Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament: Meadow Heights pressure defense propels Panthers to win over Chaffee

Three players reached double figures and led 10th-seeded Meadow Heights to a 62-38 win over No. 15 Chaffee in a consolation quarterfinal of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament on Saturday at the Show Me Center.

The Panthers (7-3) gained most of their success from a press defense that forced the Red Devils (0-9) to turn the ball over 41 times.

"They don't know how to run that press yet," Meadow Heights coach Mark Verticchio said, downplaying his defense's success. "... It takes a long time to run that press. I know that, but I'm proud of our kids because 7-3 for us is unchartered territory. We know Monday's going to be really tough, but you've just got to go play hard and hopefully something positive comes out of it."

Senior Tyler Cook led the Panthers in scoring with 13 points, while junior Jacob Douglas added 11 points and sophomore Spencer Bragg contributed 10.

The Red Devils trailed 33-20 at the break and struggled to control the ball on offense.

"You're not going to win games if you turn the ball over 41 times," Chaffee coach Josh Govreau said. "... We know teams are going to press us. We're struggling handling the basketball, and these are just things we've got to get better at."

But Chaffee wasn't the only team with turnover woes.

Verticchio said the Panthers' turnover struggles allowed the Red Devils to hang around into the second half.

"We're just making too many turnovers," Verticchio said. "... To be honest with you, the lineup that really bolded us up was three sophomores and a freshman."

The Red Devils scored the first five points of the second half and trimmed Meadow Heights' lead to 33-25 early in the third quarter.

The Panthers answered by closing the period with an 18-1 run and led 51-26 heading into the final quarter.

"It seemed like we had over 20 [turnovers] in the third quarter," Govreau said. "... We just turned the ball over and couldn't stick with them."

Verticchio said the team also received a solid contribution from junior Brendan Welker, who finished with nine points.

"He had a nice game, so I was pleased with that," Verticchio said. "It's a long way to go, but we'll do all we can on Monday."

Junior Aaron Finney had 12 points for Chaffee, which was eliminated from tournament play.

The victory advances Meadow Heights to a consolation semifinal at 1:30 p.m. Monday against No. 11 Bell City, which defeated 14th-seeded Oak Ridge 53-39.

Chaffee 8 12 6 12 -- 38

Meadow Heights 17 16 18 11 -- 62

CHAFFEE (38) -- Aaron Finney 12, Brandon Ivester 6, Gage McMullin, Tanner Chaney 5, Ryan Jobe 4, Alec Bogenpohl 3, August Knutson 2. FG 12, FT 10-18, F 18. (3-pointers: McMullin 2, Ivester 1, Chaney 1. Fouled out: none.)

MEADOW HEIGHTS (62) -- Tyler Cook 13, Jacob Douglas 11, Spencer Bragg 10, Brendan Welker 9, Lane Baremore 7, Justin McGuire 4, Jacob Hunt 4, Nick Mayfield 2, Devin Wilfong. FG 20, FT 20-34, F 18. (3-pointers: Bragg 1, Baremore 1. Fouled out: none.)