Looking to carry the momentum of ending their 29-year title drought on their home court Friday night, Cullen VanLeer’s Owensville Dutchmen basketball team welcomed Clayton’s Greyhounds out of the St. Louis area for one of eight Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) Class 4 Sectional boys basketball games.

OHS briefly led 4-2 on an Eli Graham bucket at the 5:36 mark of the first quarter before the Greyhounds ended the opening eight minutes with a 17-14 lead on the hosts in orange and black.

Held scoreless in the second quarter and nearly half of the third, Owensville was not able to overcome as much as a 20-point deficit in the second half of their 64-47 sectional loss to Clayton ending their season at 15-13.

This marked the first winning season for Owensville Dutchmen basketball since the 2010-11 team went 14-11 under then head coach Josh Vinyard.

Clayton advanced to a Friday quarterfinal showdown on the road at Potosi.

A complete recap of Owensville’s historic season on the hardwood will be in next week’s Republican.