TIGERS USE TIGHT DEFENSE TO CLAIM THIRD AT SIKESTON

SIKESTON -- Cape Girardeau Central head coach Brett Reutzel found some of that team chemistry he was looking for Friday night.

The No. 6 seed Tigers, using an intense halfcourt defense, outscored No. 5 Poplar Bluff 26-8 in the third quarter and polished off the Mules 59-45 in taking third place in the Sikeston Tournament.

The convincing win -- the Tigers (2-4) led by as many as 21 -- should boost Central's confidence for a couple of reasons.

Poplar Bluff lost by just five points to No. 1 seed Sikeston on Thursday night. And the Mules defeated No. 2 see Blytheville on its own court earlier this season.

Those two teams played for the tournament championship Friday night with Blytheville winning 58-43.

Central certainly showed more competitive fire and unity than in its 57-43 loss to Blytheville on Thursday night.

"I don't think we're worldbeaters or anything," Reutzel said, "but I certainly feel like we should be competitive. If we come out every night and get after people, then I feel like we can play with some good basketball teams."

After trailing 10-5 after the first quarter, Central went on a 13-2 run to open up the second period. But as impressive as that sequence looked, it wasn't even their best of the night.

The Tigers led 20-18 at halftime and then went berserk in the third quarter, scoring on 12 of their 15 possessions. Ten of Central's 26 third-quarter points came off the break.

"I thought we did a good job defensively," Reutzel said. "We got some run outs because we played good defense, got good solid rebounds and made good outlet passes. We just did some things better tonight than we have been doing."

The Tigers held the Mules' leading scorer Mike Kilgore to a team-high 13 points. Kilgore, a 5-foot-9 junior guard, had nine at halftime.

Central forced five turnovers and blocked five shots in the third quarter. Junior guard Donnie McClinton was the beneficiary of the furious defense, scoring a game-high 18 points.

McClinton, who scored 13 in the second half, beat the Mules down the court on several occasions and put in easy layups. He gave Central its first double-digit lead, 30-20, on an uncontested layup with 5:14 to go in the third quarter.

"I just felt I had a speed advantage over some of the guys on their team," McClinton said. "The team really stepped up (defensively) tonight and came ready to play."

"He can certainly get up and down the floor," Reutzel said of McClinton. "He helps us handle the ball and he made good decisions tonight. He was just more aggressive just like I asked him to try to be."

The Tigers hit their emotional peak in the third quarter when 6-4 junior forward Ross Conner drove the left baseline and threw down a dunk, while being fouled in the process. Conner, who also had four blocks in the third period, finished with 15 points.

"He just stepped his game up a little bit," Reutzel said. "I didn't think he had been playing as physical as he should or could. I mentioned these things to him and I think he knows. He's an intelligent young man and he realizes he can play better and I think he did that tonight."

Conner was named to the 10-man all-tournament team announced after the championship contest.

One dark cloud hanging over Central's victory was the Tigers' performance at the foul line. Central made just 5-of-16 from the stripe.

In the fourth quarter, Poplar Bluff (3-2) dwindled Central's lead to respectability after both teams' second teams were inserted. Central scored just one field goal in the fourth after McClinton scored his third consecutive basket to give the Tigers a 55-34 lead with 4:33 remaining.

* In the championship game, Kenric Partee scored 18 points and Charlie Anderson tallied 17 for Blytheville. Bryan Ellitt led Sikeston with 14 points.

* Partee was named the tournament's MVP. Also on the all-tournament team were T.J. Branum of New Madrid, Ellitt of Sikeston, James Cullins of Blytheville, Anderson of Blytheville, Mike Kilgore of Poplar Bluff, Conner of Cape Central, Brandon Barnes of Sikeston, Anton McKinney of Kennett, and Jeffrey Ewing of Charleston.