Van-Far Indians Go 3-1 In Busy Week
Lathyn McMorris, Josh Hodde Each Score 1,000th Career Points
It was a good week for the Van-Far Indians with three wins and two players, Lathyn McMorris and Josh Hodde, breaking the 1,000th point mark.
McMorris tied a school record the week before for three-pointers, knocking down 10 treys in the 89-55 win over Community R-VI on Friday, Dec. 8. He scored 13 points in the second quarter including a three to close out the first half. He came out and hit five three-pointers in the third quarter but came out of the game before surpassing the record.
“Coach (Reading) and I had no idea that he had that many until the scorer’s table told us he was one away from tying the school record so we decided to put him back in and give him a shot to tie the record in the fourth,” said Coach Pat Connaway. “You hate to do that in a 30+ point game but when a kid like Lathyn has a chance to do something special you got to give him a chance to tie the 25-year-old record. He nailed his second attempt at it with 1:29 to go and we took him out. Had I known Lathyn had 42 points and was only three points from Mike Smith’s record of 45 points in a game we would have left him in to see if he could have broken that record.”
McMorris went on to snag his 1,000th career point in the 71-55 victory over North Callaway last Tuesday. That win kicked off a strong week for the Indians.
Van-Far took it to the T-Birds outscoring them 25-19 in the first quarter and 18-15 in the second for a 43-34 lead at the break. The Indians went on to outscore North Callaway 13-10 in the third and 15-11 in the final frame.
McMorris led the way with 23 points. Josh Hodde contributed 17, Trey Miller had 13 points and nine rebounds, Brayden Christian had nine points and nine boards, Caden Wilburn scored six and Treyson Culwell had three points and led the team with 11 rebounds.
Hodde picked up his 1,000th career point in the 65-39 drubbing of Silex on Thursday. He also had nine rebounds. Other scoring: McMorris, 12; Christian, 8; Miller, 6; Rylee Hanson, 3; Heath Calvert, 3; Treyson Culwell, 3; Riley Culwell, 3. Miller led the team with 12 boards.
The Indians suffered their only loss of the week and the season at the hands of Monroe City on Friday, 60-46.
“We just weren’t ourselves,” Connaway noted. “We seemed very sluggish and were about three to four steps slow. It was an eye-opening loss. We saw there are several things we need to tighten up if we want to be one of the best teams in the area and I definitely feel the kids will respond to the challenge and continue to work hard.”
Van-Far stepped up the very next night in the Gary Filbert Shootout at Mexico to defeat the Bulldogs 78-61.
“In the locker room before the game you could just tell the boys were ready to play,” Connaway remarked. “We challenged them to be mentally tough and to give all they had.”
He noted the team talked about running the floor and being physical with Mexico in the post. He said they challenged the boys to match their strengths.
“We felt we could get out and runt he floor and get some rim-runners against them since they crash the boards so hard. I thought we really blocked out and boarded up really well.”
The Indians outscored Mexico in the first 18-15 and then turned up the heat with a 24-8 second quarter for a 42-23 lead at halftime. Van-Far came back out hard in the third with a 14-8 quarter. Mexico battled back with a 30-22 fourth, but the damage was done.
McMorris led the way with 32 points (28 in the first half). Hodde and Miller each had 14, Caden Wilburn contributed eight, Colin Wilburn had six and Christian scored four. Miller and Christian each had 11 rebounds.
“It was a perfect way to cap off a long and difficult week.”
Van-Far is now 6-1 for the season and is seeded first in the Madison Tournament that will take place over the holidays. The Indians will take on (8) Paris in the opening round game on Thursday, Dec. 21 at 6 p.m. The championship semifinal will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 3 at 6 p.m.
