ND GETS TOUGH BREAKS IN 2 OT LOSS TO PORTAGEVILLE

PORTAGEVILLE -- Two overtime sessions and a referee's broken leg were needed by Portageville to decide an 80-73 win over Notre Dame in boys' high school basketball action on Thursday night.

Notre Dame held a comfortable eight-point lead with 3:22 left in the fourth quarter, when an official suffered a broken leg, causing a 20-minute delay, taking away Notre Dame's momentum.

"It was tough enough to play there in that hostile environment with a three-man crew," said Notre Dame coach Chris Neff. "It was even tougher with a 2-man crew to get things to go our way. Portageville plays pretty hard to have just four fouls called on them until near the end of the fourth quarter. The 20-minute delay really hurt us."

Notre Dame (12-9) battled back from a 19-10 first-quarter deficit to outscore the Bulldogs 18-7 in the second and take a 28-26 lead into halftime.

Notre Dame outscored Portageville 19-10 in the third quarter for a 47-36 lead. Portageville outscored Notre Dame 25-14 over the final eight minutes to force overtime. Portageville used two long 3-pointers by Charlie Caldwell from to erase a six-point Notre Dame lead over the final 30 seconds.

The first overtime session ended with each team netting eight points, but Portageville outscored Notre Dame 11-4 in the final overtime period to take the win.

William Durden sank a game-high 22 points for Portageville, while Roy Booker had 18 and Caldwell recorded 17.

Chris Dirnberger led Notre Dame with 16 points, while Josh Eftink had 13, Jonathan Ressell added 11 and John O'Rourke finished with 10.

"I'm not disappointed with the loss," said Neff. "Portageville played really hard and earned the win."

Puxico 60, Leopold 55

PUXICO -- Puxico pulled off its second win this week, upsetting Leopold for its third win of the season.

Puxico (3-13), was led in scoring by J.W. Mattingly who scored 14 points. Derek Binford added 13, Jared Caldwell scored 11 and Eric Powell finished with 10.

The Wildcats built a 30-22 advantage going into the break, but saw their lead evaporate on a 38-25 second-half scoring run by Puxico.

Ashton James led the way for Leopold by notching 19 points. Danny Nenninger followed with 14 and Daniel Schaab added 10.

A swarming Puxico defense held James to just four points in the second half, as Leopold fell to 14-7 with the loss.

Bell City 66, Delta 58

DELTA -- Bell City edged past Delta on the strength of four players who combined for 63 points.

Eric Henry led Bell City in scoring with 21 points, while Gabe Scherer scored 18, Nathan Walter deposited 14 and Jason Rampley finished with 10.

Delta led 14-11 after the first quarter, but Bell City rallied in the second quarter for a 30-24 lead into halftime. Delta cut the deficit to 44-42 by the close of the third quarter, but the Cubs held a 22-16 scoring advantage down the stretch.

Josh Altenthal scored a game-high 22 points for Delta, while Allen Rhodes and Troy Nussbaum netted 15 points apiece.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Oran 53, East Prairie 35

EAST PRAIRIE -- Sara Heisserer sank a game-high 21 points to help lead Oran to victory.

Ashley Dirnberger followed with 11 points for Oran, which improved to 12-7.

East Prairie was held to just eight points over the second and third quarters, setting up a 37-20 Oran lead going into the final eight minutes.

"The kids played hard and decided they wanted to take control of the game," said Oran coach Tom Anderson. "We played a tight man-to-man defense and did a good job of rebounding."

Oran will play host to Puxico on Monday.

Kelly 68, New Madrid 58

NEW MADRID -- Audrey Burford scored 23 and Dana Essner scored 19 as Kelly picked up a big win over Class 3A New Madrid.

"It's a big win for us," said Kelly coach Curtis Finley. "They had one of their best players sprain her ankle and Jenny Riley had the flu so we were both a little short-handed tonight. But (New Madrid) is competitive with everybody. Dana Essner played outstanding defense against their point guard."

Kelly improved to 18-3 on the season. All three of its losses came without its leading scorer, Marissa Essner.

Dexter 85, Chaffee 57

DEXTER -- Dexter jumped out to 14-point lead in the first quarter and extended each ensuing period.

Mikaela Scott netted a game-high 31 points for Dexter while teammate Amy Rose was right behind with 30.

Jennifer Vandeven led Chaffee (7-12) with 23 points and Morgan Kiefer added 20.

Dexter led 21-7 after the first quarter and took a comfortable 45-27 lead into halftime.