Bulldogs continue to play strong as they close out 2022

By Fred Kroner

Mahomet-Seymour’s seventh-grade boys’ basketball team was efficient from the free throw line on Thursday (Dec. 15) and turned back Edison, 48-38, in Champaign.

M-S carried a 35-31 lead into the final quarter, but connected on 9 of 15 free throws down the stretch to seal the victory. For the game, the Bulldogs netted 15 of 23 attempts from the line.

Edison was 0-for-9 on free throws.

Jackson Golden led the Bulldogs with 18 points. Camden Beedy and Konner Fisher each contributed nine points and Luke Buh finished with eight points.

On Saturday (Dec. 17), the seventh-graders won twice at Teutopolis, taking down the host school, 44-28, before overpowering Taylorville, 40-25.

Golden scored 14 points against T-Town. Netting six points apiece were Tristen Adams, Fisher and Levi Lunney, who dropped in two three-pointers.

M-S jumped into a 20-4 first-period lead.

Against Taylorville, Golden popped in 11 points, followed by Fisher with 10, Preston Clark with nine and Adams with eight. Fisher canned three three-pointers.

The Bulldogs trailed at halftime, 19-16.

In their final pre-Christmas tune-up, M-S suffered a 41-36 loss to Franklin in Champaign on Monday (Dec. 19).

Golden totaled a team-high 10 points. Clark tossed in eight points and Adams contributed seven points.

The Bulldogs trailed, 14-8, after one quarter, but were within a 26-24 count entering the fourth stanza.

The seventh-graders have a 16-2 season record.

The M-S eighth-graders fell behind at Edison, 14-3, after one period and couldn’t make up the difference, falling, 48-26.

Paxson O’Malley led the Bulldogs with seven points. Bryson Tiefenthaler downed five points and Parker Henry had four points.

The eighth-graders split their two games at Teutopolis, falling to the host school 48-45 in a game they trailed 25-4 in the first quarter.

M-S regrouped to outscore Taylorville, 40-29.

O’Malley registered 23 points against T-Town. Tiefenthaler hit seven points and Brayden Graddy chipped in with six points.

Against Taylorville, Tiefenthaler recorded a season-high 13 points. O’Malley ended with 10 points and Henry hit six points.

The Bulldogs expanded an 18-15 halftime lead into a 33-21 cushion after three quarters.

The eighth-graders registered their best offensive output of the season in their final pre-Christmas game, a 58-39 runaway over Franklin in Champaign.

Franklin built a 15-12 lead after one quarter, but M-S scored 24 second-period points and limited Franklin to a pair of free throws in the same span to build an insurmountable lead at halftime, 36-17.

M-S prevailed, 58-39.

O’Malley led the Bulldogs with 19 points, including 11 in the decisive second frame.

Henry meshed a season-high 16 points. Graddy hit eight points and Tiefenthaler ended with seven points.

The eighth-graders are 12-6 overall.

M-S will return to action on Tuesday (Jan. 3, 2023) at home against Bloomington.