After holding as much as an eight-point lead in the second half, the Cassville varsity boys’ basketball team needed overtime to defeat host Barneveld last Friday night, 66-61.

Coach Dennis Uppena’s squad led 28-22 at halftime of the Six Rivers cross-over game, and took a 49-43 lead into the fourth quarter.

Barneveld then completed a comeback late in the fourth quarter and tied the game at 55-55.

“Partly due to some of our turnovers, they were able to close it out and tie it,” said coach Uppena.

The Comets finished Friday night’s contest with 16 total turnovers, 11 of which came in the second half, which enabled the Eagles to come from behind and send the game into an extra session.

Both teams had trouble scoring in the final minute and a half of regulation, and when Cassville’s 3-point buzzer beater was off the mark, both teams headed into overtime with new life.

The overtime session was essentially a free throw contest, as the Comets scored nine of their 11 points from the charity stripe, and went 9-of-15 in the extra session.

Coming up especially big at the free throw line in overtime was Cassville junior guard Cole Adams, who knocked down 5-of-8 attempts, and finished with a team-high 19 points to go along with six assists.

“Since Ty has been out, he’s taken over a little bit more of the scoring,” said Uppena of Adams. “I think he realized he needed to step up, and he’s doing a good job. He’s being a good leader out there, and he’s actually done a little more rebounding as well.”

Sebastian Apers wasn’t far behind with 15 points, seven boards, five assists and three of his team’s six steals.

Ryan Kirschbaum pulled down six rebounds and had 13 points in his team’s victory.

As a team, Cassville made 26-of-49 (53%) field goal attempts, including 3-of-10 (30%) from downtown.

They finished the night making 11-of-19 (58%) free throw attempts compared to their opponent’s 9-of-13 (69%) performance.

This Thursday night, the Comets (6-1, 14-2) will travel to Benton (2-5, 4-12), then will head to Seneca (3-6, 4-10) on Saturday, before taking on Potosi (7-1, 13-4) next Tuesday night.

Cassville 66,
Barneveld 61 (OT)
(from Friday, Jan. 25)
Cassville    16    12    21    6    11 - 66
Barneveld    5    17    21    12    6 - 61
Cassville - Nix 6, Apers 15, Adams 19, Okey 9, Kirschbaum 13, Schwab 4. Totals - 29 11-19 66.
Barneveld - Sorensen 4, Hodgson 7, Sullivan 5, Hellenbrand 11, Jeremy Whitish 6, Hummel 7, Hunter Whitish 5, Schult 16. Totals - 28 9-13 61.
3-point goals - C: Apers 1, Adams 1, Kirschbaum 1, B: Hodgson 1, Sullivan 1, Schult 2. Team fouls - C: 14, B: 18. Fouled out - None.