Bourbon High School’s boys’ basketball team played a trio of home games on Feb. 2, Feb. 3 and Feb. 6 against Rolla Sr. High Home School, Belle and St. Paul Lutheran, respectively. The Warhawks fell to Rolla and Belle decisively before losing a close game to St. Paul Lutheran. All of Bourbon’s games are detailed below.

Bourbon hosted Crystal City on Feb. 9 for pink out night, which benefited a local resident’s battle with cancer and will be detailed in next week’s edition. The Warhawks will then host Grandview (Hillsboro) on Feb. 12 and play in Steelville on Feb. 13. 

The Warhawks will host the Bourbon Junior Varsity Tournament beginning on Feb. 11 that will also feature Belle, Cuba, Owensville, Salem, Steelville and Vienna. Salem is the number-one seed, and will have a bye in the first round. Bourbon is seeded sixth and drew a matchup with Belle in the first round at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 11.

Feb. 2 vs. Rolla Sr. High Home School

The Bourbon Warhawks ran into a high powered Rolla Home School Royals attack that was firing from all cylinders from the start. 

The Royals never trailed and got out to a 22-9 lead after the first quarter. Rolla poured in 30 points in the second quarter to blow the game open and went into halftime leading Bourbon 52-20. The Warhawks produced double-digit scoring quarters in the third and fourth periods, but couldn’t keep up with the Royals’ prolific scoring. Rolla finished with 93 points, despite playing with a running clock in the fourth quarter, and more than doubled Bourbon’s output of 45 points.

Owen Miller has been the Warhawks’ most consistent scorer of late, and continued that trend as he netted a team-high 18 points. Dawson King knocked down a three-pointer, a pair of baskets at the rim and a free throw to finish with eight points. Garrett Wallis drained a pair of treys for six points and Andre Nixon and Tariq Moore scored four points apiece. Bryar Stricklan chipped in three and Joseph Woods scored two to round out the scoring for Bourbon.

The Rolla Royals had three players score in double figures, led by Cole Myers, who scored a game-high 24 points in the winning effort.

Feb. 3 vs. Belle

The 18-2 Belle Tigers came to town and showed why they are the top team in the Gasconade Valley Conference and a contender to win districts.

The Tigers never trailed as they exploded for 43 first-quarter points before finishing the first half up 79-15. Belle head coach Jeff Schultz emptied his bench early in the second half and the Tigers still poured in 112 points against a Bourbon defense that didn’t have an answer for Belle’s attack. Bourbon scored just 22 points, giving Belle a 90 point margin of victory, its largest of the season.

Miller scored 11 to lead the turnover-plagued Warhawks. King buried a pair of three pointers for six points. Wallis hit a trio of free throws for all three of his points and Moore scored two points on a basket in the paint. Belle had 10 players score baskets, and five reached double figures. Senior Hank Stratman poured in 18 of his game-high 28 points in the first quarter to lead the Tigers.

During Bourbon’s 112-22 loss against Belle’s Tigers, the Warhawks saw their Gasconade Valley Conference (GVC) rivals enter the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) record books, scoring 43 first-quarter points and 79 points in the first half.

Their first-quarter point total put them 12th all time while their 79 first-half points also placed them 12th in that category, according to MSHSAA records.

Bourbon’s junior varsity team fell 54-20 in the first matchup of the evening between the Warhawks and the Tigers.

Feb. 6 vs. St. Paul Lutheran

The Warhawks tipped off against the St. Paul Lutheran Giants following Bourbon’s homecoming coronation ceremonies and seemed to feed off the extra fans in the seats.

The first quarter was an offensive battle as each team exchanged blows and scored efficiently. King knocked down a pair of threes in the frame to give Bourbon a boost and St. Paul Lutheran junior Porter Uring poured in 14 first-quarter points to help give the Giants a 20-16 lead. King knocked down two more treys in the second as the Warhawks were able to erase the deficit, and head into halftime tied at 31.

The third period was essentially even as the defensive intensity picked up for both sides. Bourbon was able to have a slight advantage, and went into the final frame up 43-41. But the Giants began the fourth quarter on a 14-3 run thanks to pesky defense, and turned a two point deficit to a nine-point lead. The Warhawks’ shots stopped falling and St. Paul Lutheran was able to spoil Bourbon’s homecoming festivities and pick up a 62-54 victory on the road. 

King knocked down a season-high six three-pointers and led the Warhawks with 22 points. Miller was assigned the ball handling duties for Bourbon, and tallied 12 points. Moore scored seven, Wallis added six, Woods chipped in four and Nixon scored three for the Warhawks. Uring finished with a game-high 26 points to lead the Giants.

Bourbon’s junior varsity team fell 31-10 in a half-game in the first matchup of the evening between the Warhawks and the Giants.