Rock Port knocks off Worth County

By Phil Cobb | January 24, 2024 |

ANTHONY CRANE/TIMES-TRIBUNE
Worth County senior Tyler New shoots a jumper on Tuesday night in Grant City over the Rock Port defense.

GRANT CITY, Mo. — Losses have been rare for the Worth County Tigers this year, but Tuesday night the Tigers added to the loss column with their first loss to a Missouri team this season. The Rock Port Blue Jays came out on the winning end of the back-and-forth affair, 47-44, giving Worth County its second loss of the season.

“They wanted it more — they came in here to beat us,” Worth County coach Les New said. “Every time we play them it’s like this. Two years ago we beat them by one point, last year they beat us in overtime by a point and then this year it was by three. So, it’s becoming a good little rivalry.”

Neither team ever really had control Tuesday night in Grant City, and it was evident early on as the two teams traded leads. The Tigers led 9-6 midway through the first quarter before back-to-back baskets gave Rock Port a 1-point lead.

The two teams traded the lead three times over the next three possessions, but a 3-pointer from Malachi Skillen and Corbyn Jakub basket helped the Blue Jays to a four-point lead. Tyler New made 2-of-4 free throws over the final 30 seconds to cut the lead to two at the end of the first quarter.

Rock Port pushed the lead two six with back-to-back baskets from Skillen to open the second quarter. But the Worth County freshmen’s shooting ability closed that gap and surpassed it with 3-pointers from Cole Ruby and Caleb New. Bo Collins added a layup to give the Tigers a 23-21 lead with 4:07 left in the half.

Caleb New’s second 3-pointer of the quarter gave Worth County a four-point advantage and its biggest lead of the half. The Blue Jays then made it a 2-point game as Bannack Skillen scored the final basket of the half with 25 seconds remaining.

Karson Briner kept the Tigers ahead with four points in the opening minutes of the second half. Rock Port came back with a 4-0 run to regain the lead only to have the two teams trade third quarter leads five more times over the final four and a half minutes. Tyler New’s 3-pointer with two seconds left was responsible for the fifth lead change, sending Worth County into the final quarter leading 36-35.

Rock Port’s Jack Meyerkorth tied the game with a free throw at the 6:35 mark of the fourth quarter. The tie lasted one possession as Collins’ basket on the next possession gave the lead back to Worth County.

After nearly two minutes without scoring, the Blue Jays gave themselves the game’s final lead with a 7-1 run in an 80-second span. The Tigers were unable to recover despite a 5-point effort in seven seconds from Tyler New.

“We hit some shots early, but then late we just couldn’t get any clean looks from the 3-point line when they were helping on Ty,” Les New said. “Then in the post, we missed some bunnies inside that will eventually fall.”

Tyler New finished with a team-high 17 points, while Caleb New finished behind his older brother with 12. Worth County will host Nodaway Valley on Friday, then North Harrison on Monday.

“They were physical and we were more worried about how physical they were than actually playing,” Les New said. “Being in these games is huge, and we’ve got some wins. Tonight showed us what we have to be able to do when things get tight.”