FARMINGTON USES STRONG 2ND HALF TO UPEND CAPE CENTRAL

FARMINGTON -- Cape Girardeau Central High boys basketball coach Brett Reutzel was understandably disappointed by his team's performance Friday night.

The Tigers, coming off an impressive third-place finish at last week's Sikeston Tournament, were routed by the host Knights 70-51 despite leading by three points at halftime.

"It was a disappointing performance," said Reutzel, whose squad fell to 2-5. "We lacked the intensity necessary to compete with Farmington. They're a good team and they play hard. They beat us down the floor both ways. They played harder than we did."

Eric Wessel scored 13 points to pace the Tigers. Donnie McClinton added 10 points.

Farmington got 20 points from Josh Griffin and 17 from Ron Lashley.

Central led 32-29 at halftime but was outscored 17-6 in the third quarter and 24-13 in the final period.

"We've just got to get better," Reutzel said. "You hear that all the time, but that's the bottom line."

Central's junior varsity won 46-45 behind 15 points from Jonathan Ayers.

Jackson 62, Kennett 57

JACKSON -- Jackson used a balanced scoring attack to hold off visiting Kennett in its SEMO Conference opener Friday night.

Jackson improved to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in conference play.

Although just five players scored for the Indians, four found double figures with Doug Cary leading the way with 19. He was followed by Justin Suedmeyer 15, and Tory Meyr and Harith Jones, 10 apiece.

Prenttis Brown scored a game-high 23 points for Kennett.

With the score tied 11-11 at the start of the second quarter, Jackson moved ahead 30-25 by halftime. The Indians extended their lead to 48-39 by the start of the fourth quarter.

Scott City 81, Advance 43

SCOTT CITY -- Scott City, ranked third in the state in Class 2A, improved to 7-0 Friday night with yet another blowout victory.

The Rams won their two games this week by an average margin of 49 points.

"Our defense is really what's doing it for us," said Scott City coach Derek McCord. "We're really getting after people."

All-stater Jon Beck scored 24 points to pace the Rams while Ryan Weatherspoon had 20 points and 15 rebounds. Lance Amick added 12 points.

Beck hit 11 of 17 shots from the field while Weatherspoon was 9-for-13.

Daniel Turner's 13 points paced Advance.

Zalma 62, Chaffee 57

CHAFFEE -- Gandy Wade's 3-point play with eight seconds left broke a tie Friday night and saddled Chaffee with its fifth straight loss to open the season.

The Red Devils had a chance to tie but could not get off a shot as a Zalma steal and layup iced the victory.

Wade paced Zalma with 15 points. Tim Burchett had 14 and Josh Smith 13.

Chaffee got 23 points from Matt Stroup and 13 from Andy Proffer.

St. Vincent 62, Leopold 44

PERRYVILLE -- St. Vincent jumped on Leopold early Friday night in improving to 4-1.

The Indians outscored Leopold 18-4 in the first quarter and never yielded the lead, holding a 27-18 advantage at halftime and a 49-28 lead at the start of the fourth quarter.

Ryan Prost, 13 points, and Kyle Eggers 11, led 10 Indians who found the scoring ledger.

Jason Vandeven netted a game-high 18 points for Leopold (4-3) but was the team's lone double-figure scorer.

Kelly 92, Oak Ridge 61

BENTON -- Kelly, continuing to play without several injured starters, had no trouble Friday night as the Hawks climbed to 6-1.

Sophomore Brett Burger poured in 26 points, giving him 43 in two games this week. Jason Glastetter scored 22 and Russ Mothershead added 14.

Oak Ridge (1-5) got 17 points from Nick Friese, 14 from Eric Hobeck and 12 from Beau Morrison.

"We've got six seniors who we consider starters and four didn't play tonight," said Kelly coach Kent Mangels. "But our kids have really been stepping up. Brett has come in and done a great job."

Jim Hulshof, one of the Hawks' leaders, continues to be sidelined with a stress fracture that could keep him out for several more weeks.

Marquand 98, Meadow Heights 34

PATTON -- Meadow Heights' early-season problems continued Friday night with a pounding at the hands of the Marquand Tigers.

Marquand, led by 33 points by Steve Braswell and 30 from Dusty Stephens, built a 52-11 lead by halftime.

Marquand improved to 3-2 overall and 2-0 in the Mississippi Valley Conference.

Meadow Heights fell to 0-8.

Bernie 88, Bell City 61

BELL CITY -- Bell City ran into a tough Bernie squad Friday night and went down at home.

Gabe Scherer and Nathan Walter both scored 14 points for the Cubs (1-5). Glenn Adams and Jarrod Eftink each had 10 points.

The Cubs trailed just 24-18 after one quarter but fell behind 44-27 by halftime.

Oran 66, Delta 62

ORAN -- Chris Nichols netted 20 points to lead Oran to victory Friday night.

Travis Friga, 14 points, Billy Loper 12, and Jerod Hamm 10, also finished in double figures for Oran.

Josh Altenthal poured in a game-high 29 points for Delta and Ryan Livingston netted 19, but no other Bobcat scored more than six points.

Delta led 21-14 after one quarter, but Oran moved ahead 38-28 by halftime. The Eagles took their 10-point lead into the fourth quarter with the score at 51-41.