By MADELINE REIDA

Staff writer

After a back-and-forth match Friday at Melvern, Peabody-Burns lost 51-40 to Southern Coffey County.

The game followed a 59-55 loss to Marais des Cygnes Valley last Tuesday and a 44-38 loss to Altoona Thursday.

Peabody-Burns stayed within range of Coffey County for the majority of the game. Its defense was able to stall Coffey County out of most of its shots, fencing shooting guards tightly while closing opportunities to pass with a widespread formation.

Peabody’s offense could forge through Coffey’s clustered lines reliably enough to keep pace.

But the Warriors started to falter after halftime and especially in the last quarter, when the Titans were able to keep snatching the ball away and putting up shots. In the last minute, Coffey County got three two-point shots while holding Peabody scoreless.

Coach Robert Kyle said after the game that Peabody’s defense needs work.

“We’re not playing as a team,” he said. “We need to work on that.”

A large crowd of Peabody-Burns fans and a surprising number of Melvern students kept spirits high to the end of the game. The bench and stands were cheering over a countdown from Coffey County cheerleaders in the last seconds.