Hornets slip by Kirksville, advance to District 16 semifinals

High School Basketball

The Chillicothe Hornets held off a furious Kirksville come-from-behind effort to claim a 46-44 victory in Class 4, District 16 boys quarterfinal action on Saturday afternoon at Cameron High School.

Jack Willard continued his fine late-season play, leading the Hornets with 14 points, while Walker Graves had 10.  The victory pushes the Hornets into the district semifinals on Tuesday night against #1 seed Lafayette.  Benton’s boys will challenge Savannah at 7 o’clock on Tuesday.  The Savage boys took a 55-35 win over Cameron on Saturday.

In the girls quarterfinals on Saturday at Cameron, the Savannah Lady Savages downed Cameron 40-20 while Benton hammered Kirksville 51-23.  Those results set up “semifinal Monday”, with the top-seeded Chillicothe Lady Hornets playing Savannah at 5:30, followed by the #2 seeded Lafayette Fighting Irish playing the archrival Benton Lady Cardinals at 7 o’clock.

The girls title game is Thursday night at 6, with the boys championship game on Friday night at 6, both from the Cameron High School gymnasium.