Mules 38, Cape Central 27

That's not a typo or a halftime score, that's the final.

Poplar Bluff took a 34-21 lead into the fourth quarter after holding the Tigers to two third-quarter points. After Central pulled to within nine with 6:10 remaining, Frazier had his ballhandler wait near midcourt for the Tigers to come out of their zone to guard.

For the next 2 minutes, the Mules passed around the perimeter looking for an easy shot, but Central stayed packed in a zone.

Poplar Bluff took a timeout with 4:29 left and again at 2:05 while the Tigers used up their three fouls to give. Finally with 1:57 to go, Central's Blake Ozbun picked off a pass, but the Tigers missed a 3-point shot.

Riley Raulston closed out the game by hitting all four of his free throws in the final 49 seconds.

Raulston finished with a game-high 18 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and 4-of-7 at the free-throw line. His brother Jay did not score for the first time in his career, missing four shots from the field, but had seven rebounds, a block and two steals.

Andrew Williams led Central with nine points.

In 2006-07, the two teams combined for 52 points when the Tigers beat Poplar Bluff, 29-23 in overtime. In that game it was Central holding the ball for the entire second quarter.

This time, however, it may have been more about who was watching in the stands than who the Mules were playing.

When asked if the fact that Poplar Bluff's next opponent was scouting the Mules had any bearing on his strategy in the fourth quarter, coach Lamont Frazier smiled.

"Our guys played hard, they created turnovers and we got ourselves a lead," Frazier said later. "We basically, down the stretch, took care of the basketball and were able to win the game."

By the way, here's the MSHSAA record for fewest points scored in a game:

Mexico (2) vs. Fulton (0), Jan. 30, 1948

In the very early days of basketball -- before Tom Hoover even played -- there would be a jump ball after every made basket. Teams with a taller player would win the tipoff, score, win the next tipoff and pass for the rest of the game to win 2-0.

Is that boring or does that make for an exciting game?