Central wins, tops last season's total

It's not even January and Central's boys basketball team already has won more games than it did last season.

The Tigers, 4-21 in coach Derek McCord's first season, improved to 5-2 Friday night with a 65-51 victory over host Farmington.

"We're playing well, and we're right where we need to be going into the Christmas tournament," McCord said.

The Tigers are the No. 4 seed in next week's seMissourian Christmas Tournament at the Show Me Center.

Against Farmington, Central led by 15 points at halftime before Farmington (3-5) cut the lead to single digits in the second half. It was a six-point game in the fourth quarter.

"They slowed it down a little, and at the same time we were a little more patient against their zone," McCord said. "They made runs at us, but it seemed like each time we'd come up with a big steal or a big defensive play."

Will Johnson led Central with 15 points and Ryan Delph battled the flu for 14 points. Scott Chestnutt added 11.

Central's JV improved to 7-1 with a 56-47 win. Alex Espinoza had 16 points and Anthony Meade 10.

Jackson 52, Kennett 36

Jackson moved above the .500 mark with an easy home victory.

The Indians (3-2) were led by Tyler McNeely with 18 points. Jeff Beck added 10.

Kennett (3-3) got 12 points from Tyree Goolsby.

Notre Dame 56, Sikeston 44

Notre Dame pushed above the .500 mark with an impressive win at Sikeston.

Cory Beussink led Notre Dame (3-2) with 18 points. Travis Siebert added 14 and Wayne Essner had 10.

Sikeston (3-6) got 16 points from Lontas McClinton.

"It's a good win for us," Notre Dame coach Darrin Scott said. "We outrebounded them 34-26 and that was a key."

Notre Dame led 28-20 at halftime, then outscored Sikeston 19-12 in the fourth quarter to ice the victory.

Scott City 70, Advance 54

Scott City continued to turn heads in a home win.

The Rams (5-0) built a 35-22 halftime lead and never looked back. Tyler Ward scored 16 points, Jeremy Schlosser had 15 and D.J. Walton added 10.

"I'm so proud of the guys it's unbelievable," Scott City coach Kerry Thompson said. "We're getting a lot of contributions from a lot of people."

Zach Kelley led the Hornets (3-2) with 18 points.

Oran 77, Delta 49

Oran used a 32-point second quarter to open up a 49-27 halftime lead as the Eagles cruised to a win at home.

Sophomore Ryan Bouge hit five 3-pointers and scored 16 points for the Eagles (4-2). Patrick Friga led Oran with 17 points and Tyler Cookson had 15.

Delta (1-5) got 26 points from Joey Keys and 10 from Matt Kinder.

Zalma 60, Chaffee 52

Zalma outscored host Chaffee 28-12 in the fourth quarter to rally from an eight-point deficit.

Chad Wiseman and Brad McKlin both scored 17 points to lead the Bulldogs (3-4).

Sam Burnett had 18 points, James Reischman 16 and Brent Thomason 10 for the Red Devils (0-3).

Ste. Genevieve 56, Perryville 40

Ste. Genevieve used advantages of 17-10 in the second quarter and 21-11 in the fourth quarter to ease past visiting Perryville.

Seth Fallert led the Dragons (5-1) with 16 points. Matt Bader added 15.

The Pirates (1-3) were paced by Jared Oberndorfer with 12 points.

Bell City 83, Bernie 55

Dominitrix Johnson scored 27 points and Eric Henry had 23 to lift Bell City in a Stoddard County Conference game at home.

The Cubs (6-1) led by 11 at halftime, then put away the Mules (3-3) with a 29-14 edge in the fourth quarter.

Kelly 73, Woodland 51

Kelly notched its second straight victory and reached the .500 mark by rolling past visiting Woodland.

Chris Romas scored 17 points to lead the Hawks (3-3), who got 16 points from Major Burger and 13 from Lance Scheffer.

The Cardinals (4-4) were paced by Alex VanGennip with 13 points and Travis Benfield with 11.

New Salem 54, Peoples 46

New Salem Baptist Academy of Marble Hill slipped past Peoples of Arnold on the road.

Andrew Conway scored 16 points for New Salem (9-5). Joe Davault added 14 and John Davault had 12.

GIRLS' BASKETBALL

New Salem 47, Peoples 37

New Salem Baptist Academy of Marble Hill defeated Peoples of Arnold on the road.

Laura Poole scored 15 points for New Salem (8-4) and Sarah Green had 12.

JV BASKETBALL

Saxony Lutheran wins

Saxony Lutheran's first-year JV team defeated Ste. Genevieve's freshmen 61-18.

Saxony (5-3) had four double-figure scorers: Lauren Lueders (15 points), Tim Lorenz (14), Casey Petzoldt (13) and John Volkerding (12). Trey Maevers delivered 12 assists.

-- From staff reports