TIGERS REACH FINAL VIA OT

POPLAR BLUFF -- The same Cape Central team that entered Tuesday night's Class 4A, District 1 semifinal game brimming with confidence looked overwhelmed and bewildered at times against the tournament host.

But in the end, the top-seeded Tigers had just enough composure to escape No. 4 Poplar Bluff in a wild 67-63 overtime heart stopper.

Central's inside combination of senior Kelly Illers and junior Ross Conner -- after struggling through regulation -- combined to score eight of the team's 10 points in the extra period.

Cape Central (15-11) advances to Friday's 7:30 p.m. championship game against No. 3 Sikeston, a 62-56 winner over No. 2 Jackson in Tuesday's other semifinal. Poplar Bluff closed its season at 12-14.

Conner, whose nine points was well below his average, gave the Tigers the lead for good, 65-63, with a put-back with :09 left.

Poplar Bluff's Stan Revelle took the ball the length of the court and missed a tough, but makeable layup with about :02 left. Central's Eric Wessel grabbed the rebound, was fouled and made both free throws to seal the game.

The win was the Tigers' sixth straight. It also was a wake-up call.

"I think the guys came in a little too confident," said Illers, who ended up with 11 points, including four in the overtime period. "It wasn't that coach didn't prepare us, it's just that mentally we weren't prepared to play tonight."

Central took a 63-61 lead with 1:17 left in overtime when junior guard Donnie McClinton found Illers, who started the transition with a steal, bolting toward the basket for an easy layin.

"When I got the first bucket (to make the score 59-57), I got a little confidence," Illers said. "Then when I got the steal and the basket, I knew we had it after that."

The Tigers turned the ball over 18 times during the game, but not once in the overtime.

Illers and Conner may have shined in the overtime spotlight, but McClinton, who has put forth a few consecutive impressive outings, carried the struggling Tigers through regulation. McClinton finished with a team-high 24 points.

The end of regulation was perhaps more dramatic than the overtime.

Poplar Bluff junior Ryan Whelan, who also finished with 24 points, drained 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to tie the game at 57 with :52 left in the fourth quarter.

Central, failing to find an open shot early in the possession, opted for the last shot in regulation.

McClinton, who made a five-footer at the buzzer against SLUH last Friday, pulled up from about 10 feet, but his line-drive jumper missed, sending the game into an extra four minutes.

"They got it to the guy they wanted to shoot it and we got him going to his left, which is what we wanted," said Sikeston coach David Patilo. "He never went all the way to the basket with his left."

Cape Central coach Brett Reutzel was elated to survive the wake-up call.

"You have to give credit to Kelly and Donnie," Reutzel said. "They did so many things tonight to help us win.

"It's a big wake-up call," said Illers. "We're due for a good game Friday night."

The game was tight throughout. Central led 44-42 going into the fourth quarter.

The Mules took a 30-29 lead into halftime on hot shooting and a feisty full-court trap.

The trap bothered Central all night and did not allow Central to operate comfortably in its half-court offense.

Poplar Bluff made 12 of its 22 shots in the first half and forced Central into committing six turnovers. When Central didn't turn the ball over, it used up a lot of energy just getting the ball past half court.

Poplar Bluff had turnover troubles of its own in the first half, coughing the ball up nine times. But of the 18 possessions that the Mules didn't turn the ball over, they scored on 15 of them.