By DAVID COLBURN

News editor

Glimmers of promise aside, both Peabody-Burns basketball teams had rough times matching up against bigger teams from larger schools last week, coming home winless in six attempts at the Marion Classic tournament in Marion.

Girls’ coach Scott Bauer knew heading into the tournament that his young, inexperienced team of eight had little chance of winning a game, but signs of growth emerged as the team worked its way through losses to Eureka, 69-10, eventual champion Berean Academy, 75-15, and Wichita Homeschool, 46-20.

Saturday’s consolation game exposed one of the team’s biggest weaknesses, shooting.

The Lady Warriors looked crisp and sure in their offensive sets, although Wichita forced 30 turnovers. However, Peabody-Burns players shook loose for 43 shots in good positions, but only connected on 7 of them.

Still, with Tori Pickens leading the way with 10 points and Precious Kerr scoring 7, the Lady Warriors had their highest scoring output of the tournament with 20 points. Sydney Hodges and Kaete Johnson accounted for the additional points.

Bauer and Peabody-Burns players and fans had a tense moment when Kerr went to the floor hard and stayed there in the fourth quarter. With just two players on the bench, the Lady Warriors could ill afford to lose anyone, but Kerr eventually got up and limped to the bench.

The boys lost an opening round game to Eureka 77-50, and suffered another defeat at the hands of Berean Academy, 65-25.

Coach Bob Kyle was hopeful Saturday’s consolation matchup against Wichita Homeschool would be more favorable.

Outsized at nearly every position, the Warriors didn’t back down, with Chance Elliott scoring the game’s first bucket and Tyler Entz giving them a 4-2 lead on a 12-foot baseline jumper.

Peabody-Burns fell behind 12-6, but Jacobo Penalver collected a rebound that turned into two points by Rocco Weerts, and Elliott hit a rainbow 3-pointer to get the team to within 12-11.

Considering the Warriors’ strong start, what happened next was nearly inexplicable. Taking advantage of turnovers and chilly shooting, Wichita reeled off a numbing 17-0 blitz that ended when Penalver drove the length of the court for a layup to make the score 29-13.

Things didn’t improve from there, as the Warriors went down to defeat by 59 points, 92-33.

Turnovers were the main culprit, as Wichita turned 29 Warriors’ miscues into 45 points. Wichita shot 51 percent from the field for the game, while Peabody-Burns hit just 28 percent of its shots.

Elliott scored 9, Weerts hit for 8, and Penalver dropped in 7.