DRAGONS BURN TIGERS; DE SOTO EDGES CENTRAL 63-61

De Soto High didn't look like it was playing its first game of the season Friday night.

The Dragons made 10-of-11 free throws in the fourth quarter and shot 48 percent from the field in edging Cape Girardeau Central 63-61.

The Tigers -- who trailed 49-42 with 7:45 left in the game -- pulled to within 59-58 with 1:12 left when junior guard Eric Wessel nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key off of an inbounds play.

But De Soto junior guard Garrett Bone hit four consecutive free throws to close out the game.

Down 63-58 with less than 10 seconds remaining, senior forward Kelly Illers drained a three, but the Tigers were unable to come up with a steal or a foul in the closing seconds.

The Tigers (0-3) have now lost two straight games by four points or less.

"They're never easy," Tigers head coach Brett Reutzel said of handling another tough loss. "(The problems) are with everybody, but it's at different times. We're having problems defensively with not being in good position."

Both teams shot remarkably well. Central put in 56 percent (23-of-41) of its shots. The two teams collectively shot 53 percent.

"We can shoot the ball pretty well," De Soto head coach Allen Davis said. "We just made a lot of turnovers. I guess in your first game you're going to have a lot of those. I thought Cape played pretty good defensively."

"De Soto is known for having good shooters and being patient," Reutzel said. "To beat them, you have to play good defense."

De Soto was able to take advantage of some easy scoring opportunities when it broke Central's full court press -- the same trap that was responsible for eight turnovers in the third quarter.

"The press hurt us," Davis said. "It caught us off guard. Our starting point guard didn't get to play tonight with disciplinary reasons. Our other guard, Garrett Bone, stepped up and played a super game."

Reutzel wasn't too concerned with the easy points off the break. He was, though, a little disappointed with the Tigers' half-court defense.

"They got some easy shots off the press," Reutzel said. "When you press, you're going to give up easy baskets. I think some of them could've been prevented, but I was more disappointed in giving up easy baskets in our halfcourt defense. We've got to sustain a little more than that defensively."

Central trailed 28-22 at halftime, but assembled a 14-3 run to begin the third quarter to take a 36-31 lead.

The Tigers scored six points in one possession during that run. Central senior forward Ross Conner scored a conventional 3-point play, a technical foul was called on De Soto senior forward Jake Jackson and Conner scored again after the Tigers retained possession.

Jackson -- who protested the foul -- was pulled out of the game and didn't re-enter until late in the fourth quarter.

"(The technical) was dumb on his part," Davis said, "and I had to make sure that it was a learning situation for the young man. I don't think we'll have that problem again."

De Soto senior forward Gary Wood scored a game-high 23 points.

The Tigers were paced by Illers and Wessel, who posted 17 points apiece. Conner finished with 13.

Central will have an opportunity to avenge its 69-65 loss to Notre Dame when it plays the Bulldogs at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the opening round of the Sikeston Tournament.