Cape Central boys basketball team survives district thriller

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Nothing about Tuesday's game was easy for the Cape Central boys basketball team, but that's not all that surprising.

Nothing has come easy for the Tigers all season.

Central senior Al Young finished with a game-high 29 points, including 5 of 6 crucial free throws in the final minutes, and the second-seeded Tigers escaped with a 56-52 win over No. 6 Kennett in a Class 4 District 1 semifinal at the Sikeston Field House.

"Physical, ugly game," Tigers coach Drew Church said," but I'm not real sure we've played a pretty game this year. And that's kind of how we like it.

"We try to grind it out and give ourselves a chance to win at the end."

Cape Central's Zyshon Mallory drives against Kennett's Fred Gooden during the first quarter of a Class 4 District 1 semifinal Monday, March 1, 2016 in Sikeston, Missouri.Fred Lynch

The win ends a one-year absence for Central in the district championship game. High school basketball fans across Southeast Missouri will get the rematch they've been anticipating at 7:30 p.m. Friday when the Tigers take on top-seeded Sikeston.

Central handed the Bulldogs their only loss of the season in a 73-63 decision on Feb. 12 at Central High School. Sikeston, which is currently the second-ranked team in Class 4, cruised past fifth-seeded Dexter 81-51 in Tuesday's first semifinal.

"We won't approach this any different," Church said about Friday's matchup. "Us having played them once already, we kind of know their tendencies.

"They've changed a few things around with how much they use ball screens, but the pressure's the same. ... They shoot it fantastic in this gym. You've got to contest 3s and make inside shots hard."

Central (21-6) took the lead three times in the second half, the last of which came when Young hit a pair of free throws with 1 minute, 10 seconds remaining.

Cape Central's Garrett Jackson tries to steal the ball from Kennett's Jad Kenny but was called for a foul during the second quarter of a Class 4 District 1 semifinal Monday, March 1, 2016 in Sikeston, Missouri.Fred Lynch

Despite nine turnovers in the opening period, Kennett (12-15) had only eight the rest of the way, but none were more crucial than the three that occurred in the final minute.

A turnover along the baseline forced the Indians to foul Young with 33.2 seconds remaining. Young hit the first and missed the second of his free throws, but another Kennett turnover led to a wasted possession. Young hit two free throws with 20.7 seconds left, and the Tigers forced a final turnover before running the clock out with the ball in Young's hands.

"It's so disheartening for the kids because you play well enough [to win]," Kennett coach Jim Vaughan said. "It wasn't a good game by either group. It was kind of some ugly basketball to watch from a fan's standpoint, but you play well enough to win a basketball game. You just end up falling short at the end."

Central led by as many as five points and never trailed in the opening quarter. Young pulled up from the left elbow and drained a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the period, giving the Tigers a 16-11 lead heading into the second frame. Both teams combined for 15 turnovers in the quarter.

Young scored inside to give Central its largest lead of the game, 20-11, at the 7:03 mark of the second period before Kennett charged back.

Kennett junior Jad Kenny scored 10 of his team-high 19 points in the period, including a bucket underneath the basket that capped a 13-0 run and swung the lead in favor of the Indians, 24-20, with 2:49 left in the half.

Central fell behind by five points before Young knocked down a triple from the right corner in the final seconds of the half, trimming the Tigers' deficit to 30-28 at halftime. Kennett didn't turn the ball over once in the second quarter.

An inability to finish around the basket proved to be the biggest difference in the Tigers' first-half offense.

"The ball just wasn't bouncing the right way, and sometimes it happens like that," Church said. "... If we hit a couple of those layups early, it's the difference in the game."

Kenny scored in the low post to give the Indians a 34-30 lead with 6:31 to play in the third period before Zyshon Mallory got a steal and converted on the other end to cap a 7-0 burst for Central, which led 37-34 at the 4:24 mark.

Kennett regained the lead by putting together a 7-0 run of its own. The run ended when Kenny converted a conventional three-point play with 2:49 left in the period, giving the Indians a 41-37 advantage. The Tigers pulled within 43-42 heading into the final quarter.

"I thought Kennett did a great job being physical and making everything hard for us, but overall, I didn't think our defense was where it needed to be. We gave up too much penetration. I thought we gave up some uncontested 3s," Church said. "It wasn't until midway through the fourth quarter that we finally started getting some stops."

Central's Austin Parker scored six of his 15 points in the final period, including a bucket down low that tied the game at 48-all with 2:42 remaining.

He knocked down two free throws to tie the game again, 51-51, with 1:36 left before Central outscored Kennett 5-1 during the final 1:19.

At halftime, Church said he challenged Parker, a 6-foot-4 sophomore, to raise his defensive prowess on Kenny. Parker answered the call by holding Kenny scoreless in the final frame.

"He's got to be active," Church said about Parker. "He's long, and he's athletic. He's got to crash the offensive boards, and he's got to look to attack.

"I thought he caught the ball at the high post several times in the first half and didn't attack, and when he did, good things happened."

Young finished 10 of 19 from the field, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range. As a team, the Tigers finished 19 of 54 (35 percent) from the floor.

Church was less than pleased with his team's effort on the defensive glass.

"It just seemed like we were kind of sleepwalking, and it's hard to come out sleepwalking in districts and have the ability to move on," Church said. "We were very lucky tonight."

Kenny missed only one of his seven shots from the field and was perfect (7 of 7) from the charity stripe. Rantrell Caruthers added 10 points for the Indians, who shot 19 of 57 (33 percent) from the floor.

The Indians carried a two-game winning streak into Tuesday's game. They closed the regular season with a 79-72 victory over Poplar Bluff before upsetting third-seeded Notre Dame in Monday's district opener.

Kennett graduates five seniors, including four starters, from this year's team, but perhaps more importantly, the Indians will be without 13-year coach Jim Vaughan, who's accepted a position as the school's athletic director.

"It's bittersweet because I'm moving on and taking my career in a direction I definitely want to take it in," Vaughan said. "... I'll hang this career up and move on to another."

The Tigers, who are currently ranked No. 6 in the state, will try to play spoiler just as they did in 2014 when they handed Sikeston a 16-point defeat in the district title game.

Church said his players are looking forward to the challenge of proving last month's win over the Bulldogs was no fluke.

"We didn't play particularly well, but we found a way to win," Church said. "We've been fortunate to be able to do that this year."

Kennett 11 19 13 9 -- 52

Cape Central 16 12 14 14 -- 56

KENNETT (52) -- Jad Kenny 19, Rantrell Caruthers 10, Carlos Turner 5, Patrick Maddox 4, Fred Gooden 4, Ty'Reik Thomas 4, Jahaida Childress 3, Edward Wilson 3. FG 19-57, FT 11-16, F 17. (3-pointers: Turner 1, Childress 1, Wilson 1. Fouled out: None.)

CAPE CENTRAL (56) -- Al Young 29, Austin Parker 15, Zyshon Mallory 4, Jawone Newell 4, Blake Harris 4. FG 19-54, FT 14-22, F 15. (3-pointers: Young 4. Fouled out: None.)