Kennett defeats South Pem at Gideon Bulldog Classic

GIDEON - The Kennett High School boys basketball team was on the warpath Thursday at the Gideon Bulldog Classic Tournament.

The Indians defeated the South Pemiscot High School Bulldogs in regular play, 67-63 at the final buzzer.

Indians Head Coach Fred Garmon was confident of his team and noted that prior to the contest.

"Fixin' to walk away with a W tonight," Coach Garmon told The Delta Dunklin Democrat. "We're gonna slow those young guys down.

"The Bulldogs have a freshman and a sophomore who are super athletic and real fearless," he continued. "We're gonna try and slow them down and play a half-court game."

Coach Garmon emphasized that his players perform as one unit, and there are no real individual shining stars.

"Everybody is important," he said. "We share the ball.

"We defend as a group," he added. "We play together."

Regarding South Pemiscot's players, Garmon said youth, speed and determination all combined to make the Bulldogs a force to be reckoned with.

"I think the Bulldogs score a lot of points," Garmon noted. "They're fast.

"They like to get out and transition," the coach continued. "They have a sophomore guard, Robert Farmer, who is fast and has really gotten a lot better since the last time I saw him. He's exciting to watch."

Farmer indeed brought fire to the game Thursday as he led the Bulldogs to tying scores with the Indians more than once, much to the delight and excitement of the standing-room only crowd.

South Pemiscot Asst. Coach Brian McGowan said in a post-game interview that he was proud of his young guns.

"We worked hard," he said. "We're developing our defense.

"We've really been working on that," Coach McGowan added. "We gotta get some shots to go in, but we're ready to go. The highlight of tonight's game, for me, was just the effort put forth on everybody's part. The team absolutely played up to our expectations."

Kennett's Kaden Taylor was the Indians' high scorer in the second half with 20 points.

Ty Campbell and Farmer shared second-half leading scorer honors for the Bulldogs with 12 points each.

The Indians advanced to the tournament's finals, and face off against the East Prairie Eagles at 6 p.m. Friday at the Kennett High School field house.