WILDCATS NIP DEVILS WITH LONG COMEBACK

LEOPOLD, Mo. -- Leopold celebrated the return of head coach Carlton Thoma to the sideline with a 45-44 come-from-behind victory over Chaffee.

Thoma, who underwent heart bypass surgery and had been out since the University High Christmas Tournament, was given a thorough medical test in the one-point victory. The Wildcats fell behind by 11 points early in the game and never led until Scott VanGennip provided the game's final points with a 3-point shot with just over a minute remaining.

Chaffee scored half of its 44 points in the first quarter when it jumped out to a 22-13 lead. The Red Devils took a 27-20 lead into halftime and still held a 37-29 lead entering the fourth quarter. Leopold (8-9) outscored Chaffee 16-7 down the stretch to pull out the win.

Daniel Schaab and Ashton James tallied 16 points apiece for Leopold.

Chase Eskew netted a game-high 20 points for Chaffee, which also received 13 points from Perry Rice.

Notre Dame 74, Scott Central 35

The Bulldogs romped over a depleted Scott Central squad before a Senior Night crowd.

Improving to 16-5, the Bulldogs had no problem with a Braves team which fielded only six players.

Notre Dame took a 34-20 lead into the halftime, and thoroughly dominated the second half, outscoring the Braves 40-15.

Three Bulldogs scored in double digits led by Jonathan Ressel and Mark Rubel with 15 points apiece. Michael Hoffman netted 12.

Todd Blissett paced Scott County with 13 points, while Desmen Johnson and Terrance Williams tallied 10 apiece.

Scott City 69, Kelly 64

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- The Rams captured their sixth straight Scott-Mississippi Conference title with the win.

Kelly came out on fire in the opening quarter to take a 24-12 lead over the sluggish Rams, and held a 39-35 advantage at the intermission.

Scott City turned up the defensive intensity in the second half edging ahead 49-48 at the end of the third quarter. The Rams outscored the Hawks 20-16 in the final quarter to close out the win.

The streaking Rams (16-5, 6-0) also recorded their eighth consecutive win.

Scoring leaders for Scott City were Ben Sample and Nick Steimle with 19 and 18 points, respectively. D. J. Walton chipped in with 16 points.

Scott City's JV squad won 59-47 over Kelly to claim the JV conference title.

Tyler Ward led the Rams with 19 points as they improved to 11-6, 5-0 in the conference.

Perryville 71, Festus 53

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- The Pirates' win gives them a shot at sharing the championship of the Jefferson County Conference.

Perryville (15-7) improved to 7-1 in the conference and will meet conference leader De Soto (8-0) on Friday.

Leading 33-20 at the half, the Pirates increased their margin with a 25-point, fourth-quarter outburst.

The Pirate attack featured two players with double-double performances on the night.

Chad Ozark led Perryville with 23 points and 20 rebounds, while Tyler Abernathy scored 11 and handed out 11 assists.

The Pirates' dominance on the offensive and defensive boards were key as they continually got second and third chances while limiting Festus to single shots.

Oran 75, Richland 72

ORAN, Mo. -- The Oran Eagles weathered a fourth-quarter storm to defeat the Richland Rebels.

Oran (13-6) led 49-42 going into the final period before the Rebels got hot from 3-point range, hitting five of their six treys to tighten the margin. Richland outscored Oran 30-26 in the fourth quarter.

The Eagles were able to exhale when a final 3-pointer missed at the horn.

Adam Friga led the Eagles with 24 points, knocking down 10 of 11 free throws in the fourth quarter. As a team, Oran hit 15 of 17 from the charity stripe in the period.

Ryne Wood added 18 points for the Eagles.

St. Vincent 70, Crystal City 67

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- St. Vincent claimed its fifth small-school division title in the past seven years in the Jefferson County Conference with a narrow victory over Crystal City.

St. Vincent, 12-6 overall and 4-0 in the small school division, found itself trailing by four points midway through the fourth quarter but recovered for the win.

Mark Gotto and Tyler Wengert both led the way with 18 points apiece while Ryan Brown tacked on 16 points.

St. Vincent led 39-35 at halftime and took a 56-52 lead into the fourth quarter.

Advance 42, Woodland 37

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Adam Rainey scored 12 points and Cain Kelley added 11 as Advance improved to 15-7 on the season with a victory over Woodland.

Ryan Bandermann scored 12 points to lead Woodland and Luke Johnson contributed 10.

"It wasn't real pretty," said Advance coach Jim Hall. "Both teams played hard and both teams turned the ball over."

Advance led 16-10 after one quarter and led 26-21 at halftime. The Hornets nursed a 31-28 victory into the fourth quarter and held off Woodland.