Central comes from behind for 12th win

Central's boys basketball team continued its strong turnaround season by rallying past host Mehlville 40-37 Friday night.

The Tigers, after going 4-21 in their first season under coach Derek McCord last year, improved to 12-4. The Panthers from St. Louis County fell to 4-11.

"We're really making a lot of strides," McCord said.

Central prevailed despite playing without leading scorer Scott Chestnutt, a 6-foot-8 sophomore who averages 16 points per game. Chestnutt missed the contest with a hand injury but is probable for Tuesday's game at Doniphan.

Ryan Delph paced the Tigers with 22 points, including 16 of Central's 17 points in the third quarter.

The Tigers got off to a slow start by falling behind 11-5 after one quarter and spent most of the rest of the night trying to catch up. They trailed 31-27 entering the final period.

"It's good to win a game like that," McCord said. "They slowed it down but we were able to overcome their style."

Mehlville's Brian Bengston, a 6-6, 220-pounder, scored 15 points and grabbed 16 rebounds.

Central's JV (10-2)won 52-15 victory behind 12 points from Alex Ray and 11 from Eli Harris.

Oran 73, Scott Co. Central 60

The second-seeded Eagles broke out of a close halftime game in the third quarter and cruised to the Scott-Mississippi Conference Tournament championship at Scott City.

The fourth-seeded Braves trailed 30-28 at halftime but fell behind by 12 going into the fourth quarter.

Nathan Seyer's 29 points led Oran (13-4), which has posted seven straight wins. Ryne Wood added 14 and Patrick Friga had 11.

Chris Pullen (18), Andrew Pullen (12) and Ernest McCray (11) led the Braves (7-10).

Kelly won the JV title 65-57 over Scott City.

St. Pius 72, Perryville 60

Perryville raced out to a 31-25 halftime lead but could not hold on and fell at home.

After leading by six at halftime, St. Pius outscored the Pirates 22-9 in the third quarter and cruised from there. The Pirates (5-10) began fouling to get back into the game and saw five players foul out.

Chad Stelling led Perryville with 16 points. Tim Winningham added 11 and Kellen Stark had 10.

Hillsboro 73, St. Vincent 47

St. Vincent fell to 1-2 in the Jefferson Co. Conference with a home loss.

The Indians (6-6) scored only 12 first-half points and trailed 37-12 at halftime. St. Vincent kept pace in the second half, but did not have the firepower to make a run without injured Matt Wengert, who did not play.

Alex Armbruster led St. Vincent with 19 points.

Zalma 68, Richland 48

Zalma jumped to a 16-point lead after one quarter and cruised to a win at Essex, Mo.

Zalma led 27-11 after the first quarter and 42-23 by halftime. Jamie Mangrum paced the Bulldogs (4-7) with 18 points. Chad Wiseman had 15 and Brad McKlin added 12.

Warrenton Christian 56, New Salem 43

David Green scored 17 points to lead New Salem Baptist (15-9) and John Davault added 15 during a road loss to Warrenton Christian.

GIRLS' BASKETBALL

New Salem 56, Warrenton Christian 30

New Salem Baptist (14-7) built a 26-9 halftime lead and coasted to a victory on the road.

Sarah Green paced New Salem with 18 points. Holly Jordan and Rebekah Nanney both added 10. Jordan had 10 rebounds and Whitney Woods grabbed 12.

BOYS' SWIMMING

Central finishes second

Central took second in its own quad with 537 points, well off the pace of St. Louis University High but ahead of MICDS (402) and Poplar Bluff (278).

Sam Maguire made the first individual state cut for Central in the 50-meter freestyle. Maguire was second in 23.16 seconds.

The 400 freestyle relay team also made another state cut. The team of Kris Metje, Alex Heddle, Andrew Moreton, and Maguire was fourth in 3:36.30.

--From staff reports