SLAMMING ON THE BRAKES: TIGERS CHANGE MIDCOURSE FROM UP-TEMPO TO STALL BALL

They came to such a screaching halt, it's a wonder they didn't leave black marks on the hardwood at Tiger Field House.

The Cape Central Tigers discovered that run-and-gun translated into run-and-lose.

So, shortly after the University High Christmas Tournament, shortly after a 59-55 loss to Class 1A Bell City, Central coach Brett Reutzel knew something had to change.

He pulled the reins on the Tigers' wild stallion approach, a shoot-it-when-you-can, push-the-tempo mentality that resulted in a 2-9 start for the Tigers.

Now, though still a long way from a powerhouse, Central (7-16) is at least competing with some of the area's best teams and gaining some respect by playing a deliberate style.

"After we beat Perryville (in the season opener), we had a big slide," said Reutzel. "We went through a long stretch where we only won one game and that was Leopold in the Christmas Tournament. I didn't see that we were playing real bad defense or anything, we just weren't putting the ball in the hole."

Going into that game against Bell City, Central was shooting 19 percent from 3-point range and 32 percent from inside the arc. Those were disturbing numbers for Reutzel and the Tigers.

"I knew we had to make an adjustment," Reutzel said. "It just wasn't working."

So the Tigers gradually slowed down the pace and against New Madrid County Central -- probably the best team in Southeast Missouri -- the Tigers discovered something that they excelled at: a 2-1-2 zone.

Introduced by freshman coach Dick Wadlington, a former highly successful varsity coach at Central, the 2-1-2 matchup zone enabled the Tigers to take New Madrid to overtime the first time they used it. Since then, Central has pulled off upset wins over Notre Dame and Jackson and took Sikeston to overtime.

Why they ran

When last season ended, Reutzel took inventory on who he had coming back.

What he saw was 13 players who were fairly quick, abnormally short and relatively equal.

"With the lack of height we have, there's two ways to go," said Reutzel. "You can get after it or control the ball. With the depth we had we thought we could wear people down and play a style that was fun for the kids."

But losing the way Central was losing wasn't any fun.

Senior forward Michael Cox and senior point guard T.J. Erlacker are both having more fun playing stall ball.

"At the first of the year I thought it would be awesome (playing uptempo)," Erlacker said. "But you have to do what you have to do to win. And winning's a lot more fun than just going down the court and shooting the ball."

"If we play this way, we can beat a lot of teams," Cox said.

Affecting district

Top-seeded Farmington, which beat Central very early this season, may be surprised by the improvement of the fourth-seeded Tigers when district play begins Monday night.

Central, which appeared to be a non-factor in this district in early January, now has the confidence that it can win the district.

But Farmington coach Justin Callahan voted Jackson as the top seed and Central the fourth seed last week in hopes of drawing Cape Central in the first round.

So the Tigers, despite beating Jackson head-to-head, were seeded behind the Indians.

But that's OK with the Tigers.

"To me, Bluff is the best basketball team in this district," Reutzel said. "They've got the most talent and the most weapons. And to play Jackson after just beating them on their floor wouldn't be a real good situation either. So I wanted to play Farmington."

And if Farmington hasn't scouted the Tigers, the Knights may be in for a rude awakening.

"I know they're not ready for our defense," said Cox. "We're going to win this district."

Jackson in reverse

The Indians, like Cape Central, met a turning point shortly after Christmas.

But Jackson turned the wrong way.

Jackson looked like one of the area's best teams after beating Poplar Bluff on Jan. 6. At that time, the Indians were 7-4 and poised to go on a roll. But the Indians couldn't find any consistency and lost several close games.

During the last 15 games, Jackson has lost six games by eight points or less.

Now, a frustrated Jackson squad limps into districts with a 9-17 record.

"Basically, it's just consistency," said Jackson coach Mike Kiehne. "At times, we look good and execute well then we'll get in a funk where we miss shots and fail to make stops."

Jackson is led in scoring by Seth McDowell (13 ppg), followed by Matt Ferrell and Brad Hilbert with 10 points per game.