Puxico rallies at home to defeat Richland

The two teams will be again in the first round of the Class 2, District 2 tournament at Chaffee on Saturday, Feb. 23.

"Defensively we are going to have to step up about three notches next time we play them (Richland)," Puxico coach Josh Dowdy said. "We're going to have to have better defensive intensity for four quarters, not just one."

Richland got 20 points from Drew Thornton, 15 from Mikey Latham and 11 from Nick Harris, and the Rebels out-scored the Indians on their home court in each of the first two quarters to take a 35-30 lead.

Puxico came out in the third and clamped on the defense while racking up 28 points to surge ahead.

"We just came out and executed our offense better in the third," Dowdy said. "We got a good defensive effort, but we're going to have to perform like that for four quarters when we play them again."

David Crain scored 20 points to lead the Indians, while Kerry McClure finished with 17, John Smith netted 16, Matt Allison dropped in 14 and J Hon hit two 3-pointers for six points.

Puxico will play its last regular-season game Thursday at home against Twin Rivers before opening district play on Saturday.

The Indians are seeded No. 2 at the district tournament while the dangerous, upset minded Rebels enter as a No. 7 seed. Hayti is the district's No. 1 seed.

Puxico improved to 14-9 overall and 4-2 in SCAA play.

Bernie 80, Holcomb 43

HOLCOMB -- Bernie picked up its 20th win of the season with a 80-43 decision over Holcomb on the road Tuesday.

Bernie exploded for 55 first half points to settle this game early.

"It's nice to hit that 20 win mark," Bernie coach Brad Botsch said. "We had some goals this season and hitting that 20 win plateau was one of them.

" The kids have really earned a lot of respect this season," Botsch continued. "They have worked very hard for everything that they have gotten and you won't find a more dedicated group of players anywhere. I'm really proud of them. However, we're not satisfied. We have another goal in mind and the quest to achieve that one begins on Saturday," he added, referring to the upcoming district tournament.

Bernie got 18 points from Jake Owens, 14 from Quinton Stevens and 12 from Jake Smith, but it was defense that helped notch the win, according to Botsch.

"I thought we played great defense in the first half tonight (Tuesday)," Botsch pointed out. " Our pressure caused numerous turn-overs and it was nice to see the kids really firing on all cylinders. We really played well together and shared the ball about as well as we have all year. We are coming together at the right time, I just hope we can keep this run going."

Bernie, now 20-5 on the season, will open district play at Holcomb at 4 p. m. Saturday against this same Holcomb team. Bernie is the Class 2, District 4 tournament's No. 2 seed behind No. 1 Hayti, while Holcomb enters as the No. 7 seed.