No. 7 Kelly upends No. 3 Rams

Just call them the giant killers.

For the second straight day, No. 7 Kelly pulled off a big upset in the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament, knocking off No. 3 Scott City 72-53 in the semifinals Wednesday at the Show Me Center.

After beating second-seeded Charleston on Tuesday, Kelly came back with a blistering performance from brothers Kendal and Kent Deason to earn its first bid in the Christmas Tournament finals since 1997. Kelly's only title came in 1973.

"Every tournament's got to have a Cinderella; why can't it be us?" Kelly coach Cory Johnson said.

The Hawks looked like they would come back to Earth in the opening quarter, falling behind 12-3 to start the game. But behind the long range shooting of the Deasons and strong rebounding, Kelly pulled ahead 31-25 at halftime and never looked back.

"The first quarter was sluggish. We came out prepared, just not focused," Johnson said. "We regained our composure. We were down six or seven points. It wasn't something we couldn't overcome."

Kent Deason scored 10 points in the first half, and Kendal Deason had nine. By the end of the game the two had combined for 48 points, with Kendal Deason pouring in 27 and Kent Deason adding 21.

"You can't say enough about those two guys. They play well together," Johnson said.

Despite lacking a true big man -- Clay Mothershead is Kelly's tallest player at 6-foot-3 -- the Hawks were dominant on the boards with Mothershead, Jordan Felter and Michael Glastetter leading the way.

"We've got to pride ourselves in that," Johnson said. "We're not tall."

Scott City was still within 10 points early in the third quarter, but 3-pointers from Kendal and Kent Deason helped push the lead to 53-43.

Despite another strong performance from Mark Dannenmueller, who finished with 27 points, the Rams could not get over the hump. Mark Johnston added 17 points for the Rams.

"It's a game of runs. We came out with momentum, lost it, and never regained it," Scott City coach Lance Amick said. "A lot of the credit goes to Kelly. Tip your hat to Cory. The Deasons just shot the heck out of the ball."

For the Rams, this was the second straight year to fall in the semifinals. Scott City's last finals appearance was 1999, when the Rams won the championship over Advance.

"I just felt bad for the kids. You really want to get there for them," Amick said.

KELLY 72, SCOTT CITY 53

Kelly 7 24 14 27 -- 72

Scott City 14 11 15 13 -- 53

KELLY (72) -- Kendal Deason 27, Kent Deason 21, Clay Mothershead 4, Derek Felter 4, Jordan Felter 6, Brandon Ayers 3, Thomas DeBrock 1, Michael Glastetter 4, Jacob Glastetter 2. FG 25, FT 14-20, F 22 (3-pointers: Kendal Deason 3, Kent Deason 5. Fouled out: Mothershead, D. Felter)

SCOTT CITY (53) -- Mark Dannenmueller 27, Mark Johnston 17, Andy Stephens 4, Travis Glueck 3, Alex King 2, Landon Hill 1. FG 16, FT 15-24, F 21 (3-pointers: Dannenmueller 2, Stephens 1, Johnston 1. Fouled out: Dannenmueller, Glueck)