Kansas City, Mo. ? Seabury Academy has experienced better nights on the basketball court.

Seabury’s boys stayed within striking distance most of the game on Friday against Barstow (Mo.) before falling 49-22, and they might have been motivated after watching Barstow defeat the Seahawk girls 52-6.

As Seabury coach Tracy Kitson said, “It was not one of our better nights.”

The Seahawks (2-5) couldn’t score before halftime — literally — and trailed 27-0 at the break. Seabury’s offense accelerated to a crawl in the second half, but Barstow didn’t let up.

Kitson could have blamed the flu-like illness that caused Seabury to cancel school for two days this week for her squad’s poor play. She didn’t.

“It was pretty frustrating,” she said. “They were very athletic and very physical.

“I can’t really say whether two days of practice would have helped; they were just a better team.”

The Seabury boys’ game was a little different story. In fact, coach Marcus Heckman said his squad didn’t face an insurmountable lead until the fourth quarter, when Barstow utilized its trap defense.

Adam Davis and Grayson Dillon each scored 7 to lead the Seahawks (1-6), but Heckman said poor shooting doomed his squad.

“The recurring theme for us is the inability to shoot a good percentage,” he said. “We need to limit turnovers and knock down good looks when we get them. We’re not putting points on the board.”

Heckman, too, found no reason to blame the Seahawks’ poor play on illness.

“It’s important to keep some perspective,” he said. “We have to have some faith.

“One of these days, things are going to click and we’ll walk out of the gym wide-eyed.”

The Seabury boys’ next game is Friday at St. Mary’s Academy, while the girls don’t play until Jan. 28 at Midland Adventist.

Barstow, Mo., girls 52, Seabury Academy 6

Seabury 0 0 3 3 — 6

Barstow 16 11 11 14 — 52

Seabury scorers: Regan Sisson 3, Laura Frizell 2, Lindsey Ahlen 1. Seabury record: 2-5. Next: Tuesday Jan. 28 at Midland Adventist (Kansas City, Kan.)

Barstow, Mo., boys 49, Seabury Academy 22

Seabury 3 9 5 5 — 22

Barstow 14 10 10 15 — 49

Seabury scorers: Kris Finger 2, Adam Davis 7, Matt Parker 2, Aaron Landis 4, Grayson Dillon 7. Seabury record: 1-6. Next: Friday at St. Mary’s Academy.