Boone County prep basketball top performers, team records and games to watch for Jan. 17-21

Chris Kwiecinski, Columbia Daily Tribune
·4 min read
Hickman head coach Cray Logan talks with his team during a game against Capital City on Dec. 13 at Hickman High School.
Hickman head coach Cray Logan talks with his team during a game against Capital City on Dec. 13 at Hickman High School.

Bouncing back is the name of the game around Boone County.

Nearly every high school basketball team in the county experienced some adversity this past week, be it on the court or by Mother Nature's hand.

Starting within Columbia, both Hickman squads are aiming for a bounce-back week. The Kewpie boys fell at Tolton 82-58 and at home 56-53 against Mexico; the girls took their second loss of the season 49-38 against Helias.

Those losses were tough pills to swallow for Hickman. The boys got into foul trouble against Tolton and couldn't keep up, while the girls had to foul and hope Helias would miss its free throws, which the Crusaders did not.

The Kewpie girls will have a tough test on their hands Tuesday in an effort to rebound. Hickman goes on the road to play at Troy Buchanan (9-4).

The Kewpie boys will also be away from home this week, competing in the C.W. Stessman Tournament in Liberty. Hickman coach Cray Logan will have had a few days to get his Kewpies in the film room, which he said is a necessity.

Hickman's Jordan Richardson (4) shoots the reverse layup as Tolton's Justin Boyer (3) defends during the Trailblazers' 82-58 win over the Kewpies on Jan. 12 at Tolton High School.
Hickman's Jordan Richardson (4) shoots the reverse layup as Tolton's Justin Boyer (3) defends during the Trailblazers' 82-58 win over the Kewpies on Jan. 12 at Tolton High School.

"We're extremely young, so film does a great job for us of helping us to review a lot of things we can when everyone comes to practice," Logan said after the Tolton game. "With years to come, we're going to have a chance to play in big rivalry games."

Needing a bounce-back win is stretching to some of the further parts of Boone County as well.

The Class 4 No. 2-ranked Southern Boone girls fell 58-44 to Jefferson City, despite how the Jays had struggled a bit to start the season and how Southern Boone had Hickman on the ropes last month.

The Jays finally brought back the missing piece to their team: Hannah Linthacum. The Missouri women's basketball commit led Jefferson City with 21 points and 17 rebounds.

Jersee Wren paced the Eagles with 21 points against Jefferson City, a continuation of her great week. She scored 23 points against St. Clair.

Southern Boone had a chance to play once more this past weekend, but its game against Union on Saturday was canceled due to winter weather.

Snow also knocked out the Harrisburg Shootout, meaning the Harrisburg boys and girls haven't played a game since Jan. 11, a doubleheader sweep at Knox County.

It's not always easy to rebound from a tough loss or extended time off, but it's been done before this season.

The Tolton boys shook off a tough overtime defeat on the road to Moline (Ill.) to handle the Kewpies. The Rock Bridge boys have won four straight games after a 65-54 loss to Booker T. Washington (Okla.) on Dec. 29.

In the middle of January, teams still have time to figure out what they're about.

Come February, however, contenders will emerge.

Top performers from Jan. 10-16

Rock Bridge G Brady Bowers: 24 points in 78-72 win over Union

Battle F Justin Goolsby: 16 points in 63-54 win over Lift for Life

Rock Bridge F Kyrah Brodie: 18 points in 54-15 win over Capital City

Southern Boone G Jersee Wren: 23 points in 88-29 win over St. Clair

Columbia team records

*All rankings are from the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association

Boys

No. 6 Father Tolton (11-4, 2-0 in AAA)

Hickman (9-6, 2-0 in CMAC)

Rock Bridge (8-4,1-0 in CMAC)

Battle (7-6, 2-1 in CMAC)

Girls

No. 2 Rock Bridge (12-0, 3-0 in CMAC)

Hickman (11-2, 2-1 in CMAC)

Battle (8-6, 1-1 in CMAC)

Father Tolton (2-7, 0-3 in AAA)

Battle's Nautica Washington (4) squares up a free throw during the Spartans' 61-28 win over Harrisburg on Jan. 8.
Battle's Nautica Washington (4) squares up a free throw during the Spartans' 61-28 win over Harrisburg on Jan. 8.

Around Boone County

Boys

Hallsville (6-9, 2-4 in Tri-County)

Southern Boone (4-9, 2-3 in Tri-County)

Sturgeon (6-8, 3-2 in Central)

No. 6 Harrisburg (10-3, 3-1 in Lewis & Clark)

Centralia (6-7, 2-0 in Clarence Cannon)

Girls

Hallsville (11-3, 1-0 in Tri-County)

No. 2 Southern Boone (11-2, 3-0 in Tri-County)

Sturgeon (6-9, 2-4 in Central)

Harrisburg (7-6, 3-1 in Lewis & Clark)

Centralia (6-4, 1-1 in Clarence Cannon)

Upcoming games to watch

Girls - Monday: Rock Bridge vs. Blue Springs South

Girls - Tuesday: Hickman @ Troy Buchanan

Boys - Wednesday: Father Tolton vs. Battle

Girls - Thursday: Hallsville vs. Salisbury

Boys - Friday: Sturgeon @ Glasgow

Chris Kwiecinski is the sports editor for the Columbia Daily Tribune, overseeing University of Missouri and Boone County sports coverage. Follow him on Twitter @OchoK_ and contact him at CKwiecinsk@gannett.com or 435-414-3261.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Top Missouri high school basketball players, games to watch Jan. 17-21