Moberly crushes Cardinals in rematch

MOBERLY, Mo. – The anticipated debut performance of Mineral Area men’s basketball on subscription streaming service ESPN+ may have seemed more like a cancellation.

Moberly delivered a dominant performance against the shaken Cardinals on Wednesday night, rolling 81-50 for its 10th straight victory overall in a battle of ranked programs.

Tre’von Spillers controlled the low post at both ends of the floor with 23 points and eight blocks, and Moberly (20-3, 7-0) tightened its grip on first place in the Region 16 standings.

Mineral Area (18-4, 4-2) suffered its most lopsided defeat in more than nine years, and quickly faded when the Greyhounds extended 43-31 lead with a 24-10 scoring run.

The Cardinals entered the contest touting the top scoring defense in the nation, but Moberly torched them for 57 percent shooting from the field while committing only four turnovers.

MAC suffered further adversity on the injury front, as key guard Za-Ontay Boothman landed painfully on either his shoulder or arm in the first half and could not return. Amarion Dickerson also played sparingly.

Moberly created minor separation on two early 3-pointers from Brandon Hall, and picked up three field goals on jumpers by Tedrick Washington to build a 36-26 halftime edge.

Washington finished with 19 points while Jaheim Tanksley, whose buzzer-beater sank Mineral Area last month at Sechrest Fieldhouse, tossed in 14 more while hitting 10-of-11 free throws.

Dior Conners and Lamontay Daughtery each netted 11 points to pace Mineral Area. Devon Barshow and Dylan Williams added seven apiece.

A final transition slam by Ade Popoola for punctuation marked the final score and matched the largest lead for Moberly.

The Cardinals will host State Fair for Homecoming on Saturday.