The Lexington Minutemen Boys Basketball Team trailed for almost the entire game, but they never gave up and they made a nice comeback, before falling 72 to 58 to the Knob Noster Panthers last Thursday on Senior Night at Lexington High School.

The first quarter was evenly played, as Chael Lichte had a 3 and a 2 point basket, while Zach Melvin and Jimmy Patton each had a couple of 2 point buckets for Lexington, but the Minutemen trailed 1413 when the period ended.

Knob put 22 points on the board in the second quarter, and opened up a 36-22 halftime lead, despite Lichte scoring 6 points, Patton and Drew Bollmeyer each tallying 2, and Melvin draining a free throw for Lexington in the period. A scary moment occurred for the Minutemen right before halftime when Lichte twisted his ankle and fell to the floor, obviously in great pain.

It appeared that Chael was probably finished for the night, but far from it, as the Senior emerged from the locker room, started the third period, and played what was probably one of the best overall halves of his career.

Lichte splashed home two 3 pointers in the third quarter, Patton and Cash Cole each scored 2 points, and Melvin hit another free throw, but Knob led 54-36 at the end of three, and things looked pretty bleak for Lexington.

However, the Minutemen were not about to throw in the towel, and they began to make a strong comeback. Lichte showed very few signs of being hurt, as he, and many of his teammates, continually dove on the floor and aggressively went after all loose balls, and Lichte’s outside shot really heated up. During the fourth period Lichte scored a total of 15 points, nailing three triples and three 2 point baskets, and Lexington pulled to within 8 points on a couple of occasions midway through the quarter.

The Minutemen tallied a total of 22 points in the final period, as in addition to Lichte, Blake Kaullen, returning from an injury, nailed a 3 and Cole and Patton each added a basket. However, Knob hit some big shots down the stretch to fight off the Lexington rally, and they pulled away in the closing minutes. for the 72 to 58 win.

Lichte led all scorers with 32 points, including 6 three pointers, while Jimmy Patton also closed out his very successful high school career in double figures with 10 points. Knob had well balanced scoring, with 5 players in double figures, as Chance Oldham had 14 points, Jackson Easterwood 13, Andrew Collier 12, while Keshawn Callaway and Ethan Gentry each had 10.

The Minutemen wind up tied for fourth in the MRVC East Conference, and they are currently 11-12 overall. They played Holden in the District semi finals last night, and if they won that game, they will face Higginsville tomorrow at 5:30 in a District semi final game at Lone Jack.

This marked the final home game for 6 Minutemen Seniors, Drew Bollmeyer, Blake Kaullen, Chael Lichte, Zach Melvin, Jimmy Patton, and Trey Perez.

Lexington Box Score: Zach Melvin 2 3-4 7; Blake Kaullen 1 0-0 3; Brody Neece 0 0-0 0; Cash Cole 1 22 4; Chael Lichte 12 2-3 32; Jimmy Patton 5 0-4 10; Drew Bollmeyer 1 0-0 2; Trey Perez 0 0-0 0; Cam Goodloe 0 0-0 0. Three Point Goals: Lichte 6, Kaullen 1.