SportsDecember 11, 2015
Cape Central boys basketball team tops Jackson in SEMO Conference consolation final
The fourth-seeded Tigers held a 10-7 lead at the conclusion of a sluggish first quarter and relied on their defense to secure a 51-43 victory over the second-seeded Indians at the Sikeston Field House.
SIKESTON, Mo. -- Eight minutes into Friday's consolation championship of the SEMO Conference boys basketball tournament, it became pretty obvious why Cape Central and Jackson were both in it.
The same inconsistency that led to each team's upset loss in the first round of the tournament showed itself in a big way, resulting in both teams shooting a combined 5-of-23 (22 percent) from the floor in the opening period.
The fourth-seeded Tigers held a 10-7 lead at the conclusion of a sluggish first quarter and relied on their defense to secure a 51-43 victory over the second-seeded Indians at the Sikeston Field House.
"I thought defensively we were tough and made everything difficult for them," Central coach Drew Church said. "... We're not quite in the flow offensively yet in the half-court. We will be, especially with more practice time, but I thought defensively just the toughness was huge for us."
The Tigers trailed for only 52 seconds of the game. Garret Walker knocked down a 3-pointer from the right key to give Jackson a 3-2 lead with 6:46 to go in the first quarter, but Al Young responded by converting on a conventional three-point play with 5:54 remaining in the quarter, giving Central (3-4) a 5-3 lead it never relinquished.
Young led the Tigers with 13 points, including five in the second quarter. He got a steal and converted on the fast-break 17 seconds into the period to spark a 9-2 run for the Tigers, who led by as many as 13 points in the quarter.
Jackson (2-3) was held to 3-of-24 (13 percent) shooting in the first half and trailed 27-15 at halftime.
"They sagged and kind of made tough decisions for our guys," Indians coach Darrin Scott said about Central. "I thought we just didn't move. We were very indecisive, and then that carried over in our defensive effort."
Church liked his players' aggressiveness on the boards. He also complimented the way his squad was able to hold 6-foot-7 sophomore Cameron Hester in check. Hester missed all six of his attempts from the field but scored seven points from the free-throw line.
"We challenged shots. We made everything difficult. They do a good job of back-screening their offense. I thought we fought through that well," Church said. "... It was just a great effort from our kids. My two guys down low, Austin Parker and Blake Harris, they battled, and I thought my guards played well, too."
Jackson fell behind by 14 points -- its largest deficit of the game -- in the third quarter when Jawone Newell found Parker inside for an easy bucket, extending the Tigers' lead to 32-18 at the 4:02 mark of the period. The Indians answered with an 11-4 spurt, capped by a driving layup by Jacob Smith in the final seconds of the quarter. Smith scored six of his team-high 13 points in the quarter, and Jackson trailed 36-29 at the end of three.
Smith tweaked his ankle in the second quarter but returned in the second half to lead the Indians' offense.
"I thought he was aggressive in the second half, got some chances to drive into the paint, made some things happen," Scott said. "I was pleased with our effort in the second half. It's just that when we got a chance to take the lead or get within a couple points, we just couldn't do it."
Scott said he liked his team's energy in the second half, during which the Indians turned the ball over only three times.
"We moved better," Scott said. "We were doing a better job of looking for Cam. Actually there were a few times I felt like we had some perimeter shots we should've taken because they were taking away Cam. We kind of passed them up. Those are things we've got to get better at."
A triple from Walker and a jumper from Stephen Irons pulled Jackson within two points with 6:35 remaining, but that's as close as the Indians got. Jackson's shooting woes re-appeared, allowing the Tigers to build their largest lead of the quarter, 48-40, on a pair of free throws by Kway'Chon Chisom at the 1:09 mark of the quarter.
The Indians finished 15-of-56 (27 percent) shooting from the field.
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"We got back in the game, and it seemed like we had two or three chances to cut into it and tie it," Scott said. "We just had a couple good looks that didn't go for us. When you fight back in and miss a couple shots like that, it's hard to go past that."
Chisom finished with 11 points, including six in the final quarter. The Tigers were 17 of 42 (40 percent) from the floor, and Church was pleased with the way his team shared the ball.
"In the past, we've had two or three guys who are pretty good and do the majority of our scoring. This year, we've got six or seven guys that we have confidence in them to throw the ball to and do something," Church said. "When you can play like that, it's pretty fun."
Fatigue and offensive consistency were issues for the Tigers in the second half. They turned the ball over 10 times in the final 16 minutes against Jackson's pressure defense, but Church was encouraged to see his team stay focused.
"We got a little hesitant when they started trapping and pressing," Church said. "It was good for me to see that they could respond well to that and keep going."
Tournament rewind
Neither team expected to be playing in the consolation game, but nothing seems certain when it comes to the SEMO Conference.
"I think it's a great conference," Church said. "Top to bottom, you've got to come ready to play or you're going to get beat. The three teams we've played in this tournament are all really good teams."
Central was handed a mild upset in Tuesday's first-round action when fifth-seeded Poplar Bluff advanced with a 70-62 victory. The Tigers bounced back by defeating eighth-seeded Notre Dame 66-56 in the consolation semifinals.
Meanwhile, Jackson was handed the biggest upset when No. 7 Kennett claimed a 66-61 win in Monday's opening-round action. The Indians regrouped with a 58-55 victory over New Madrid County Central in the consolation semifinals.
"There are a lot of teams like everybody thought going in that you just didn't know how good they were going to be," Scott said. "I'm sure a lot of teams are going to improve a lot as the season goes on. It's always a competitive tournament.
"It's good for us. This year, the way it fell, we got four games out of it. To get that for a young team is big. Now we've got some time to go practice. For us, we hadn't played at all, and all of a sudden, we get five games. So now we've got some stuff to soak in and things to think about and things to go back to the drawing board with."
Top-seeded Sikeston dismantled third-seeded Charleston 76-40 for the tournament crown. The two rivals filled the bleachers at the Sikeston Field House for Friday's finale, and Church commended the tournament's lively atmosphere.
"We enjoy coming down here and competing. I would like for our football team to not do so well so we have a little more practice," Church said jokingly. "It's a nice atmosphere, and it's fun to be a part of."
Cape Central 10 17 9 15 -- 51
Jackson 7 8 14 14 -- 43
CAPE CENTRAL (51) -- Al Young 13, Kway'Chon Chisom 11, Blake Harris 8, Jawone Newell 7, Austin Parker 7, Tevyn Wright-Hunt 3, Garrett Jackson 2. FG 17, FT 15-24, F 15. (3-pointers: Wright-Hunt 1, Chisom 1. Fouled out: None.)
JACKSON (43) -- Jacob Smith 13, Cameron Hester 7, Garret Walker 6, Stephen Irons 6, Pete Lake 4, Jacob Friess 3, Grant Ward 2, Brett Varner 2. FG 15, FT 10-15, F 21. (3-pointers: Walker 2, Smith 1. Fouled out: Irons.)
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