Tigers, Cubs rebound from tough losses

Cape Girardeau Central and Bell City bounced back from tough quarterfinal defeats to pick up victories Friday afternoon in the fifth-place semifinal round of the University High School Christmas Tournament.

Cape Central, the seventh seed, defeated No. 6 and defending tourney champion Advance 73-65 while No. 5 Bell City knocked off No. 8 Scott County Central 77-71.

The Tigers (3-7) and Cubs (8-3) will square off at 5:30 p.m. today to decide fifth and sixth place. The Hornets (7-3) and Braves (7-3) unofficially finish the 16-team tournament tied for seventh place.

CAPE CENTRAL 73, ADVANCE 65The Tigers continue to make major strides under first-year coach Derek McCord, whose squad fell by two points to Notre Dame in Thursday's quarterfinals.

"We've still got a long way to go, but the kids are all working hard and we're getting better," said McCord. "One of our goals coming in was to be here on finals night and we will be. With such a young team, I think that's a big accomplishment."

Central, loaded with sophomores, was led by one of those young players as forward Mitch Craft pumped in 17 points and grabbed 15 rebounds as he dominated on the inside.

"How about Mitch Craft, getting us eight points in the first quarter and just playing a great game," McCord said. "Before the game, we talked about wanting to start getting him the ball more."

Another sophomore, guard Ryan Delph, scored 16 points. Senior guard Matt Cardin -- one of only two seniors on the roster -- came off the bench to add 13 points while junior guard Anthony Harris chipped in with 10 points.

Advance got 17 points from Zach Hudson, 12 from Jared Ritter and 10 from Chris Walker.

The Tigers led 30-27 at halftime and 45-39 after three quarters. Central built a 12-point lead in the final period and hit 18 of 20 free throws in the last stanza to hold off every Hornet charge.

"Matt Cardin and Jay Ruark came off the bench and knocked down some big free throws late," said McCord. "We beat a good Advance team."

BELL CITY 77, SCOTT COUNTY 71Like Cape Central, Bell City shrugged off Thursday's disappointing quarterfinal loss as the Cubs fell to Oran by five points in overtime.

"It's always good to get a win after last night," said Bell City coach David Heeb. "The kids were really down, but I thought we bounced back well."

Impressive sophomore point guard Dominitrix Johnson, a transfer from Scott County, burned his former team with 23 points, including nine in the fourth quarter. C.J. Hadley had 21 points and Kenyon Wright added 11.

The Braves were paced by forward Chris Johnson, a powerful 5-foot-10 senior who plays much bigger than his height. Johnson bulled his way to 30 points as he completed an impressive tournament with 73 points in three games.

Also in double figures for the Braves were Terrance Williams with 15 points and Chris Pullen with 12.

"We played OK," said Scott County coach Steve Wells. "We're getting better but we still have a long way to go."

Scott County led 30-22 in the second quarter before a 16-0 Bell City run helped the Braves take a 42-34 halftime lead.

Bell City went up by 10 points twice late in the third quarter and led 59-51 entering the final period. But the Braves would not go away as Johnson's basket and free throw pulled them to within 68-67. Scott County was still within one at 70-69 with under a minute left before Bell City reeled off five straight points to nail down the victory.