the time the fourth quarter ended," Murray said. "We passed the ball well and had a lot of opportunities to score some points. The shots just didn't fall, and sometimes those nights will happen. This didn't deter us, as the girls kept playing at their pace and kept giving it their all. Can't be prouder of the effort they put out there tonight."

Murray continued, "Mahalia Swink scored 12 points and helped us get some steals and stops at the defensive end. Meckinize McCartney finished with eight points and played physical defense. Alycia Baney scored six points and got the girls into position on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Brooklynn O'Conner finished with five points and added six rebounds for a pretty well rounded game from the low post position. Madison and Leah Bogart both came in and gave a lot of solid effort from the bench rotation tonight."