JOPLIN - The Jefferson City Jays fought through a long bus ride and a sluggish first half to pull out a come-from-behind 61-51 win over Francis Howell to open the Kaminsky Classic on Thursday at Joplin High School.
Jefferson City trailed 31-27 at the half, but came through in the final two quarters to put the game away.
"We were kind of sluggish coming out," Jays coach David Fox said. "It's a tough environment to play, but we got it going in the fourth quarter and found a way to win."
The Jays (5-4) started clicking in the second half, where they outscored Francis Howell 34-20.
"We started making shots and started to defend," Fox said.
Paul McMahon led Jefferson City with 16 points. Billy Brehle chipped in with 11, while Kody Walker added 10.
The Jays will take on Webster Groves at 7:30 p.m. today in the semifinals.
Prairie Home 65, Calvary 58
PRAIRIE HOME - Trevor Huth dropped in a game-high 21 points Thursday to lead Prairie Home to a 65-58 win over Calvary Lutheran.
Also for the Panthers, Gavin Walters added 14.
Lance Sommerer and Trevor Dusheke scored 14 points apiece for Calvary, while Kyle Maddox had 11 for the Lions.
Calvary (3-3) will open play in its own round-robin tournament at 8 p.m. today against Christ Our Savior from Evansville, Ill.
Chamois 63, MSD 21
CHAMOIS - The Chamois Pirates improved to 6-2 with a 63-21 win over Missouri School for the Deaf on Thursday.
The Pirates were up 18-4 after one quarter, 28-10 at halftime and 50-15 after three periods.
Klayton Kuschel dropped in 14 points for Chamois, which will play Friday at Frederick Douglass.
Helias frosh sweep
COLUMBIA - The Helias freshman swept a boys basketball doubleheader with Oakland on Thursday.
The Crusaders captured the A game 44-40 to improve to 10-2. Ryan Tannehill had 12 points for Helias and Brock Gerstner added 10.
Helias' B team moved to 6-1 with a 62-42 win. Andy Devine had 13 points for the Crusaders and Shane Colonius chipped in with 12.
Helias will play Saturday at Jefferson City.
Girls Basketball
Chamois 59, MSD 8
CHAMOIS - The Chamois Lady Pirates led 18-0 after one quarter Thursday and went on to rip Missouri School for the Deaf 59-8.
The Lady Pirates outscored MSD 17-4 in the second quarter, 13-2 in the third and 11-2 in the fourth.
Three different Chamois players outscored MSD by themselves, as Alison Mehmert pumped in 18 points, Miranda Brandt had 13 and Danielle Tilly had 10.
Chamois (8-1) will return to action when it hosts Wellsville on Thursday.
St. Elizabeth 62,
Jamestown 20
ST. ELIZABETH - The St. Elizabeth Lady Hornets won their fourth straight game, dropping the Jamestown Lady Eagles 62-20 on Thursday.
Morgan Wilde paced the winners with 12 points, while Megan Holtmeyer had 11.
Erin Struemph added 10 points and eight rebounds for St. Elizabeth.
The Lady Hornets were up 12-4 after one quarter and 34-12 at halftime. The advantage was 52-18 heading into the final period.
St. Elizabeth improved to 5-5 overall, while Jamestown dropped to 2-6.
The Lady Hornets will play Blair Oaks at 5 p.m. Monday in the opening round of the Fatima Tournament.
Fatima 71, So. Boone 39
ASHLAND - The Fatima Lady Comets broke open a close game after one quarter and cruised to a 71-39 win over Southern Boone on Thursday night.
The Lady Comets held a slim 15-12 lead after the first eight minutes, but pushed the lead to 36-25 at halftime. The advantage was 53-35 after three quarters.
Fatima's Claire Fick and Lauren Allen combined to outscore the Lady Eagles 42-39. Fick sizzled the nets for 27 points and Allen added 15.
The Lady Comets (7-1) return to action Tuesday in their own tournament, playing Belle at 8 p.m.
Helias frosh win two
COLUMBIA - The Helias freshmen girls steamrolled to a pair of wins Thursday night at Oakland Junior.
In the A game, Helias romped to a 64-18 victory.
Kate Menges had 19 for the Lady Crusaders (12-0) and Tiffany Weaver had 12.
The Lady Crusaders won a laugher in the B game, cruising to a 46-2 victory.
Abby Heckman led Helias (5-0) with 10 points.
Both Helias teams will host Jefferson City on Saturday.
Women's Basketball
Culberson has double-double
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Brianna Culberson of the University of Denver helped the Pioneers to a 51-50 win over Western Kentucky on Wednesday.
Culberson (Jefferson City High School) poured in 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Pioneers (9-6).