Tigers use more late heroics

SIKESTON, Mo. -- For the second straight game in the Sikeston tournament, Central's boys basketball team won on a last-second shot.

Will Johnson beat his man off the dribble and hit a short jump shot with less than two seconds left to give the Tigers a 49-47 victory over Poplar Bluff Thursday night. Eli Harris beat Blytheville, Ark., with a bank shot in the closing seconds of Central's tournament opener on Tuesday.

"I'm one of the seniors and a captain, I figured I had the authority to take the shot and I had the confidence to take the shot," said Johnson, who had a team-high 18 points..

The Tigers' two-point win earned them a spot in the finals against Charleston at 8:30 p.m tonight. Central (4-1), which played for the Farmington title, will be making its second tournament finals appearance this season.

"This is such a huge experience for us to be playing for two championships in two weeks," Central coach Derek McCord said.

Johnson's heroics capped off a wild second half in which both teams made big runs.

The Mules (0-3), who were once again without injured all-state center Tyler Hansbrough, were up 26-17 at halftime. But Central turned to its pressure defense in the second half and grabbed a 28-27 lead just three minutes into the quarter.

"The second half we knew our offense was struggling so we relied on our defense to get steals and force turnovers," Johnson said.

Big run for Central

Central's kept the defensive pressure on Poplar Bluff, outscoring the Mules 16-2 in the third quarter for a 33-28 lead. Harris opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer, and Central added two more baskets before Ben Hansbrough ended the Tigers' 12-0 run with six minutes left in the game. The basket provided Poplar Bluff with its first points since early in the third quarter.

Another basket by Hansbrough cut the lead to 40-32, but Central went inside on its next two possessions and got a pair of slam dunks from Scott Chestnutt, the latter giving the Tigers a 44-34 lead.

"Chestnutt had two drop-step dunks which gave us some energy," McCord said.

Poplar Bluff turned up its defensive pressure after Chestnutt's easy baskets and turned the offense over to sharp-shooting Devon Brown. Brown, who had 12 points in the first half and finished with a game-high 23, supplied all the offense for the Mules down the stretch.

Brown's first bucket of the second half, a 3-pointer, cut the lead to 46-39. Poplar Bluff held the Tigers on their next offensive possession and Brown drained another 3-pointer from well behind the arc.

"Everything he shot went in," Chestnutt said. "You've got to give him credit, he's a good shooter."

The Mules forced another turnover on Central's following possession and Brown hit his third consecutive 3-pointer to cap a 9-0 run, cutting the lead to 46-45 with 1:30 left. Central turned the ball over on its next possession, but Brown's streak of 3-pointers finally ended.

Delph hit one of two free throws with 28 seconds to give Central a 47-45 lead, but Poplar Bluff tied the game at 47 on a Brown lay-in off an inbounds play. Johnson then hit the game-winner.

Chestnutt and Harris added 10 points apiece for the Tigers, who held Poplar Bluff to two free-throw attempts.

"This was a huge win for us," Chestnutt said. "I think this will give our team the confidence we need."

jjoffray@semissourian.com

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