EXCELSIOR SPRINGS, Mo. (Nov. 21, 2025) – The Excelsior Springs boys basketball team opened its season with a milestone win, snapping a 41-game losing streak with a 56-42 victory over the East (Kansas City) Bears. The win was especially notable because the last time the boys won a game, nearly two years ago, was also against East, a 47-41 victory on January 18, 2024. It also marked the program’s first season-opening win since the 2016–2017 campaign, when they defeated Richmond 45-43 at home.
The Tigers won the opening tip and struck first on a wide-open three from junior Owen O’Dell. After East answered, junior Jarrett Racasi dropped in a basket to start a 5-0 run for the Tigers. The Bears outscored the Tigers 8-6 for the remainder of the first quarter, but the Tigers held a 14-10 lead heading into the second.
The second quarter started with a 10-4 run by the Tigers, and a 20-13 second quarter advantage pushed the lead to 34-23 by the time the buzzer sounded to end the first half. The Bears cut the lead to single digits midway through the third quarter, but the Tigers kept pace and eventually outscored them 11-9 by the end of the third quarter to take a 45-34 lead into the final frame.
The Bears put on a run in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to seven points, but an 8-2 run by the Tigers secured the win in the first game of the season.
O’Dell led the Tigers with 16 points on five-of-seven shooting. Junior Brett Jones added 13 points, while senior Booker O’Neill scored seven. Junior Kalib Strickland finished with five. Racasi and senior Thomas Stanley each scored four, and juniors Hunter Dallas, Daelin Dickerson, and sophomore Spence Gibbs each added two.
The boys will host the Lexington Minutemen on December 2.
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