Boys basketball roundup: Davis, practice propel Fort Osage

Practice may not make perfect, but it sure helps.
Ja’Wan Davis fired in four 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 23 points as Fort Osage routed Belton 67-32 in a Suburban Middle Six road game.
“We needed a good game like this,” Indians coach Josh Wilson said. “We had some good practices after the holidays and we came out and jumped on them pretty well.”
Fort Osage (3-5, 1-1 Middle Six) jumped to an 18-7 lead after one quarter and blew it open with a 28-9 advantage in the third period.
Ryan Baldin and Jesse Kribbs each added 12 points for the Indians.
Phillip Begaye posted 10 points off the bench to pace Belton (0-9, 0-3).
BLUE SPRINGS 58, RAYMORE-PECULIAR 40: When the shots started falling in the third quarter, Blue Springs put the game away.
Drew Moore canned three 3-pointers, while Greg Wisner drained a pair of treys in the quarter, as the Wildcats (6-5, 2-2 Big Seven) outscored host Ray-Pec 23-8 to blow open a game in which they led by six at halftime.
“We just gave Drew and Greg the ball,” Wheeler said of the approach in the third quarter. “We had an ugly first half. We came out and they both got hot and we jumped out on top. This was a nice win. Everyone got involved.”
Moore led the way with 13 points, while Wisner added 12.
Blue Springs lost the JV game, 53-49.
ORRICK 51, ST. MARY’S 49: A furious comeback fell just short for St. Mary’s.
Trailing 43-31 entering the final period, host St. Mary’s outscored Orrick 18-8 in the final period only to fall just short of its first win of the season.
“It was a valiant effort,” Trojans coach Byron Jones said. “The kids really played hard, but we were stone cold in the first half and missed a lot of point-blank shots. We probably missed 12 layups in the first half.
But the kids made a great comeback. We finally started making some baskets and that allowed us to get into defensive position to press them.”
The Trojans tied it 47-47 with less than two minutes left on a Ryan James free throw. After Orrick regained the lead, Paul Baker hit a layup with 19 seconds left to pull the Trojans within one. After Orrick hit one of two free throws for a 51-49 lead, Baker’s desperation half-court shot fell short.
“I felt like if we could’ve gotten the lead, we would have won it,” Jones said. “We’re close; we just have to learn how to play a full game and finish off the ends of each half.”
Michael Monteleone scored 16 points to lead the Trojans (0-4). Jake Rau added eight, Kolbie Acree had seven and James finished with six.
The St. Mary’s junior varsity improved to 5-0 with a 51-39 victory.
TRUMAN 53, WINNETONKA 45: James Hosey tallied 22 points as Truman held off a feisty Winnetonka team to stay undefeated in the Suburban Big Six.
The Patriots held on despite shooting just 48 percent (12 of 25) from the free-throw line.
Tyler Sevy added 11 points and Antonio Winn contributed seven for the Patriots (8-4, 3-0).
Carvel Claggett scored 17 points to lead Winnetonka (2-6, 1-2).
LIBERTY 57, LEE’S SUMMIT NORTH 49: Visiting Lee’s Summit North gave sixth-ranked Liberty a strong challenge but fell short in a Suburban Big Seven game.
Donnie Herron poured in 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field and 6-of-9 shooting from the line to power the Broncos (5-4, 1-1 Big Seven).
“I was really proud of the guys, especially Donnie,” North coach Mike Hilbert said. “He played with a lot of energy, especially around the rim.
“As a group we collectively did a great job defensively on them. We really worked through the screens to keep on them, and they have some really good players.”
North pulled to within 39-37 and had a chance to tie it but Liberty pulled away with a 3-pointer and a three-point play.
Liberty made 16 of 23 free throws while Herron’s free throws were all the Broncos shot. The Broncos had 25 fouls compared to 10 for Liberty.
LEE’S SUMMIT 65, ST. JOSEPH CENTRAL 64: Trey Cox driving basket with 17 seconds left was the difference as host Lee’s Summit held off St. Joseph Central for a Suburban Big Seven win.
The Tigers (4-4, 1-1 Big Seven) trailed 32-29 at halftime but outscored the Indians 15-4 in the third quarter to take a 44-36 lead into the final period.
Central (6-4, 1-1) roared back to take the lead before Cox won it.
“We played better in the second half,” Tigers coach Keith Miller said.
Cox, who finished with 13 points, and Luke Sealer, who had 14, each sank three 3-pointers. Anthony May also scored 14 points and Corbin Berkstresser added 10 and Ladarrius Whitehead contributed eight for the Tigers.
 Clay Linebach also had three treys and totaled 22 points to lead Central.
Richard Chungong posted 11 points to lead the Lee’s Summit junior varsity to a 55-51 win.