Still, the braggin' rights rivalry packed plenty of intensity. It was a physical contest at every position on the floor. Warrenton never trailed in a 59-40 victory that its players felt made an impacting statement. The Warriors owned the momentum for a full four quarters. "That's the type of victory we wanted," assured Warrenton senior Andrew Laske, who scored a game-high 19 points. "We wanted to beat them badly and do it in dominating style." Much of what allowed the Warriors to control the game was their advantage in the paint. For the fifth straight game, 6-foot-5 seniors Keith and Kyle Terry started together under the basket. Their presence proved pivotal against a Wright City defense that missed zone assignments and gave up countless offensive boards. "Our gameplan was to go inside, because we knew we could go high-low," said Coach Eric Burle. "That opened up stuff for Andrew on the outside as well." Keith finished with 16 points, while Kyle dropped in 10. It was the first time this season they reached double figures in the same game. The Warriors scored on their first three possessions, jumping out to a 7-2 lead. They pushed that margin to nine late in the first quarter, before finishing the period ahead 16-11. Energy reached its peak during the second quarter, when a double foul was called. Shajuan Butler was whistled for a technical, while Warrenton's Tom Dapp was charged with an intentional foul. How each team made use of that circumstance seemed to set the tone. Stephen Hanff clanked both of his free throw attempts off the glass and back iron. When Warrenton's Laske stepped to the line, he never doubted himself. The senior drained both of his charity shots, making sure his team didn't surrender the momentum. "When I stepped up there, I was thinking 'I'm going to show them how it's done,' " said Laske. "I actually liked it better with the crowd being loud. I was just focused on swishing those shots." The foul didn't end up being a game-changer, but it did instill the sense of rivalry. Laske's free throws pushed the lead to nine, and the Warriors continued to build on that toward the half. They led by as much as 15 and claimed a 30-18 edge at the break. Burle says he team finally began to pull away by wearing down its opponent under the basket. Warrenton attacked the offensive boards every time down the floor. Wright City first-year coach Mark Scacewater says his team's unwillingness to box out eliminated any chance of them winning the game. "Second chance p oints was completely the difference in the game," assured Scacewater. "We gave them second chance after second chance off free throws and lay ups. It was an abysmal effort rebounding." Warrenton opened up its offensive from the outside as well, stretching the Wildcats out on defense. While the majority of the Warriors points came from three players, Burle was able to get some valuable minutes from his bench players as well. Everyone on both sides of the floor got at least a few minutes in Tuesday's battle. "Eventually we were able to break away with a decent margin," said Burle. "At times we stepped it up on the defensive end and made some big stops. We also got some key contributions off the bench." Warrenton led by 16 for much of the third quarter, but Wright City made its final run of the game to close out the period. The Warriors were up 42-29 heading into the fourth, when its opponent began showing a sense of urgency. Wright City turned the ball over regularly during that final period, subsequently fouling to prevent buckets in transition. Warrenton made its free throws down the stretch but hit just 10 of 21 for the game. Scacewater could hardly look at his team's free throw figure without grimacing. The Wildcats knocked down just three of their 15 attempts at the line. He says that mark, along with being dominated in the paint, set his team apart from Warrenton. No Wright City players reached double figures, as Shajuan Butler, Deon Bradshaw and Waylon Cox each scored eight. Ultimately, both teams executed their gameplans. Warrenton just managed to do so in a more complete, thorough manner. "We wanted to make them take outside shots, which we did," said Scacewater. "But they always got the rebound and putbacks, which made the difference." The Warriors won the rivalry for the second consecutive year and improved to 5-8. Wright City drops to 2-9 and will settle into its conference schedule beginning this Friday against Elsberry.