Cody Klemp had become accustomed to, but not complacent with, losing to Warrenton over the past four years. In fact, he couldn’t even remember the last time Wright City knocked off its pesky county …
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Wright City Topples Warrenton, Finally
Posted
By Derrick Forsythe, Record Sports Editor
Cody Klemp had become accustomed to, but not complacent with, losing to Warrenton over the past four years.In fact, he couldn’t even remember the last time Wright City knocked off its pesky county rival.But the latest triumph in the series will be one he never forgets.The senior and his Wildcat teammates held off the Warriors 65-56 in double overtime during the consolation final of the Clopton Tournament on Saturday.“Losing to Warrenton has become common,” said Klemp. “I felt like this team was focused enough the entire time to get it done. It feels great to finally have some success.”Classmate Jensen Elrod recently returned from an injury and was able to enjoy the triumph with his teammates.“As seniors, it’s the biggest win we could have,” acknowledged Elrod. “We’ve been trying to beat them for four years now.”After going ahead early, Wright City needed another surge in overtime to escape with its first victory over Warrenton in seven seasons.“The kids believed they could beat them the entire time,” said Wright City Coach Ken Brown. “They did a great job executing the game plan I had set up for us.” The Wildcats scored the first six points of the game en route to a 10-4 advantage after one quarter.Warrenton rallied in the second period thanks to a pair of three pointers by junior Alec Tonioli and another by classmate Ben Stephens.The teams traded buckets before Wright City took a 19-17 lead into halftime.For Warrenton, scoring was at a premium.“We missed 20 layups within five feet of the basket,” lamented Coach Mike Uffmann. “Some of them were very contested, but we also missed open layups. We got decent looks but couldn’t finish.”A competitive third period saw Warrenton leading by two heading into the final eight minutes. The Warriors led 38-34 with 2:00 remaining in regulation, but Wright City showed just enough accuracy at the free-throw line to deadlock the game in the final moments.“Basketball is a very emotional game with a lot of runs,” saidBrown. “The main thing was making sure we limited them to one shot. We’ve struggled so much with defensive rebounding this season.”Warrenton had a chance for a game-winning shot, possessingthe ball for the final 30 seconds or regulation, but a long-range by Ron Richardson three sailed right of the rim.“We ran our delay game and waited,” explained Uffmann. “The ball happened to in our best players hands, but we didn’t make the play.”During overtime, foul trouble began to take its toll on both teams, particularly in the rebounding department.Much of the offensive responsibility fell on Tonioli and teammate Ron Richardson, with post players Craig Vardiman and Brandon Moeller both retreating to the bench with five fouls.Wright City, on the other hand, was able to employ its depth inside, as Jensen Elrod made several critical plays during the overtime sessions.“At that point we already had our best two rebounders on the bench,” said Uffmann. They had a couple offensive rebounds and putbacks. With Craig and Brandon in there, we would have been tougher to rebound against.”Ultimately, the Wildcats were able to gain control at the free-throw line during the second overtime."We knew if we kept putting pressure on them, they’d have to keep scoring,” said Elrod. “They started fouling, and we made our free throws to pull away at the end, and that’s all she wrote.”Klemp, who says he had never scored against Warrenton until Saturday, drained a team-best 15 points.“I knew we couldn’t let up,” said Klemp. “We had the momentum, and we didn’t want to let them take it back.”Ty Davis, who was also particularly pivotal down the stretch and in transition, netted 14 points.“I thought we did a good job of executing the game plan,” said Brown. “The kids followed through and did what I asked of them.”
The Wright City boys basketball team defeated Warrenton 65-56 during the consolation final of the Clopton Tournament.
