Church notches 300th win as triumphant Tigers cap Hall of Fame Classic

Less than 24 hours after winning their home opener on Friday, the Cape Central Tigers came back to the court to win another home game by a large margin on Saturday.

This time, it was an 84-54 victory over Jennings to cap off the Hall of Fame Classic. Unlike previous dominating wins, this game represented head coach Drew Church’s 300th win in Cape Central.

He was surprised by the announcement after the game and was surrounded by his players congratulating him for the milestone.

“I didn't know it was coming,” Church said. “I don't keep up with that stuff. When you're a coach and there's so much going on — I’ll remember today till tomorrow when I started watching film on Notre Dame — but really, being here 16 years has been a joy for me because I love it here. I love the community. I love our kids, and in the last 16 years, I've got to coach some great kids and watch them grow up. So I think more than anything, the wins are great, but it's just, you kind of think about the kids. It's a great honor and I thank them.

“I was a little embarrassed at the time,” he added, “but thank them for announcing that.”

Throughout the season, the undefeated Tigers have displayed a show of dunks. With each fastbreak, fans hold their breath in anticipation before exhaling in excitement when their favorite player slams a dunk.

That show is built on a foundation of defense and the ability of players to be able to swiftly switch from their guarding assignments to dashing towards the other side of the court.

“It's one of our focuses,” Church said. “The dunks are great and they get the crowd excited, and they get everybody excited, but what leads to that is defensive rebounding. I think we're starting to figure that out in games where we really do well in transition. We guard really well, and we got five guys going to the rim rebounding, and especially when our guards can rebound that makes our break even that much faster. So the dunks are a result of some hard work that we put in on the defensive end.”

The closest margin of victory this season for the 14-0 Tigers remains their 49-47 over the top-ranked New Madrid County Central Eagles during the SEMO Conference Tournament in December.

Cam Williams led the Tigers with 18 points, eight of which came in the first quarter to give Cape Central an early 24-13 lead.

Marquel Murry scored seven of his 14 points in the second quarter and LaTroy McIntosh slammed a dunk before the buzzer to send the Tigers into halftime with a 48-29 lead. Jaydon Reynolds scored nine points, all on 3-point baskets in the first half.

Tyson Williams scored half of his 12 points in the third quarter to push the Tigers' lead to 68-40. By the fourth quarter came around, much of the bench got playing time and Matayo Rivers led the way with six points.

The Tigers return home on Tuesday to host rival Notre Dame at 7:30 p.m.

__GBB: Cape Central 50, Kelly 39__

Led by Ki Bogan’s 27 points, the Cape Central Tigers defeated the Kelly Hawks in the Hall of Fame Classic on Saturday at Cape Central High School.

The Tigers started the new year with back-to-back losses on the road to Scott City and Poplar Bluff. The win seems to have the Tigers on the right path with a Thursday tilt at rival Jackson on the horizon.

Celeste Gutierrez drained two 3-point baskets to score as many points in the first quarter as the Hawks as a whole. Bogan scored half of the Tigers’ 12 points — and outscored Kelly by a point — in the second quarter, to help Cape Central go into halftime leading 26-11.

Jada Griggs provided all of the offense for the Hawks in the third quarter by scoring four of her team-leading eight points. Macy Burger led the Hawks in the fourth quarter with six points on a pair of 3-point baskets.

It wasn’t enough as the Tigers outscored the Hawks 24-16 in the second half to close out the game.

__BBB: Kelly 51, St. Vincent 45 (OT)__

Michael Dollins came through in overtime with 5-of-7 from the free-throw line to help the Hawks edge the Indians.

Trailing St. Vincent 23-16 at halftime, Dollins scored five of his 14 points in the third quarter. Drew Klipfel also scored seven of his 13 points in the third quarter to close the gap to a 33-30 deficit entering the fourth quarter.

Klipfel’s 3-pointer was the difference in a 9-6 fourth quarter that forced overtime. With 10 points and at least a basket in every period in regulation, Reece Eftink was a consistent scorer for the Hawks.

Blake Monier led the Indians with 19 points. He and Grant Abernathy each drained a pair of 3-pointers to push the Indians to a 12-9 first-quarter lead. Jacob Schemp scored all five of his points in the second quarter.

__BBB: Twin Rivers 59, Chaffee 47__

The Twin Rivers Royals kicked off the Hall of Fame Classic with a 59-47 win over Chaffee.

Levi McKinnie led the Red Devils with 18 points, including four 3-point buckets. Blake Yorbre also scored 12 points.

Chaffee struggled on the charity stripe, making only 9-of-22 free throws.

Jagger Crimson scored 31 points including making seven 3-point baskets to have the Devils seeing red.

Carter Lewis scored all of his six points in the first quarter to push the Royals to a 15-7 lead.

Crimson did most of his damage in the second quarter with 11 points to push the Royals lead to 32-25 going into halftime.

__GBB: Delta 66, Sikeston 63 (OT)__

Sikeston did something to Delta that no other team has done so far this season. Take a game to overtime.

The Ladycats has dominated every win in regulation but against the Bulldogs, an extra period was required.

Landri Hammontree scored 32 points for the Bulldogs. She scored nine points on a pair of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to force overtime with the score tied 55-55.

Delta, who led 50-43 entering the fourth quarter, was held to five points after making only 3-of-8 from the charity stripe. The Ladycats got their act together in overtime with a 5-of-7 free-throw clip and Olivia Wagoner made a pair of baskets to put the game away.

Wagoner led the Ladycats with 18 points, Jade Berry scored 16 points and Addison Nichols chipped in 14 points.

Sikeston has now lost eight straight games. The Bulldogs’ only win came against New Madrid County Central, the rematch is coming up on Monday at New Madrid.