C5D1: Cape Central downs Windsor, set to face Sikeston in championship

BONNE TERRE - It took a monster second half, but the Cape Central Tigers advanced to the championship of the Class 5 District 1 playoffs with an 84-51 win over the Windsor Owls on Friday at North County High School.

Windsor was able to hang around early as the Tigers led 20-19 after the first quarter.

“In the first half, I don’t think we played very well,” Tigers coach Drew Church said. “Credit to Windsor, they made some tough shots.”

The trend would continue in the second quarter as Cape Central wasn’t able to gain much separation and they took a 40-30 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Coming out of the locker room at halftime the Tigers flipped a switch and they quickly put the game out of reach as they led 62-40 just over 6 minutes into the third quarter.

“We really made it a point at halftime to guard our yard and not get beat off the dribble,” Church said. “I thought we played with more poise in the second half, we were more patient, moved the ball better and just in general I thought we played better in the second half.”

One of the keys for the Tigers was Jaydon Reynolds who knocked down 4 threes in the win.

“I thought when he took his time and got set he would knock it down,” Church said. “When he has his feet set and he’s in his groove, he doesn’t miss much and has to do more of that.”

Reynolds said when he’s feeling it his mindset is to keep letting it fly.

“When I see that first one go in I start to get in my groove,” Reynolds said. “I start finding open spots on the floor and my teammates do a good job of hitting me and it makes those shots easier to knock down.”

Leading the way for Cape Central was Cam Williams with 17 points. Reynolds finished with 16, Tyseandre’ Edwards had 15, Marquel Murray had 14, Clayton McClard had 8 points, LaTroy McIntosh had 6 points and Maurice Boyd and Tyson Williams had 4 points.

Church had high praise for the growth of the freshman duo of Murray and Edwards.

“It’s funny because they’re opposites,” Church said. “Ty has such a nose for scoring and he’s always in the right spot. On the other hand, Marquel is so unselfish. I thought Marquel was better tonight of being more assertive and actually being aggressive on offense.”

Cape Central (26-2) will play for the Class 5 District 1 Championship at 6 p.m. on Monday, March 6 when the Tigers play the Sikeston Bulldogs at North County High School.