Kelly uses 24-0 run on Panthers

For one half Monday night, No. 10 Meadow Heights looked like it might have been able to pull off the first upset of the opening round against No. 7 Kelly at the 60th annual Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament at the Show Me Center.

A 24-0 run by Kelly to start the third quickly put that notion to rest, expanding a 45-40 halftime lead into a 69-40 lead with 1:30 left in the quarter. The Hawks made it 7-for-7 for the higher seeds with an 88-53 win.

Kelly will play No. 2 Charleston at 6 p.m. today in the quarterfinals. Meadow Heights will play Oak Ridge in the consolation bracket at 10:30 a.m..

"Their type of game is to go up and down and get easy baskets. The first half we played into their hands," Kelly coach Cory Johnson said.

For a team known for its 3-point shooting -- the Panthers tied the state record for 3-pointers in a game last season -- Meadow Heights had only two 3s in the opening half. But while the Hawks were doing a good job of guarding the outside shot, they left wide open holes for Meadow Heights to drive through.

"They took what we gave them. We gave them the open gaps," Johnson said.

After making an adjustment on defense out of halftime, the Hawks were able to slow down Meadow Heights' penetration and pull away. Kelly went on a 28-0 run from the end of the first half to late in the third quarter.

Meadow Heights did its part to help the Hawks, missing shot after shot in the third. Heath Fulton made three free throws to finally end the Panthers' scoring drought, but Meadow Heights could only muster 13 points in the second half.

"In the second half we just fell apart," Meadow Heights coach Tom Brown said. "I think a lot of it had to do with getting out of sync due to the weather."

Another important factor for the Hawks was the play of their bench. Kelly was able to go deep into its bench, giving its main players plenty of breathers without a major drop in play. Kelly had 10 players in the scoring column, with three players in double figures.

"Offensively, they only go seven deep. We thought we could wear them down," Johnson said.

Kendal Deason led the Hawks (5-3) with 24 points, including four 3-pointers. Kent Deason added 14 points, and Michael Glastetter had 12.

Fulton led Meadow Heights (5-2) with 14 points, Terry Wagner had 11 and Anthony Bollinger scored 10.

"We just have to play to our potential," Brown said. "It's good we got this out of our system."

Kelly 88, Meadow Heights 53

MH 25 15 5 8 -- 53

Kelly 22 23 24 19 -- 88

MEADOW HEIGHTS (53) -- Brian Miinch 7, Heath Fulton 14, Anthony Bollinger 10, Joel Hahs 5, Terry Wagner 11, Nathan Revelle 5, Anthony Collins 1. FG 17, FT 10-15, F 13 (3-pointers: Wagner 1, Revelle 1, Miinch 1. Fouled out: none)

KELLY (88) -- Kendal Deason 24, Derek Felter 8, Jordan Felter 6, Kent Deason 14, Brandon Ayers 6, Thomas DeBrock 2, Clay Motherhead 4, Russell Carroll 4, Michael Glastetter 12, Jacob Glastetter 9. FG 24, FT 10-13, F 15 (3-pointers: Kendal Deason 4, Kent Deason 2, Ayers 1. Fouled out: none)