Kennett Indians fall short against Cape Girardeau Central on Senior Night

KENNETT, Mo. - It was Senior Night for the Kennett Indians, as they looked to defend their court one last time this season against the Cape Girardeau Central Tigers.

The celebrations, however, were spoiled as Kennett took a nine-point defeat. The Tigers would win their final regular season game 50-41.

The night began with a ceremony recognizing each senior from the boys and girls basketball teams as well as the lone senior cheerleader.

Emma Bodkin was the first senior honored from the cheer team, followed by Jayla Ellis and Anekia Farmer of the girls basketball team. The three boys basketball seniors playing in their final home game as a Kennett Indian included Dyson Watson, Hayden Gilmore and Sacory (Cory) Ray.

Following the senior ceremony was the tip-off.

The Indians started off strong, challenging their Class 5 opponent and getting the first few baskets of the game.

The Tigers were able to bounce back, however, and grabbed a 10-8 lead to conclude the first quarter. At halftime, the score was only 27-15 with Cape Girardeau Central holding on to the lead.

The low-scoring first half was a testament to each team’s defense in this competition.

Even though neither team was finding the bottom of the net as well as they had hoped, Cape Girardeau Central’s head coach Lamont Frazier was proud of his guys for keeping composure throughout the competition and working as a team.

“We showed flashes of us playing well together on both ends of the floor,” Frazier said. “In a game where we had very limited possessions, I thought we did a good job of staying in control and taking advantage of opportunities when they presented themselves.”

The score difference continued to rock back and forth. At times, it would grow to a double-digit lead for the Tigers. In other periods, the deficit would shrink to striking distance for Kennett to regain the upper hand.

According to Frazier, once more, it was all about composure in carrying out this hard-fought victory.

Matayo Rivers, a 6’0” senior point guard, was the Tigers leading scorer with 12 points. Senior Mar’K Mills and sophomore Goliath Morris-Young each also added 10 points to Cape Girardeau Central’s total.

The Indians held their hats on junior Tyquavious (Ty) Jones who helped keep his team in contact throughout the second half. He scored 11 in the fourth quarter to finish with a game-high 15 total points. Gilmore would also add 11 points to their total for his senior night performance.

Even with this victory, granting the Tigers a 17-7 finishing regular-season record, Frazier wants to see his team continue to progress in the postseason.

“You always want to continue to get better and improve,” Frazier said. “If you continue to get better, you will always give yourself an opportunity to beat someone else out there who is playing at their best.”

Now the Tigers will look to prepare for their Class 5 District 1 assignment where they have the third most wins behind Sikeston and Farmington.

Meanwhile, the Indians gear up for their final regular season game against Doniphan on Thursday, Feb. 26.

Following this competition, the No. 3 seeded Kennett Indians will travel to Fredericktown to play No. 6 Perryville on March 3 for the first round of their Class 4 District 1 assignment.