Dora’s ‘Fab Four’ freshman lead the way to spotlight


The Dora Falcons varsity boys basketball team, which includes four freshman starters, won third place in the recent Mountain Grove tournament, which included a Dora loss to Hartville. But the Falcons avenged the loss Feb. 2 in a nail-biter, double-overtime victory against the Hartville Eagles in Hartville. Front row from left: freshmen Bryson Luna, Isaac Haney, Auston Luna and Mason Luna. Back: seniors Robert Vigdal, Brent McKemie, Austin White and Kaleb Harris. Photo by Karla Gillespie Smith.

Triple threat: The Falcons’ Luna triplets – from left, Auston, Bryson and Mason – leave the floor at the end of a recent game. They are the sons of Dora head basketball coach Rick Luna and his wife, Alicia.

At first glance, the Dora boys are a “pretty good” 16-5 on the season. But at closer look, the Falcons’ losses are all to ranked teams, four of which are ranked in the latest coaches poll’s top 5.

Leading the way?

A quartet of freshmen. No other team (at least no state-ranked teams) can boast such a youthful roster.

“They’re fun to coach, and they’re fun to watch,” said head coach Rick Luna.

The veteran coach has an extra-special tie to this group. His triplet sons Bryson, Mason and Auston make up three of the Falcons’ four freshmen starters.

The odds of having natural triplets today are about one in 8,000. For that group to go on to be standout athletes is even more rare.  

“The doctor told me I had a better chance of winning the lottery than having natural triplets,” said Luna. “My response was, ‘Gee thanks. I won’t play the lottery anymore.’”

Throw in one of the top freshman scorers in state history, Isaac Haney, and you have a pretty special situation in this small town.

The rest of the roster is made up of four seniors. Luna credits those young men for welcoming their much-younger teammates with open arms.

The name of the game in Dora is winning, and egos can be left at the door.

“We like to get up and down the floor,” said Luna. “We like to play fast. We want to get up and down the floor.”

The Falcons are averaging better than 70 points per game, a number you can expect to grow over the next three years.

With third-ranked Eminence in their district, a team they’ve lost to twice this season, a deep playoff run isn’t expected. But don’t count out this team that honestly doesn’t know any different.

“They remember those boys [on the 2009 state champ Dora baseball team] winning state, and they remember the big dogpile at third base,” said Luna.  

“For them, their goal is that, to get to the state championship game. They want to win it.  They’d be disappointed in four years if they don’t get an opportunity.”

The future looks bright in Dora.

And the future starts right now.

Ozark County Times

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