Chaffee boys basketball team pulls off another upset, advances to Christmas Tournament consolation final

In two days, the Chaffee boys basketball team displayed its growth, and in doing so, the Red Devils pulled off the first two upsets of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament.

A day removed from a one-point upset against Meadow Heights, 14th-seeded Chaffee struck again, this time knocking off No. 10 Kelly 45-38 in a consolation semifinal Tuesday at the Show Me Center.

"We're growing as a team," Red Devils coach Josh Govreau said. "I knew this team had some potential. ... We've just gotten so much better every game."

The victory advances Chaffee (3-7) to today's consolation championship against ninth-seeded Oran. The Eagles edged out a 64-58 win over No. 12 Bell City in the first semifinal.

Chaffee's Gabe Henson gets a jump shot off over Kelly's Isai Campos and Ty Householder during the second quarter in a consolation semifinal game of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015 at the Show Me Center. (Glenn Landberg)

"We talk the first two games that it's all about getting to Day 3. Once we get to Day 3, it's all about getting to Day 4," Govreau said. "We didn't let the big win we had yesterday get to us and just kind of relax and think, 'Well, we got here to Day 3.' We showed up today ready to play, and it's good to see."

The Red Devils held off a late scare after sophomore guard Alec Bogenpohl fouled out with 13 points at the 2:26 mark of the fourth quarter. Trailing by 15 points, Kelly (4-5) deployed a full-court press in Bogenpohl's absence. The Hawks went on a 13-2 run that drew them within four points, 41-37, with 20 seconds remaining.

"Really it took about three quarters and six minutes to get going, and honestly it was just desire," Kelly coach Ryan Garnett said. "It was just the willingness to want to go out and win as a team and not as individuals. I think we lost selfishly. We knew Chaffee was going to come out and play their butts off and play as a team."

Freshman Landon Tenkhoff secured the win by converting on all four of his free throws in the final seconds. He finished with a game-high 17 points.

"When he steps on the floor, he's one of the best athletes on the floor," Govreau said. "He's just going to keep getting better. The biggest thing has been his confidence. ... You can just see he wants it now. He wants the basketball. When he has confidence, he's hard to stop, and everybody else just feeds off him."

Austin Copeland drained a 3-pointer from the right key with 29 seconds remaining in the first quarter to put Chaffee ahead for good, but the Red Devils never led by more than five points in the first half. They carried an 18-15 lead into halftime.

Jordan Wilburn scored a bucket with 6:31 left in the game that capped a 12-2 run for Chaffee, which led by as many as 15 points in the second half.

Chaffee coach Joshua Govreau watches from the sideline during the first quarter in a consolation semifinal game of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015 at the Show Me Center. (Glenn Landberg)

Govreau knows his team doesn't boast an explosive offense, but he was pleased with the way his defense performed. Levi Alsup led the Hawks with 11 points while key scorer Ty Householder was limited to only four points.

"We wanted to slow them down. We want to hold them where they're not getting out running, to where they're having to make passes," Govreau said. "We know we're not going to come out and score 60, 70 points a game, so we want to slow teams down defensively, make them work for a good shot and chew up some clock each time.

"We like our chances if we're playing 40- or 50-point games. We feel good about that. Kids are buying into their roles and doing what they're supposed to. I'm just happy about that."

Chaffee 11 7 12 15 -- 45

Kelly 8 7 7 16 -- 38

CHAFFEE (45) -- Landon Tenkhoff 17, Alec Bogenpohl 13, Jordan Wilburn 8, Gabe Henson 4, Austin Copeland 3. FG 12, FT 19-24, F 13. (3-pointers: Bogenpohl 1, Copeland 1. Fouled out: Bogenpohl.)

KELLY (38) -- Levi Alsup 11, Skylar Lemons 9, Jake McClain 6, Isai Campos 5, Ty Householder 4, Cayden Williams 3. FG 15, FT 6-13, F 20. (3-pointers: Williams 1, Campos 1. Fouled out: None.)