Central survives vs. Kelly

Kelly senior Josh DeBrock was impressed and somewhat surprised by Central's strong free-throw shooting in the fourth quarter Monday.

"I was hoping we would catch a break, but we didn't," DeBrock said.

The Tigers converted 19 of 23 free throws in the fourth quarter. Central sophomore Andrew Williams was 9 of 10 from the line during the final period after being held scoreless through the first three quarters.

Central's hot shooting from the line offset Kelly's hot shooting from 3-point range late in the game as the No. 5 Tigers beat the No. 8 Hawks 56-54 at the Show Me Center to earn a spot in today's fifth-place game of the Southeast Missourian Tournament.

DeBrock, who netted 26 points in the contest, had three of Kelly's five 3-pointers in the final period. Kelly's Levi Felter scored the other two 3-pointers in the final 15 seconds.

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.comCentral's Rick Russell, right, gains control of the ball from Kelly's Josh DeBrock with Central's Kevin Casasola, left, Zack Boerboom and Josh Harris in the third quarter at Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament Monday.

"They made some good shots at the end to make it close," Williams said. "They had the one shooter [DeBrock] who made three or four 3s in a row. So we were looking at him [on defense]. And then they had another kid [Felter] who made two or three in a row after that. They were a good team all around."

All in all, the final minute of the game was pretty exciting.

Kelly was down by seven points with 59 seconds remaining, but hit three 3-pointers and got a three-point play from Zach Essner.

But as the Hawks played catch-up, they could not catch a break when they sent Central to the free-throw line. The Tigers converted 6 of 7 free throws during the final minute.

"It was a little more exciting than I like to see," Central coach Drew Church said. "I give [Kelly] all the credit in the world. They played hard. ... They made the 3s, but we were able to get the basketball inbounds under control and still have enough composure to get fouled and make shots."

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.comKelly's Ryan Essner shoots over Central's Josh Harris and Rick Russell during the fourth quarter Monday.

Church said his team has struggled with free throws the past couple games.

"As far as the free throws, we haven't done anything different during practices," he said. "I think they just had a little more confidence tonight. They put them up there and they went in. I wish I could tell you it was great coaching. Sometimes the ball just goes in."

Kelly converted 10 3-pointers overall, and DeBrock made six of them.

DeBrock said he has been struggling with his shooting lately.

"Yesterday we played a pretty tough team [Scott County Central] and we were trying to move the ball around and it didn't quite work out for us," DeBrock said. "Today we just stuck with it. ... But we came out with a loss, so technically we didn't play hard enough."

The Hawks led by as many as six points in the second half and were ahead 34-28 with 3:39 left in the third period.

That's when Central started to play much better.

The Tigers went on a 14-0 run to take a 42-34 lead. During the stretch, Central inside man Rick Russell scored seven points. He finished with 15 points.

"He's a very good ballplayer," DeBrock said about Russell. "He's a very good athlete. He's just got the weight [and] muscle where he can just get it and post up. They get him the ball and he can make a good move."

Russell took an elbow to the face during the first half and had a big bandage across his nose during the second half.

"After halftime, he came back in and had all that stuff on his face," Williams said. "We kind of had an off shooting day today, but every time we give it down to Rick, he always battles and takes it hard and does his job."

@z_agate_HSbasketball_linescore:Central1371521--56

Kelly1761120--54

@z_agate_no tab_no indnt_bld ld:Central (56) -- Terrance Howard 5, Andrew Williams 9, Josh Harris 13, Kevin Casasola 8, Rick Russell 15, Zack Boerboom 6. FG 16, FT 23-30, F 15. (3-pointers: Casasola 1. Fouled out: None)

Kelly (54) -- Ryan Essner 7, Josh DeBrock 26, Brett Harper 3, Levi Felter 10, Zach Essner 5, Eric Turley 3. FG 19, FT 6-14, F 20. (3-pointers: DeBrock 6, Harper 1, Felter 2, R. Essner 1. Fouled out: None)