Senior Carle’on Jones’ 21 points and Wright City’s 16-1 run to start the fourth quarter helped the Wildcats win their season opener Monday night. 

Wright City earned a 64-51 home win over North County Christian School in their first game of the season. The Wildcats cashed in on their opportunities in the paint in their win. They were led offensively by Jones, who scored 14 points in the first half and 21 points in the game. 

“(Just) get the ball and go to work,” Jones said. “My teammates were right there too. Just play some ball … It was a team effort.”  

Wright City boys basketball coach Ken Brown stressed the challenges Jones presents opposing defenses. Jones possesses both size and quickness, Brown said. 

“You put a big guy on him, he can go around you,” Brown said. “You put a small guy on him, he’ll use his strength to get through him. He’s probably going to be an all-conference player this year. I’m looking forward to it. He’s just got to continue doing what he’s doing.” 

After a back and forth first three quarters, Wright City carried a 42-38 lead into the final quarter. The Wildcats started off the final quarter on a 16-1 run to put the game out of reach.

Brown said the Wildcats’ defensive execution in the final quarter was a key to finishing off their season opening win. Wright City’s focus was to stop North County Christian from driving the ball to the basket.  

“We corrected it so we were able to get run outs in transition and we were able to score,” Brown said. “And I think it’s a lot of early game, first game jitters kind of got us a little bit. But I think we’ll be fine.”

The Wildcats ended both the middle quarters strong to take a lead into the final quarter. In the second quarter, Wright City ended the half on a 6-2 run to take a 29-28 lead into halftime. Jones hit a pair of free throws and Will Bohannan made a basket to put Wright City down by one point. With about seven seconds remaining in the half, Jerry Stanford scored on a breakaway after stealing a pass late in the half. 

The Wildcats continued their momentum early in the second half. They started the third quarter on a 7-1 run to take a 36-29 lead. Duan McRoberts scored four of his 11 points and Will Bohannan scored three points on the 7-1 run. After North County Christian responded with a 9-2 run to tie the game in the final minute of the third quarter, Jersiah Higgins and Denzel Dowdy each scored a basket to give the Wildcats a 42-38 lead heading into the final quarter. 

“It was huge because we had all the confidence in the world that we could complete this game once we got that momentum change,” Ken Brown said. 

Wright City was slated to host Hermann Nov. 21. They will play at St. Charles West Nov. 27.