Big second half propels Cape Central past Poplar Bluff

The Cape Central Tigers stayed perfect as they coasted by the Poplar Bluff Mules 69-48 on Friday at Cape Central High School.

Both teams scuffled out of the gate as it was just 11-7 Tigers after one-quarter of play.

“Bluff is physical and they got us in spots where we kind of played too fast when we didn’t need to be and I think that led to some unforced turnovers,” Tigers coach Drew Church said.

The offense for both teams would pick up in the second quarter and the Tigers took a 26-17 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Out of the locker room at halftime the Tigers were able to stretch the lead to 46-30 heading into the fourth where the Tigers would coast to another victory.

“I thought in the first half we got some good shots, they just didn’t go down,” Church said. “I told them at halftime those shots would go down so just slow down and take the same shots and keep getting our looks. When we did that, we started getting into a groove that helped our transition game and helped us score some easy baskets.”

Cameron Williams led the charge offensively with 24 points in the win. Tyseandre’ Edwards had 13 points and Latroy McIntosh had 9 points.

“I saw a lot of teamwork today,” Williams said. “I felt like we moved the ball pretty well in the second half.”

Leading the offense for Poplar Bluff was Torrence Williams with 15 points. Gavin Rivers had 9 points and Darius Graham had 7 points in the loss.

Poplar Bluff (6-10) is back in action at 6 p.m. tomorrow when the Mules travel to take on McCracken County High School.

Cape Central (19-0) will look to stay perfect at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28 when the Tigers play Simeon Career Academy at Vashon High School in St. Louis.

“(Simeon) is very good at every position,” Church said. “It’s a great opportunity for us. It’s an opportunity for us to play against one of the best in the country and see where we’re at. I think it’s going to be good for us going forward regardless of what happens.”

“It’ll be a good test,” Williams said. “I feel like it’ll be a good game for us in the long run.”