Poplar Bluff cruises, Chaffee gets first win

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- After a sluggish start, Poplar Bluff used a 17-0 run in the second quarter to pull away at Notre Dame in SEMO Conference play Friday night.

The Mules (17-6) improved to 5-0 in conference play while winning their eighth straight and pulling into a tie with Charleston for the SEMO lead with two games to play. The two teams meet Friday at Peters Gym where Poplar Bluff has won 23 straight dating back to a 2001 loss to Sikeston in overtime.

At Notre Dame, the fifth-ranked Mules led 18-10 after the first quarter but Bryce Willen pulled the Bulldogs (4-19, 0-7 SEMO) within six to start the second frame.

Poplar Bluff responded with 13 points off turnovers in scoring 17 unanswered, taking a 21-point lead on Tyler Hansbrough's dunk with five minutes left in the half. Senior Anthony Gilberto led the charge, scoring 14 of his 16 points in the second half. His 3-pointer with just over a minute left in the half finished a 28-7 swing and put Poplar Bluff up 26.

The Mules knocked down 68 percent of their shots in the first half for the fourth straight game and led 46-24 at the break.

Hansbrough finished with a game-high 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field and was 4-for-6 at the line. Fellow junior Brad Chronister finished with a career-high 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting and had three steals.

Devon Brown scored nine and Ben Hansbrough chipped in five points and seven assists for the Mules, who travel to Kennett on Monday.

-Daily American Republic

POPLAR BLUFF -- Twin Rivers sophomore Kade McBroom hit a go-ahead 3-pointer before coming up with a game-winning block in the finals seconds to secure an 81-80 overtime win over East Carter in the finals of the Ozark Foothills Conference Tournament Friday at the Black River Coliseum.

East Carter (18-4) scored the final six points of the fourth quarter to force overtime. The game went back-and-forth until a free throw by Brandon Crook gave the Redbirds a 80-78 lead with 17 seconds remaining in overtime.

Struggling to find someone to shot, Twin Rivers got the ball into the hands of McBroom at the top of the key. The sophomore reluctantly took the shot, hitting nothing but net with six seconds remaining.

East Carter quickly inbounded the ball and threw it the length of the court and out of nowhere McBroom blocked a shot out of bounds with 1.6 seconds on the clock. The Redbirds last ditch effort to lob the ball into the hands of Trevor Douglas was knocked away, securing a one-point victory for Twin Rivers (16-5).

Twin Rivers wins the season series 2-1 with the overtime win. The Royals defeated East Carter in the semifinals of the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament before the Redbirds returned the favor a week later at Ellsinore.

Michael Lance paced with 25 points. Jared Stockton and Jason Baucom added 13 each.

All-stater David Reynolds led East Carter with 26 points. Tyler Stahl added 24 in the loss.

- Daily American Republic

ZALMA - The Woodland Cardinals improved their record with a 62-32 win over the Zalma Bulldogs.

The Cardinals took advantage of 19 points from Cody McCraw and a 30-13 halftime lead to get the win.

Woodland's Chad Hulvey, who was injured in an earlier game, did not play and is out 5-10 days, according to head coach David Mirly.

- Southeast Missourian

ADVANCE - After trailing 15-14 in the first quarter, the Hornet offense cranked it up a notch as they saw four of their five scorers in double figures on the night, beating Delta 67-50.

The victory moved Advance to 13-8 on the season as the Hornets prepare for district play. After a Feb. 14 game against South Iron, the Hornets' next action will be their final home game of the season as they host Oran on Tuesday (Feb. 17) for senior night.

- Southeast Missourian

MALDEN - The Bernie Mules got a lift as Zach Dill returned to the lineup for their game against Malden. In his first game back, Dill dropped in 27 points, including four three-pointers. It wasn't enough, however, as Malden had three players in double digits in the 74-49 Greenwave win.

"We finally have Zach back," Bernie coach Morris Karnes noted. "He broke his hand the third game of the season and was just released from a hard cast on Wednesday. Even though we were not able to compete with Malden, we hope that with him back - even though we still have three out and have never had all of our players healthy at one time all year - we will be more competitive the rest of the season."

- Daily Statesman

CHAFFEE - Host Chaffee notched its first victory of the season by avenging an earlier loss to Oak Ridge.

Brandon Davis led the Red Devils (1-16) with 19 points. For Oak Ridge, Austin Morrison scored 14 points and Austin Hahs added 10.

"It's been a long time coming, but the kids have continued to work hard," Chaffee coach Brian Horrell said.

- Southeast Missourian

Leopold 47,

CAPE GIRARDEAU - Michael Vandeven hit two free throws in the final seconds, and Leopold defeated Saxony Lutheran on the road.

Brandon Bueter led Leopold (10-10) with 17 points. Lucas Horrell added 15.

Casey Petzoldt led Saxony (14-4) with 23.

- Southeast Missourian

DESOTO - St. Vincent trailed powerhouse De Soto by just six points at halftime but the visiting Dragons (21-2) pulled away down the stretch.

Alex Armbruster led the Indians (9-8) with 15 points. Danny Rellergert and Jacob DeWilde both had 10.

- Southeast Missourian

PERRYVILLE - Perryville could not overcome 32 points by Grandview's Mitchell Wood as the Pirates fell in overtime at home.

The Pirates (5-16) were led by Jared bendorfer with 13 points. Nick Hayden and Chad Stelling both had 12 while Andrew Norman added 11.

- Southeast Missourian

PATTON - Josh King exploded for 32 points as visiting Marquand knocked off shorthanded Meadow Heights.

Also in double figures for the Tigers (8-12) were Keith Proctor with 16 points, Adam Statler with 13 and Jay Francis with 10.

For the Panthers (10-9), Anthony Bollinger had 13 points and Terry Wagner 12.

One starter missed the entire game and three starters sat out the first half because of team disciplinary action.

- Southeast Missourian