MULES STAND TALL DOWN STRETCH, BEAT TIGERS

The Cape Central Tigers, battled to the wire, but came up short in the end.

The slightly taller and more athletic Poplar Bluff Mules controlled the backboards and came away with a 56-50 win over the Tigers on Friday.

"The size disadvantage is a big factor everytime we play," said Cape Central coach Brett Reutzel. "And it's not just height, it's girth, too. We may get (rebound) position, but we get outmuscled and can't hold it."

Reutzel was forced to shuffle his starting lineup because of a flu bug that struck the team earlier in the week.

The loss dropped Central to 3-14, while Poplar Bluff improved to 12-6.

The Tigers held a 14-13 first-quarter advantage and led by as many as six early in the second period. But the Mules rallied to take a 29-26 lead into the locker room at the half.

Down by 10 points, midway of the third quarter, the Tigers narrowed the gap to four points by the end of the period with the score at 41-37.

A Willie Colon runner in the lane capped a 6-1 spurt at the start of the final stanza and gave Cape Central its first lead since early in the second quarter at 43-42 with about six minutes left.

After a scoreless stretch of nearly three minutes, the teams traded baskets, with Chris Cole nailing a jumper to give Cape Central its final lead at 45-44 with 2:45 left.

On the Mules next possession center Ed McComb was fouled, went to the line for two and made the first. On the missed second shot, 6-foot forward Brent Little made a huge play. Rising above the Tigers, the state triple-jump champion grabbed the rebound and scored on a putback to put the Mules up 47-45, a lead they never relinquished.

"I really thought, going in, that Cape would do what they did," said Poplar Bluff coach John Patillo. "We knew they were playing a lot better than they were earlier. I thought they played well."

The Mules, with the Tigers forced to foul, sank 8 of 10 free throws down the stretch to close out the win.

Poplar Bluff enjoyed a huge advantage at the free-throw line on the night 17 of 26 to the Tigers 6 of 9.

T. J. Erlacker was the only double-figure scorer for Central with 11 points. Cole added nine.

Little led the Mules with 20 points, while Jamie Waddell chipped in with 10, including the last four points of the game on free throws to ice the victory.

The Cape Central junior varsity fell to the Mules by a score of 61-49.