Central falls to De Soto

Eli Harris and Darnell Wilks have combined for about 18 rebounds a game this season for the Central boys basketball team.

With both players lost indefinitely to injuries -- Harris was hurt Monday at Caruthersville and Wilks on Tuesday against Perryville -- the Tigers looked lost on the boards Saturday against De Soto in the 10th annual Tiger Shootout at Central.

De Soto outrebounded the Tigers 24-19, although the gap seemed much wider, and squeaked out a 51-47 win.

"We were totally dominated on the boards," Central coach Derek McCord said.

Added De Soto coach Allen Davis: "Last night we got beat on the boards, so today we did a better job of boxing out. We tried to keep them one and out."

The game was tight throughout, with Central (6-8) holding only one lead the entire game. The Dragons (5-6) had several leads of eight points but were not able to get their advantage into double figures.

"It was back and forth," McCord said. "It's just very frustrating to lose kids, especially your top two scorers. If you were at full strength, you like your chances."

The Dragons appeared to be in control of the game after going ahead 31-23 on T.J. Greenlee's field goal early in the third quarter, but Central made its run from there. William Zickfield and Alex Ray made 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions for the Tigers, and four free throw conversions brought Central within one at 36-35 after three quarters.

Central finally pulled even at 41-41 with the Dragons on Ray's score with 4:03 remaining, and tied the game twice more. De Soto continually had an answer for the Tigers, though, turning to senior guard Nathan Clark. Clark broke Central's final two ties with jumpers, and scored six of De Soto's final eight points in the game.

"He's the guy that has to step up and hit those for us," Davis said of Clark. "Right now, he's the only one that has confidence in his shot."

Clark finished with 24 points, including four 3-pointers. He had nine in the fourth quarter.

"We couldn't stop him," McCord said of Clark.

Anthony Hempstead led the Tigers with 14 points, and Alex Ray added 13.

"Anthony Hempstead had a very good game. He's was 7-for-9 from the field," McCord said. "We have to find a way to get him more shots."

While McCord knows his team let one slip away, the Tigers will have plenty of time to work on their game over the next week. Central has one game this week, a home game Friday against New Madrid County Central.

"Even though we don't have our top two scorers, we still have to play the games. We have to get guys to step up," McCord said.