For two quarters it appeared this years Wright City boys basketball team was going to distinguish itself from those over the past seven seasons.A program that hasn’t won a postseason game during that time is desperate for a turnaround, and in several ways, it happened. This was the first winning season over the same period of time, and the Wildcats also finished second and third in tournament appearances this season.But the first round of the Class 3 District 6 would spell disappointment for the Wildcats, who gave up an eight-point  lead during a 52-42 loss to Orchard Farm on Monday.“We’ve played well in tournaments this year, and we really felt good coming into this one,” said Coach Rick Halteman. “We knew it was going to be tough, but we also knew we could beat them.”Orchard Farm came out strong, building a 10-4 lead before Wright City could put the breaks on.“Defensively, we set a tone midway through the first quarter on,” said Halteman. “We played good team defense and did a good job of containing. We did a solid job of keeping containment and getting help when we needed it.”The Wildcats got consecutive three-wwpointers from seniors Ty Davis and Chance Ludy to push ahead 14-12 after one quarter.“We knocked down some timely shots and free throws during that stretch,” said Halteman, who watched his team go on an 8-0 run and establish a comfortable lead.Orchard Farm cut into the margin by halftime, trailing 27-22.Wright City pushed the lead back out to eight in the third quarter before folding to the Eagles’ pressure.“We got a little stagnant on offense and were trying to get the ball inside a little bit more,” said Halteman. “We let the pressure affect us and force us to do things out of character. It forced us into a few bad situations.”He says his guards began to get tired, struggling to avoid the Eagles from reaching in and stealing the ball with their aggressive attack.“They press the whole game, and part of that is just to tire you out,” said Halteman. “Just having to handle the ball with constant pressure wears on you.”As the game progressed, senior scoring leaders Davis and Bret Noble became less effective in the halfcourt, getting cut off in the lane.“They really didn’t allow us to execute much of our offense and put a lot of pressure on Bret and Ty to make it tough for them.”The Wildcats were forced to foul in the waning moments, allowing Orchard Farm to extend its lead securely.Davis finished with 15 points, while Noble added 10 points.Senior Christian Thompson added eight points.Wright City finished 13-13 doubling its win count from a year ago.“I’m extremely proud to have coached these seniors,” said Halteman. “The best thing about coaching them isn’t the skills they bring as basketball players. It’s that they are good people.”He says he wasn’t disappointed in the effort by his team, which played with a sense of urgency in order to keep the season going.“They came to play,” said Halteman. “They knew what was at stake, and it’s been a long time since we’ve won a district game, and they wanted to be the class to end the streak.”WILDCATS EXIT DISTRICTSDerrick Forsythe photo.