Central christens year with 102-63 rout of Perryville

Cape Girardeau Central's surging boys' basketball team shattered the century mark in scoring Tuesday night as the Tigers opened the 2003 portion of their schedule with a 102-63 rout of host Perryville.

The Tigers, after winning just four games all of last season, improved their record to 9-3. The Pirates fell to 2-7.

Four Tigers scored in double figures, led by Jake Knepp with 16 points. Scott Chestnutt had 15 while Will Johnson 13 and Ryan Delph added 13 each.

Perryville was led by Chad Stelling with 11 points. Tim Winningham and Jacob Bachmann both had 10.

Ahead just 25-21 after one quarter, Central broke the contest open with a 31-8 second-quarter edge to lead 56-29 at halftime.

Central had a huge edge from the free-throw line, making 30 of 46 to just six of 18 for Perryville.

The Tigers return to action Friday night, hosting Kennett.

Dexter 53, Jackson 52

Jackson missed a shot at the buzzer and suffered a one-point loss on the road.

The Indians (6-5) were led by Tyler McNeely with 14 points and Tyler Boyd with 13.

Dexter (7-3) grabbed a 19-7 lead after one quarter but Jackson pulled to within 28-24 at halftime and things remained tight the rest of the way.

Jackson hosts powerhouse Poplar Bluff Friday night.

Scott City 85, SCC 75

Scott City overcame a one-point halftime deficit to defeat host Scott County Central.

Andy Beck scored 26 points to lead the Rams (7-2). Jeremy Schlosser added 20 and D.J. Walton had 14.

Chris Pullen paced the Braves (5-6) with 23 points. Daniel Holman added 14.

Bell City 110, Chaffee 40

Bell City poured in 42 second-quarter points and made 13 3-pointers during the game as the Cubs destroyed visiting Chaffee. Bell City led 60-16 at halftime.

Eric Henry scored 27 points and hit four 3-pointers to pace the Cubs (10-2). Dominitrix Johnson added 18 points while Kenyon Wright scored 15 points on five 3-pointers. Ben Duncan had 13 points and A.J. Henry added 12.

Chaffee (0-7) got 17 points from James Reischman and 12 from Sid Burks.

Oran 64, St. Vincent 44

Oran built a 15-7 lead after one quarter and went on to post a 20-point victory.

Nathan Seyer paced the Eagles (7-4) with 17 points. Ryan Bogue had 15 and Ryne Wood 12.

Matt Wengert poured in a game-high 25 points for the Indians (2-3).

Advance 73, Kelly 56

Advance avenged a loss to Kelly in the first round of the seMissourian Christmas Tournament by defeating the visiting Hawks.

The Hornets (6-4) received 24 points from Zach Hudson, 18 from Jared Ritter, 12 from Zack Kelley and 10 from Jason Bahr.

Kelly (4-6) got 17 points from Major Burger and 14 from Trey Simmons.

Leopold 62, Dexter 36

Leopold led by as many as 35 points and posted a lopsided victory at home.

The Wildcats (2-8) received 21 points from Kevin Holzum and 14 from Josh Ven de Ven.

The Bobcats (1-8) were led by Derek Helderman with 12 points and Joey Keys with 10.

GIRLS' BASKETBALL

Delta Tournament

The favored teams all posted victories in first-round games of the Delta New Year's Tournament.

Top-seeded Dexter beat No. 8 Puxico 102-28; No. 2 Delta defeated No. 7 Chaffee 65-42; No. 3 Twin Rivers downed No. 6 Oran 71-20; and No. 4 St. Vincent upended No. 5 Woodland 41-24.

Delta (8-0) overcame a stubborn Chaffee squad as the Red Devils (1-5) trailed just 19-18 at halftime. Rebecca Below poured in 32 points for the Bobcats while Katrina Flores had 11 and Rebecca Cook 10. Chaffee got 28 points from Jennifer Vandeven.

St. Vincent (5-3) was led by Chelsey Brown with eight points. Woodland's Kandice Abner netted 13 points to led all scorers.

In today's semifinal, Dexter plays St. Vincent at 7:30 p.m. and Delta faces Twin Rivers at 9. There will be consolation games at 4:30 and 6.

WRESTLING

Farmington 56, Central 14

Central fell to 2-2 in dual matches as three-time defending Class 3 state champion won in Cape Girardeau.

The Tigers lost 24 points on forfeits. Posting victories for Central were Matt Welker (119 pounds), Cory Huskey (152), Trever Duncan (160) and Jason Poole (215).

Central hosts Sikeston Thursday night.

BOYS' SWIMMING

Central 119, Poplar Bluff 63

Central won nine events as it defeated visiting Poplar Bluff in a conference dual meet.

The Tigers improved to 2-6 overall and 1-1 in the conference.

Alex Heddle and Sam Maguire led the way with two victories apiece. Heddle won the 100 and 500 freestyles while Maguire won the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke.

Andrew Moreton also won the 200 freestyle while David Hammond led a 1-2-3 diving finish for the Tigers. Central also won the 200 medley relay and 200 and 400 freestyle relays.--From staff reports