Bourbon High School’s boys’ basketball team played its final two regular season games of the year on the road in Farmington against St. Paul Lutheran on Feb. 17 and on Feb. 19 in Cuba. The Warhawks fell in both games and finished the regular season with a 1-25 record. Both games are detailed below.

Bourbon then competed in the Class 3 District 8 Tournament in Laquey on Feb. 23, which will be detailed in next week’s edition. The Warhawks were seeded seventh and took on two-seeded Belle. If Bourbon pulls the upset, they will take on the winner of three-seeded Fatima and six-seeded Iberia at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 26 in Laquey.  

Feb. 17 vs. St. Paul Lutheran

The Warhawks took the hour and a half drive to Farmington to take on the St. Paul Lutheran Giants in a rematch of Bourbon’s Feb. 6 homecoming game. The first matchup was a back and forth battle that came down to the wire. The rematch wasn’t so close. 

The Giants lived up to their name with its offensive performance, as they poured in at least 20 points in every quarter, including a 30 point barrage in the final quarter. St. Paul Lutheran got out to a 24-8 lead after the first quarter and maintained its lead throughout. Bourbon progressively scored more points each quarter, but couldn’t string together stops on defense. St. Paul led by 22 points at halftime, 26 points after three quarters, before coming away with a 30 point 91-61 victory over the Warhawks. 

The Warhawks did have three players score in double figures for the first time since its lone victory Jan. 16 over Viburnum. Freshman Andre Nixon broke out of a scoring funk to lead the Warhawks with 16 points. Owen Miller netted 14 points on six baskets near the rim and a pair of free throws. Dawson King buried a couple treys and a trio of close-range buckets to finish with 12 points. Bryar Stricklan added eight, Tariq Moore scored five and Garrett Wallis chipped in four to round out the scoring for the Warhawks. St. Paul Lutheran had four players score in double digits and three score at least 20 points. Sophomore Caiden Canania drained five shots from deep and tallied a game-high 30 points to lead the Giants. Bourbon’s junior varsity team lost 50-15 in a half-game before the varsity game tipped off. 

Feb. 19 vs. Cuba

Bourbon cruised down Route 66 to take on Gasconade Valley Conference rival Cuba for its last regular season game of the season. The Warhawks struggled from tip-off against Cuba’s pressure defense, and the Wildcats scored the first 14 points. Dawson King knocked down a three-pointer to end the scoreless start, but those were the only points that Bourbon would score in the first frame. Cuba led 21-3 after the first quarter, before blowing the game open in the second period. The Wildcats repeatedly forced turnovers that led to transition baskets on the other end. Cuba poured in 29 points in the second and led 50-12 at halftime. Bourbon played its best ball in the third frame, netting 16 points, but couldn’t slow down the Wildcats’ offense, who scored 26, themselves. The fourth quarter was played with a continuous clock, and both coaches emptied their benches halfway through the frame. Cuba was able to coast to a 83-36 victory over the Warhawks. 

King knocked down a trio of trifectas, and led Bourbon with 13 points. Tariq Moore scored four tough baskets in the paint to finish with eight points. Owen Miller was harassed by double teams throughout the night, but still managed to score seven hard fought points. Andre Nixon scored four, Bryar Stricklan chipped in three and Garrett Wallis scored one for the Warhawks. Braden Gipson led Cuba with 20 points. 

Bourbon’s junior varsity team played in the first matchup of the evening between Warhawks and Wildcats, and fell 28-21.