If the Class 4 Moberly Spartans felt they were going to pick up an easy win in their final matchup before Christmas against the Class 2 Harrisburg Bulldogs, they were sorely mistaken. The Bulldogs handily defeated the Spartans 52-41. 

In the game played at Moberly High School, the two teams stayed fairly close in the first half. Harrisburg jumped out to an 18-10 lead after the first quarter, but allowed Moberly to pull to within one point at the half with the Harrisburg taking a 26-25 lead into the locker room.

The Bulldogs pulled ahead in the third quarter by outscoring Moberly 14-9 to stretch their lead to six.

In the final stanza, Harrisburg finished strong and outscored the Spartans 12-7 to finish the game with a 54-41 victory. “I thought we were sluggish offensively, most of the night,” said Harrisburg head coach Kyle Fisher. “I also thought we didn’t defend very well in the first half.” Junior Brayden Ott paced the Bulldogs in scoring as the 5’9” junior pumped in 16 points on the evening. Senior Jace Carr added 10 points while classmate Brayton Stephenson contributed nine. Senior Tanner Lanes and junior Austin Darwent each put in six while sophomore Haven Samuels rounded out the Harrisburg scoring with five points.

Ott jump started the Bulldogs with nine points in the first quarter. Six of those points came on a pair of 3-pointers right off the bat. He followed that up with five points in the third, including a 3-pointer, and finished with a basket in the fourth.

“In the second half, the defense picked up and we were able to get out of there with a win,” said Fisher. “I thought our bench, Darwent, Samuels, (senior) Travis Gardiner, (junior) Harley Whitaker, and (sophomore) Hunter Cole, was really good, especially defensively. It wasn’t pretty, but any time you can go on the road and beat Moberly, it’s a good win.”

With the win, Harrisburg moves to 7-2. The only blemishes on the Bulldog record come from losses to Salisbury (currently 9-0) and Mexico which sits at 8-0 on the season. Mexico is a Class  4 school.

Harrisburg hosted Southern Boone (3-3) Tuesday night after The Advertiser went to press, and next will travel to Marceline to take on the 3-1 Tigers on January 6.

The Bulldogs will then  head to Columbia on January 8 for a dual with Battle High School (3-5) followed by a trip to Knox County (3-5) on January 11. They will finally return home on January 13 to host Paris before hosting the Harrisburg/Ramey Showcase on January 15.