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LHS falls to Glendale

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The Lebanon High School boys’ basketball finished off a 17-10 season with a heartbreaking 70-69 loss to the Glendale Falcons in the Missouri Class 5 District 10 semifinals on Tuesday night at Boswell Auditorium.

The Yellowjackets led a majority of the contest and took a 33-24 lead heading into the locker room at halftime, but the Falcons (16-10 overall) went on fire from beyond the arc and converted nine three-pointers in the second half to mount the comeback.

LHS didn’t have an answer for Glendale senior guard Karter Lowry who had just four points in the first half but erupted for 20 points (five three-pointers) in the second half to lead the charge.

“We didn’t have any thump to us, we weren’t ready to play, and didn’t have any enthusiasm,” Lebanon head coach Bill Brown stated after the game. “We crept back into the showboating mode, and that stuff kills you at the end of the season when you don’t have many games left.

“Glendale shot the ball extremely well and did exactly what they needed to do to beat us. They played smooth, and you can’t beat teams in district times when you’re doing that.”

The Falcons ended up outscoring Lebanon 46-36 in the final 16 minutes of the contest, but after the ‘Jackets were trailing 70-69 with 16 seconds remaining, Lebanon junior Josh Napper forced a critical turnover to give them one more opportunity to win the game.

Brown called a timeout and drew up a play for standout Quenton Shelton, and after a great spin move to create separation, Shelton missed a 15-foot jumper from the right elbow off the rim as time expired.

Shelton capped off an illustrious career with a game-high 38 points, and with over 2,000 points in his high school has secured a spot for his jersey to be hung in the rafters of Boswell Auditorium in the future.

The unsigned senior will be a steal for any college coach that gets a unique player with Shelton’s talents this late in the season.

LHS will also say goodbye to two other critical seniors in Jordan Lewis and Bryson Crowell.

Lewis was a mainstay in the post all year and shot 61 percent from the field and averaged six rebounds per game. Crowell averaged 7.0 PPG for LHS and led the team in 3 point percentage (46 percent).

“The seniors had a great year and did a great job for us,” mentioned Brown. “They did everything they needed to do to help us be successful, and they were so coachable. I hope the leadership rubs off on our juniors and shows them what it takes to win.”

For the complete article, see the Weekend print edition of The County Record, or view http://digital.laclederecord.com/ online.