TIGERS CRUISE PAST CRUSADERS

BELLEVILLE, Ill. -- Cape Girardeau Central High used an 8-0 spurt at the start of the fourth quarter to break a tie and went on to a 71-61 victory over Belleville Althoff Saturday night.

Central improved to 17-4 while Althoff fell to 7-15. The Tigers rebounded from Friday's 23-point loss to Riverview Gardens.

Central led 36-28 at halftime, but saw Althoff go on a 9-0 run to take a 48-47 lead with less than two minutes left in the third period, the Crusaders' first lead since early in the first quarter. A free throw upped Althoff's lead to 49-47, but Travis Cox hit a 17-foot shot at the buzzer to send the teams deadlocked 49-49 into the final eight minutes.

"To be honest I think everyone got fired up because Travis scored," said Cape Central coach Brent Reutzel, who saw Cox finish the game with four points.

Nathan Owen, who led the Tigers with 21 points, put Central ahead for good with a layin to open the quarter and Lavelle Lewis, 10 points, and Marcus Lowe each followed with conventional 3-point plays to open a 57-49 lead and complete a 10-0 run. The spurt ultimately proved the difference.

Althoff got as close as 59-55 with 3:30 left, but could get no closer.

"I thought we obviously played better in the fourth quarter," said Reutzel. "We played a little better defense and our shot selection was a little better."

Brian Hodges added 14 points for Cape Central.

Woodland 49, Notre Dame 46, OT

MARBLE HILL -- Woodland continues Notre Dame's slide with a thrilling overtime victory over the Bulldogs.

The teams entered overtime tied 38-38, where the Cardinals outscored Notre Dame (5-12) 11-8.

Travis Whitener scored a team-high 13 points for Woodland (12-7). David Massa added 11 points.

Nathan Maguire scored a game-high 15 points for Notre Dame, while Dirk Dirnberger netted 12 points and Ben Gosche 10.

The game was close throughout. The teams were tied 11-11 after one quarter and 17-17 at halftime. Notre Dame nudged ahead 26-25 by the start of the fourth quarter.

Meadow Heights Tournament

PATTON -- Eric Hovis hit on a 25-foot basket at the buzzer as Marqand defeated St. Vincent 59-56 in the championship game of the Meadow Heights Tournament.

With the score tied 56-56, Marquand inbounded the ball at midcourt with three seconds left, passing to Hovis, who threw up the shot as the horn sounded.

Brandon Settle led Marquand (15-4) with 13 points and Jeremy Reimler added 10.

Jonathan Wengert scored 15 points for St. Vincent (7-12) while Jason Cissell hit for 13.

Girls basketball

Charleston Tournament

CHARLESTON -- Notre Dame upset second-seeded Cape Central in the third-place game of the Charleston Tournament Saturday night, winning 60-48.

Notre Dame improved to 13-7 with the win.

"We played a real good game," said Notre Dame coach Jerry Grim. "We were patient on offense and played really good defense. The kids really worked hard."

Randi Senciboy and Amanda Lange each scored 14 points for Notre Dame. Jennifer Glueck and Melissa Maurer each netted 11 points.

Nicole Thiele hit three 3-pointers and scored a game-high 19 points for Cape Central. Elizabeth Kunz added 15 points and Abby Harris netted 11.

Central took a 19-18 lead into the second quarter but saw Notre Dame move ahead 31-27 by halftime. The teams played to a 10-10 stalemate in the third quarter, before the Lady Bulldogs finished with a 19-11 flourish in the final period.