Tigers put harness on Mules

The last time Central and Poplar Bluff met at Central, the Mules were rolling their way to a Class 5 District 1 boys basketball title.

The last time the teams met this season, Central slowed things down for a 29-23 overtime victory in the consolation finals of the SEMO Conference tournament.

Central treated its fans to some scoring Friday, as the Tigers edged visiting Poplar Bluff 62-58 to improve to 4-0 in conference play.

"They got out and guarded us tonight," first-year Central coach Drew Church said. "The last game, it seemed like they were backing off into the lane. The last game was just a weird game. They played tough defense, and we attacked more and did the things we needed to do to make us successful."

Both teams have seen major changes since the district title meeting. The Mules lost all-state guard Ben Hansbrough and senior guard Allan Spencer, while Central lost four of its top six players, including leading scorer Darnell Wilkes.

Central senior Kerry Walker drove to the basket Friday against Poplar Bluff at Central High School. (Kit Doyle)

Poplar Bluff fell to 6-11 with the loss, and 1-2 in conference play. The Mules were playing short-handed Friday with several players out due to injuries.

Mules first-year coach Lamont Frazier made sure to clarify his team is not in a rebuilding season.

"If you're rebuilding, you have all new players," Frazier said. "I think it's more a restructuring, a different mentality. We don't have one or two all-Americans. We have a team full of kids who can be good basketball players, but a great team."

Central (10-10) took the lead for good at 20-18 early in the second quarter after the Mules kept things close with four first-quarter 3-pointers. The Tigers went up 41-27 midway through the third quarter before the Mules started to chip away.

The Mules abandoned the 3-point shot and started to use dribble penetration to get back into the game. Poplar Bluff got the lead down to 50-49 with about 3 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

"Right now, we've just got to put together a whole game," Church said. "We get a chance to get a lead and we start to relax a bit. In the game of basketball you can't relax. ... We've got to get to a point where we get a team down 14 or 15 points and keep it on them."

Poplar Bluff had the ball down 51-49 with less than 2 minutes remaining when Jajuan Bell made a steal and was fouled at the other end. Bell made both free throws to give Central a 53-49 lead.

Bell, who hit seven of eight free throws over the final 2 minutes, led the Tigers with 19 points. Sophomore George Hamilton added 16 points and was dominant on the boards, and junior guard Anthony Watts added 11 points.

"George is coming around," Church said. "He's still young, and he's still learning. Anthony Watts is coming around. He's a smart kid who knows what we're doing right now. He's a big key to how we're playing."

Despite going just seven deep in the game, the Tigers got positive minutes from Chase Johnson. The junior had six straight points for the Tigers during a second-quarter run which helped the Tigers open a 27-18 lead.

"Chase came in and gave us a quick spark, and that's what we need out of Chase," Church said.

Phillip Brown led the Mules with 20 points, T.J. Stonecipher had 19 and Riley Raulston added 15.

Central 62, Poplar Bluff 58

Poplar Bluff 14 11 17 16 -- 58

Central 15 18 17 17 -- 62

POPLAR BLUFF (58) -- Phillip Brown 20, T.J. Stonecipher 19, Riley Raulston 15, Skyler Holeman 3, Zach Ferguson 1. FG 21, FT 10-14, F 20 (3-pointers: Raulston 3, Brown 2, Holeman 1. Fouled out: Holeman 1)

CENTRAL (62) -- Jajuan Bell 19, George Hamilton 16, Anthony Watts 11, Chase Johnson 6, Derek Walker 1, Kerry Walker 9. FG 21, FT 18-26, F 13 (3-pointers: Bell 1, Watts 1. Fouled out: none)

JV -- Poplar Bluff won 53-34.