Basketball Recap: Cooper Shrum's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Belton over Lee's Summit

Belton was the 65-50 winner over Lee's Summit when they last played one another back in January, but their luck changed this time around. The Belton Pirates fell just short of the Lee's Summit Tigers by a score of 60-57 on Thursday. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game last Tuesday (55), the Pirates still had to take the loss.

Belton lost despite a true team effort on offense, the best among them being Cooper Shrum, who posted 16 points and seven rebounds. Shrum is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Jayce Maiden, who earned 16 points and six rebounds.

Even though they lost, Belton smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in three consecutive matchups.

Belton has traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-4 record this season. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.5 points per game. As for Lee's Summit, their victory was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-1.

Belton will get a bit of extra time to process the defeat as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on Raytown at 7:00 p.m. on January 7, 2025. One thing working in Belton's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last five games. Lee's Summit and Bentonville will compete for holiday cheer at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday.