It would have been understandable if this year’s meeting between Warrenton and Wright City didn’t carry the same level of suspense than in recent years. The rivals had already met twice in tournament play this season, with the Warriors winning handily each time. That didn’t prevent fans from pouring into Wright City’s gym on Monday for the regular season clash, which had been rescheduled from its original date. For the fourth straight year, Warrenton won its regular season meeting with the Wildcats, prevailing 65-51. The contest began much like the 30-point defeat the Warriors handed Wright City three weeks prior in the Hermann Tournament. But the Wildcats were determined not to get embarrassed on their homecourt, fighting all the way back from a 15-point deficit to tie the game in the second half. Warrenton delivered one of its best first quarter performances of the season, knocking down three-pointers and layups. “We shot the ball pretty well,” said Warrenton coach Shannon Jeffrey. “That was important for us to come out and take their crowd out of it.” The Warriors controlled the defensive boards and pushed the ball out in transition to build a 21-6 advantage after one period. That first quarter shooting display included a five of six mark from beyond the arc. It was sort of deja vu for Wright City coach Rod Hamlett, who had witnessed Warrenton senior David Dent knock down three treys early in the previous meeting. Dent had another one of his best career performances on Monday, scoring 17 points, including a pair of three-pointers. But Hamlett says it was ultimately his team’s inability to control senior point guard Scotty Lathrop that resulted in the loss. “We couldn’t contain the dribbler,” said Hamlett. “(Lathrop) had a great game handling the ball and finding the open guys. The difference is — I felt like in the fourth quarter he just kind of took it over from a point guard standpoint, handing the ball and making good decisions. We were not able to contain him and keep him in front of us at all.” Warrenton dropped off considerably in the second quarter, scoring just five points. Meanwhile, Wright City was finally able to push the ball into the paint, even getting six points from sophomore Austin Meine off the bench. Wright City’s tallest player and leading scorer spent much of his time running the point. Senior Deon Bradshaw finished with 19 hard earned points. “I was trying to get into the high post, so they could make more plays,” said Bradshaw. “Mike (Abrolat) was doing a good job of making good decisions and pulling up or driving in and making layups.” Abrolat netted 17 points, helping fuel Wright City’s comeback. By halftime, the Wildcats had put themselves back in contention, trailing just 26-21. “I felt like we had an advantage inside, going into Mike (Abrolat) and getting Deon inside too,” said Hamlett. “When we made our run in the second quarter, that’s what we started doing. We started getting the ball inside more.” Warrenton’s ability to drain the three-pointer faded in the third quarter, and the Wildcats chipped away at the deficit. Junior Joe Hill connected on a trey with 4:35 remaining in the period, notching the game at 32-32. While the momentum swung into Wright City’s favor, Warrenton managed to maintain its composure. Their ability to knock down free throws helped the Warriors to a 41-38 lead after three quarters. “You use so much energy getting back into the game, that it’s hard to keep that level,” said Hamlett. “We had used so much energy that we couldn’t keep that level up going into the fourth quarter.” Hamlett says Lathrop’s knack for distributing the ball and reading open looks gave Warrenton the edge in the final eight minutes. Senior Josh Boedeker was particularly strong, scoring 19 of his game-high 23 points in the second half. “We were attacking the rim,” said Jeffrey. “And we did a good job of exploiting their defense and finding the open spots.” The Warriors also took advantage at the charity stripe, hitting all 12 of their free throws in the fourth quarter.