Poplar Bluff stays on top in league, beats Notre Dame

Poplar Bluff overcame a determined Notre Dame effort to defeat the visiting Bulldogs 76-65 Tuesday night in boys basketball.

The Mules improved to 21-2 and remained undefeated in SEMO Conference playing setting up a game with Charleston Friday night for the conference title.

Travis Siebert scored 26 points for the 17-7 Bulldogs, including 18 in the first half as Notre Dame trailed just 35-34. The Bulldogs were behind 59-56 entering the final period before the Mules pulled away.

Wayne Essner added 13 points for Notre Dame.

Tyler Hansbrough, a 6-foot-8 sophomore center, had 20 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Mules. Also scoring in double figures were Cheron Pearson with 17 points, Tony Webb with 13 and Desi Higgs with 10.

Notre Dame ends its regular season Friday night, visiting Perryville.

Oran 65, Advance 58

Ryne Wood hit six 3-pointers as Oran defeated visiting Advance.

Oran (17-5) trailed 22-20 at halftime but broke loose with a 28-point third quarter. The Eagles held a 48-40 lead by the end of the period.

Wood finished with 20 points, Patrick Friga had 17 and Nathan Seyer added 10.

Jared Ritter had a game-high 22 points for Advance and Jason Bahr added 13.

Chaffee 74, Delta 58

The Red Devils continued their improvement over the second half of the season with a road victory.

Chaffee, which opened the season 0-10, improved to 5-14.

Sam Burnett scored a game-high 27 points and James Reischman added 20 for the Red Devils.

Derek Helderman scored 18 points for Delta (5-12), while Brent Menz tallied 14 and Joey Keys had 10.

Chaffee built a 39-26 lead by halftime.

Zalma 70, Leopold 58

Zalma ended its three-game losing streak and Leopold's four game winning streak with a home victory.

Zalma (7-11) held a 10 point lead at halftime, but Leopold cut into the lead in the third quarter. The Wildcats trailed by only two at the start of the fourth but could only manage eight points.

Chad (14) and Curt (16) Wisemen combined for 30 points for Zalma. Nick Hartman had 16 and Jamie Mangrum added 13.

Kevin Holzum led Leopold with 16 and Paul Hutchings added 11.

Caruthersville 90, Bell City 87

Chris Springer scored 27 points and Caruthersville defeated state-ranked Bell City.

Dominitrix Johnson and Eric Henry combined for 52 points. Johnson scored 27 and Henry finished with 25 in a losing effort for the Cubs (19-5).

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Jackson 60, Farmington 43

Jackson featured four players in double figures as it picked up a road win.

Jenna Leet led the offense for Jackson (16-8) with 15 points. Jessica Koeper added 14 points, Whitney Werner had 11 and Ashley Bartels had 10.

Jackson steadily pulled away, holding a 16-12 lead after one quarter and 32-21 advantage by halftime. The Indians took a 50-33 lead into the fourth quarter.

"This was the best defensive game and best offensive game we had this year," Jackson coach Ron Cook said.

Kelly 62, Scott County Central 49

Kelly turned a one-point halftime edge into a 10-point lead after three quarters on its way to a road victory.

Kelly Essner led Kelly (17-4) with 19 points while Dana Essner finished with 18. Cara Scherer added 10 points.

Jennifer Hoots paced Scott County Central (13-5) with 17 points, Christina Valenzuela had 15 and Janet Penrod added 10.

-- From staff reports