Hayti, Doniphan will battle in championship game

Puxico's J. Hon (No. 11) stretches for a rebound during Friday's 58-55 semifinal loss to No. 1 Hayti. Looking on is John Smith (No. 15). [Click to enlarge]

Daily Statesman Sports Editor

BLOOMFIELD -- Puxico finally ran into a giant it couldn't slay.

After playing giant killer in the first two rounds, Puxico's unlikely run in the 51st Annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament came to an end at the hands of No. 1 seed Hayti, 58-55, Friday night.

Puxico, seeded No. 12, knocked off No. 5 Dexter on opening day then ambushed No. 4 Bloomfield on day two to reach its semifinal clash with the talented Hayti Indians.

Puxico and Hayti filled Bloomfield's historic gymnasium with electricity in the opening period as the two teams raced up and down the floor producing one exciting play after another, including six 3-pointers. Hayti's Jerome Covington brought the rip snortin' first period to an end with a half-court buzzer beater. When fans finally had time to catch a breath, the scoreboard showed Hayti on top, 28-23.

"They punched us in the face with a bunch of shots there in the first quarter and the first half," Puxico coach Josh Dowdy said. "They knocked down a lot of shots. That was probably due to us sagging in our man-to-man, we just sagged down deep to let them take their shots and that's what I wanted, but they knocked them down on us.

"I knew it was a matter of time until those wouldn't fall," Dowdy continued. "I kept telling the guys to hang in there. We responded well on the offensive end. We stuck around, staying within eight or ten, and that was want I was looking for, and I thought we could make a run at the end. I didn't think their shots would fall for the entire game.

"We hung around and we made that little surge there at the end," he reflected. "Maybe a basket there by J (Hon), a 3-point shot (that) would have fell could have changed things. He was so lights out the first two games, it's just a matter of time before he will knock them down again."

Puxico never led in the game and trailed 38-29 at the half. Puxico still trailed by nine after three (47-38), but the Indians rallied in the fourth to cut the margin to two, 55-53 when John Smith's 15-foot jumper rattled home with 2:27 remaining and forced Hayti coach Philip Taylor to call a timeout.

Hayti quickly turned the ball over and Hon got a good look at a 3-pointer, but the shot was just off the mark.

Puxico was forced to foul Hayti's big man, 6'6" Williams Cooper, who sank both free throws to push the advantage to four, 57-53.

Another desperation three was off the mark, and Hayti's Covington connected on one-of-two charity shots (58-53), before Smith scored with 23 second remaining.

Puxico sent Hayti to the line two more times where they missed the front end both times, but Puxico couldn't capitalize on the opportunity.

Smith knocked down a game-high 26 points, most of them coming on free throws (14-of-19) after driving the lane and drawing fouls.

"He' got an unbelievable talent as far as penetrating to the hole," Dowdy said of Smith. "He can really collapse any defense. He did a great job of coming to a jump stop and shot to get those guys off their feet. We wanted him to kick if out a little more tonight (Friday), we have some 3-point shooters out there, but that's just part of John's maturation process. Sometimes I forget that he's just a sophomore, but he does so many things right. He takes the bull by the horns and he takes it to the hole and I love that about him."

Dowdy said he under estimated just how talented the tournament's No. 1 seed was.

"I didn't realize they shot the ball so well from the outside, and if they continue to do that, they'll be tough to beat," Dowdy said. "And the big guy (Cooper) in the middle was just tough. He was a tough matchup for us. Hats off to him."

Cooper finished with 15 points, while George Hamilton led Hayti with 17.

Hayti was scheduled to play No. 3 Doniphan, a 48-30 winner over the defending champion Malden Green Wave, Saturday, but due to press deadlines and the New Year's holiday, those results will not be in The Daily Statesman until Wednesday's edition.