CENTRAL BOYS CORNER FIRST WIN OF SEASON

DE SOTO -- Tied entering the fourth quarter, Cape Girardeau Central High's boys basketball team applied a full-court press, made free throws and emerged with its first win on Friday.

The Tigers beat De Soto 77-68 behind senior Aron Meystedt's three 3-pointers, late free-throw shooting and 18 points.

"Meystedt had a good game offensively and defensively," said Central coach Brett Reutzel. "He hit some big threes for us and shot most of our free throws down the stretch."

It was Central's first win; the Tigers lost to Notre Dame by two points earlier this week.

Central led 43-41 at halftime and the game was tied 54-54 after three quarters. The Tigers outscored De Soto 23-14 in the final period.

"We made a stand in the fourth quarter," said Reutzel. "There was a lot of intensity. We played much better than we did Tuesday against Notre Dame."

Both teams spent a lot of time at the free-throw line; the teams combined to shoot 78 charity shots. Central made 21 of 34, De Soto 31 of 45.

Travis Cox, Chris Bergerson and Gabe Wunderlich each had nine points for Central (1-1). Tatum Kitchen and Ross Conner each added eight.

Jake Jackson and Gary Wood led De Soto with 18 and 17 points, respectively.

Central will play in the first round of the Sikeston Tournament on Monday. The fourth-seeded Tigers will face No. 5 Blytheville, Ark., at 6 p.m.