Hounds take district title, fall in sectionals

By Morgan Guyer

The Maryville Spoofhound Boys Basketball Team captured the program’s first district title in five years after beating Lafayette 63-51 on March 2 at Lafayette High School in St. Joseph.

Before getting a shot at the Class 4 District 16 Championship, Maryville faced off against Chillicothe on February 29. The two teams had played each other just a week prior in the regular season finale, with Chillicothe coming away with a 40-56 victory. The roles were switched in the district match-up however, as Maryville got off to a hot start and never looked back, winning 56-32.

Then the Spoofhounds got the opportunity to host the state sectional match-up against Central from Kansas City at Bearcat Arena on March 5. Maryville got off to a good start, as Junior Peyton McCollum and Senior Derek Quinlin scored some early points to give Maryville a 12-9 lead after the first quarter, and a 22-20 lead at halftime.

Maryville also came out the gates with some tough defense against the athletic Central team. The second half was a different story, as Central was able to make the necessary adjustments on offense to take a lead, and eventually go on to win 51-63.

Quinlin played his last game for the Spoofhounds, ending his career with 1,160 points, good enough for 7th all time in program history. McCollum also passed the 1,000 point mark during the game, an impressive feat for a junior.