Poplar Bluff stuns impotent Cape Central in tourney opener

Poplar Bluff senior Chance Campbell drives to the basket past Cape Central sophomore Cameron Williams in the opening round of the SEMO Conference Boy's Basketball Tournament at the Sikeston Fieldhouse on Monday.

Tony Capobianco ~ Tcapobianco@semoball.com

SIKESTON — Cape Central’s first foray into life after Tyrus Reddin didn’t go as planned Monday.

The Tigers didn’t have Reddin, who graduated last spring as the most successful Cape Central basketball player in history, and their inability to score was apparent, as Cape fell to Poplar Bluff 58-42 in the opening round of the SEMO Conference Boy’s Basketball Tournament at the Sikeston Fieldhouse.

The No. 8-seed Mules (2-0) knocked off the Tigers (0-1), who became the first top-seed in this tournament to fall in its opening game since the tournament was restarted in 2006.

“Our kids played hard,” Poplar Bluff coach William Durden said, “and they played with a lot of confidence.”

That is something that the Mules seem to often possess against Cape Central.

The Tigers won 22 games a year ago, while Poplar Bluff struggled to a 9-16 mark, yet that didn’t stop the Mules from splitting the two games with Cape.

“We never play very good at the beginning of the year,” Durden said. “It seems like we match up every year.”

Cape Central had beaten Poplar Bluff three consecutive years in this tournament, but in the last eight games between the two teams, the series is a dead-even split at four wins apiece.

“Cape is a tough team,” Durden said. “They are a well-coached team and they are going to be really good at the end of the year.”

That may be the case but the Tigers struggled offensively on Monday from the opening tip.

The Mules jumped out to a 6-0 advantage to start the game, however, Cape Central rallied to close the opening quarter on a 9-2 run to lead 9-8.

Cape’s problems began to show in the second quarter, as Poplar Bluff continued to pressure the Tigers defensively.

The Mules got offense from six different players in the second period and outscored the Tigers 15-8 and never trailed again.

Durden felt his players’ effort defensively was fueling their success offensively.

We have to get a lot better offensively,” Durden said. “Our best offense is getting out and getting some turnovers and getting some easy lay-ups.

“When we are doing that, we are scoring it pretty good.”

That momentum – at both ends – carried through halftime, as the Mules outscored Cape Central 14-6 in the third period and led 37-23 going into the final quarter.

Cape Central assistant coach Jeff Beck told Semoball.com recently that “this is probably the tallest team we have had,” as he spoke of the past few seasons and Durden felt his team was effective against that length, which included Cameron Williams (6-foot-7, sophomore), Cameron Harris (6-foot-4, junior), and junior guard Jonathan Brandtner (6-foot-5).

“I thought we did a good job of blocking the guys out,” Durden said. “They are really big and athletic. They are skilled but our guys just hunkered down and forced them into just one shot.”

Poplar Bluff got points from eight different players, led by Joseph Hardimon and Chance Campbell, who each had 13 points.

Gage Rivers added 10 in the victory, as the Mules sank 15 of 17 free throws to help their cause.

Darion Triplett and Harris paced the Tigers with 14 points apiece.

Cape Central had just five players score and it missed half of its 10 free throws.

Durden was coaching his first game of the season. He missed the Mules’ win over Kennett in the No. 8 vs. No. 9 game to open the tournament due to having been in quarantine.

Poplar Bluff advances to face No. 4-seed Notre Dame (2-0) Wednesday at 6 p.m., while Cape Central faces Dexter (1-1) in a consolation semifinal today at 6 p.m.