Moran teams near season’s end
By Sam Waller
The Moran Bulldogs basketball team had a busy week last week, playing three District 13-1A games to make up for an earlier postponement, going on the road on consecutive days.
On Monday, Jan. 24, the Bulldogs lost 91-26 at Cross Plains in a game rescheduled from Jan. 14. On Tuesday, Jan. 25, the Bulldogs got back on the bus to visit May, losing 73-12. Moran hosted Baird on Friday, Jan. 28, losing 63-29.
The Lady Bulldogs opened the second half of the district schedule on Tuesday, Jan. 25 with a 56-28 loss at May, before falling 33-39 to Baird on Friday, Jan. 28.
The Lady Bulldogs (7-17 overall, 2-5 district) and Bulldogs (1-13, 0-5) visited Cross Plains on Tuesday, Feb. 1. Results will be reported next week.
Boys Basketball
At Cross Plains, the Moran boys had just five players available. The game had been postponed from Jan. 14 because a number of Bulldogs were battling illness. Originally a home game for Moran, the contest was played at Cross Plains to coincide with the junior high games between the schools.
The Bulldogs fell behind 19-8 in the first quarter and trailed 45-12 at halftime. The Buffaloes pushed the lead to 72-16 in the third quarter.
Arren Hawley scored 14 points to lead the Bulldogs, with Ellis Hise adding eight points. Cotten Campbell and Riley Noble each scored two points.
At May, the Bulldogs came out slow, trailing 28-2 after the first quarter and 41-6 at halftime. Hise finished with seven points, while Hawley had three and Caleb York two.
Hawley was not able to play in the game against Baird, contributing to the Bulldogs trailing 17-1 at the end of the first quarter and 35-9 at halftime. Hise finished with 14 points. Tyler Waddell added seven points and York six, while Hail scored two.
Girls Basketball
At May, the Lady Bulldogs trailed 9-4 after the first quarter before the Lady Tigers pulled out to a 29-12 halftime advantage.
Hannah Noble and Johnnie Hise each scored 11 points to lead Moran, while Alli Scott added four points and Emily Murk two. Hise also grabbed 11 rebounds to record a double-double. Scott recorded five rebounds, two assists and three steals, while Noble had four rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Noble did not play against Baird after scoring 16 points in the two schools’ first meeting on Jan. 11. Moran led 10-6 after the first quarter, but the Lady Bears rallied for a 12-12 tie at halftime and took a 25-22 lead in the third quarter.
Murk scored a team-high 10 points for the Lady Bulldogs, with Hise adding eight points and Hannah Rogers six. Samantha Hinkle and Harmony Slaughter each scored two points, and Scott had one.
Junior High
The Moran junior high teams participated in the Blanket tournament on Saturday, Jan. 29 and hosted Eula on Monday, Jan. 31.
The junior high teams wrap up their season at home Monday, Feb. 7 against Rising Star.
At the Blanket tourney, the Lady Bulldogs beat Mullin 31-16 and lost to Brookesmith 36-14. Ashlyn Crawford led Moran with 18 points over the two games. Maekayla Kersey scored eight points, followed by LeAnna Sikes and Kacenda Thompkins with six apiece and Cassandra Mendez with five.
The Moran girls lost to Eula 18-8. Mendez scored four points for the Lady Bulldogs with Crawford and Sikes each scoring two.
The Moran boys lost both games at the Blanket tournament, falling 24-4 to Mullin and 30-8 to Brookesmith. Landon Moreno scored 12 points to lead the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs dropped Monday’s game to Eula 40-6. Moreno scored all six points.
