The Grundy R-5 girls and boys and North Mercer girls and boys basketball teams opened their seasons on Monday night, with the Linn County Mustangs traveling to Galt, while Mercer traveled southward to Hale High School for an all-Cardinal encounter.
The Lady Panthers of Grundy County looked sharp in a 67-46 win over Linn County. Anna Milazzo led Grundy R-V with 17 points, with Jandie Peterson tallying 15, Aubrey Gann 13, and Bri Carpio 12 points.
In the boys game, the Mustangs “flipped the script” in an overtime thriller, as the visitors out of Purdin, bolstered by Michael O’Kane’s 23 points, went overtime to win at Grundy R-V 66-60. Cooper Lewis paced the Panthers offensively with a 21 point, 15 rebound double-double, with Caden Gann adding 17 points and six steals, while Robert Urich had 11 points and 7 boards.
The Mercer girls cruised to a 52-8 road win at Hale, while the Mercer boys claimed a convincing 65-38 win to open the season.
Other girls scores from Monday night included Bishop LeBlond over Lathrop 56-39, while Plattsburg hammered Lexington 53-19.
In boys middle school basketball, Trenton walloped Chillicothe 46-17, behind 18 points from Gabe Novak and 17 points from Malikye Hollingsworth. Kiefer Tolson added seven for the Bulldogs. For Chillicothe, Aerion Hudson had a team-high seven points.
