Edwards’ 14 points lift Cape Central past Poplar Bluff 51-35

CAPE GIRARDEAU — Poplar Bluff boys’ basketball paid the price for leaving TySeanDre’ Edwards open all night.

The junior forward dropped 14 points to lead Cape Central past the Mules 51-35 on Friday night at Cape Central High School.

Edwards also grabbed six rebounds while finishing second on the team in scoring, with each of his points coming in the paint. Matayo Rivers and Goliath Morris-Young added 15 and nine points, respectively, for Cape Central (13-4), which has now won six in a row.

"We're just coming together and learning as we go," Edwards said. "We keep striving, just taking it one game at a time.

"Coach talks about starting at the rim then to the paint then to the perimeter. So, we attack the paint all the time and that's where all of our points are going to come from anyway. The 3 is the last thing we're worried about. We're always going to start in the paint."

That's exactly where the Tigers thrived on Friday.

Edwards benefited from Poplar Bluff (8-11) shading off him and had plenty of room to get shots off in the paint all game long. When Edwards would come off a ball screen, he could look to pass to sharpshooters Rivers and Mar'K Mills, who finished with six points, in the corner or make a play on his own.

"My attitude has gotten a lot better," Edwards said when asked where he has grown the most since the start of the season. "I'm still working on that, but we're working on that as a team too."

Rivers’ perimeter shooting and Edwards’ work inside helped the Tigers early and often. After leading by 12 at the end of the first quarter, the potent duo combined for four points during a 6-1 spurt to hand Cape Central a 15-point cushion.

The Tigers led 24-9 at halftime after holding the Mules to just a single point over the last 10:15.

The second half was nearly a foil of the first. Cape Central continued to use a formula that’s proven to be so effective for most of this season: blitzing teams defensively, getting to the rim and rebounding at a high level, and wearing opponents down with long offensive possessions.

"It's just a matter of us settling in to what we do," head coach Lamont Frazier said. "The best way I can define what everybody is doing right now is that they are taking on their roles and making them better. I think as long as you have a group of guys who are willing to do that, then everybody gets an opportunity to do something on a nightly basis and not just predominantly one guy. These guys have been fun to coach."

Edwards continued to find his groove in the final two quarters. A fast-break dunk got the 6-foot-7 junior started midway through the third before he put an exclamation point on the night with a second thunderous slam dunk to make it 48-32 with 2:48 remaining.

"I just love coming in here and hooping for the people that are coming to watch us," Edwards said with a smile. "I appreciate the fans so much. They just don't know how much I care about them."

Sophomore Justin Briscoe had a team-high 12 points and junior Dallas Williams added 10 to lead the Poplar Bluff scoring attack.

Looking ahead, the Tigers return to their home court tomorrow when they host Jefferson City at 5:30 p.m. Poplar Bluff is back in action on Tuesday when the Mules travel to New Madrid County Central for a 7:30 p.m. contest.

"I think our guys are continuing to build on what they do in practice," Frazier said. "For us, it's a high level of thinking, but right now we're just trying to understand offensive progressions from the time we get the ball. Each game out for us we've gotten a little bit better at it."