Central stalls its way to victory in fifth-place game

SIKESTON, Mo. -- After dropping its opening game of the SEMO Conference Tournament by 49 points on Tuesday, sixth-seeded Central wrapped up the consolation bracket with a 29-23 overtime win Friday over No. 5 Poplar Bluff.

The game was tied 23-23 after regulation.

Central led 10-6 at halftime after holding the ball for the entire second quarter. The Tigers outscored the Mules 2-0 in the period.

"They obviously wanted to take away our back-cuts and penetration and take away our athleticism," Central coach Drew Church said. "We decided to wait them out and see if we could use that stuff. It was good the guys believed it would work and it did."

Church knew the style was quite a clash from what Central's up-and-down teams have been in the past, but was happy to see how his team responded to the strategy.

"The fact they were able to do that and believe it would work, hopefully it will be a good learning experience for us," Church said.

Poplar Bluff outscored Central 10-3 in the fourth quarter to help send the game into overtime. The Tigers held the ball for the final two minutes of regulation but failed to score. In overtime, the Tigers (3-2) held Poplar Bluff scoreless to grab the victory.

Kerry Walker led the Tigers with 18 points.