Foul trouble leads to Cape Central boys basketball team's downfall

The Parkway South boys basketball team looks forward to playing at the Tiger Shootout each year.

And why wouldn't the Patriots? They've found nothing but success at Central High School in recent seasons.

Parkway South posted its fifth straight win at Saturday's 17th edition of the event by beating host Central 63-54.

"It's a nice facility, we're treated well and we get some good team bonding on the bus," Parkway South coach Mitch Stevens said.

The Patriots, who traveled from suburban St. Louis, have been participating in the Tiger Shootout for more than a decade. They have beaten Jackson twice and Notre Dame twice during their current run.

Central's Jamal Cox shoots against Parkway South's Charlie Bakula during the first quarter Saturday. (Fred Lynch)

"We always want to play a tough team when we come down here," Stevens said. "We've played Notre Dame, Jackson, now Cape Central."

Parkway South (8-4), which has won six of its last seven games, trailed Central (9-4) 14-9 after one quarter and 19-9 early in the second period before settling in.

It didn't hurt the Patriots that T.J. Tisdell, Central's standout 6-foot-6 senior forward, missed much of the second quarter after picking up his second foul.

"I think it was a key that Tisdell got two fouls early after we got down 10," Stevens said.

Tisdell, who is averaging better than 20 points per game, scored just three points in the first half.

"We had to sit him most of the second quarter. That hurt us," Central coach Drew Church said.

The Tigers still were in decent shape at halftime, tied 26-26.

Sophomore guard Tim Booker helped pick up the slack with eight points in the opening half, while senior guard Vance Toole added six points. They both hit two 3-pointers.

Tisdell came out strong in the third quarter by scoring 10 points, but Central could not gain separation from the Patriots.

"They played really well together," Tisdell said. "They had a lot of big guys, and they were tough inside."

Senior guard Ryan McArthy hit one of his three 3-pointers with 1 second left in the third quarter to put the Patriots up for good at 43-40.

The Patriots steadily pulled away in the final period, building their lead to 12 points before coasting to victory. They hit 7 of 7 free throws in the fourth quarter.

"They were the better team. They made plays," Church said. "In the part of the game that really mattered, they did better.

"We didn't have the fire we needed and part of that is credit to them. They took a lot of things away from us."

Tisdell scored four points in the fourth quarter and finished with a game-high 17 before fouling out in the final seconds.

"They're a pretty good team. They played a little tougher than we did," Tisdell said. "We couldn't get the ball inside like we should have. I should have played harder.

"I want to play at the next level, and I've got to get used to having two or three people around me. I need to keep working."

Junior guard Garan Evans added 11 points for the Tigers, who made just 2 of their 7 3-pointers in the second half.

Parkway South 9 17 17 20 -- 63

Central 14 12 14 14 -- 54

PARKWAY SOUTH (63) -- Courtland Rogers 3, Ryan McArthy 16, Sam Jaouni 6, Jeremy Verges 5, Charlie Bakula 14, Eric Laurent 6, Mark Waller 13. FG 22, FT 13-15, F 9. (3-pointers: Rogers 1, McArthy 3, Bakula 2. Fouled out: none)

CENTRAL (54) -- Ross McClanahan 6, Vance Toole 8, Tim Booker 8, Garan Evans 11, T.J. Tisdell 17, Jamal Cox 4. FG 21, FT 5-8, F 13. (3-pointers: McClanahan 2, Toole 2, Booker 2, Evans 1. Fouled out: Tisdell)