U-HIGH TOURNAMENT SEMIFINAL PARINGS SET; SCOTT CITY ROLLS PAST CENTRAL

It was supposed to be better than a typical game between No. 2 vs. No. 7 seeds.

But Scott City, which entered the Bank of Missouri University High School Christmas Tournament with its only non-tournament loss since February of 1997, re-established why it was seeded second in the 55th annual U-High tourney.

The Class 2A Rams dominated the Class 4A Tigers Tuesday night at the Show Me Center, advancing to the semifinals with a 73-55 quarterfinal victory.

"This (win) gives our kids confidence," said Scott City coach Derek McCord. "People say a lot of things about our schedule. But we like to get our shots at the (Class) 4As."

Scott City will play its second 4A opponent in a row at 7:30 tonight when it takes on No. 3 Jackson, which eased past Scott County Central Tuesday.

Cape Central's 6-foot-5 Ross Conner and Scott City's 6-6 Ryan Weatherspoon each lived up to their end of the bargain in what figured to be the best big-man battle in the tournament.

Conner ended up with 19 points, including 15 in the second half. Weatherspoon, despite playing through foul trouble, finished with 16 points and seven rebounds.

Perhaps the most impressive performance, however, came from Scott City point guard David Enderle. Enderle finished with 13 points, 11 steals and eight assists. Enderle's teammate Ronald Watson was equally close to a triple-double, getting 16 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.

The Rams, who improved their record to 8-1, dominated from the beginning, hitting 10 of their 13 shots in the first quarter and jumping out to a 23-14 lead after the opening period.

Scott City led 36-20 at halftime and shot 68 percent from the field in the first half.

"I didn't think we played very well defensively," said Cape Central coach Brett Reutzel. "We need to work on our defensive intensity. We're athletic enough to play good defense."

Conversely, McCord thought his team's defense led to a lot of easy baskets.

"Defensively, it was a real good effort," McCord said. "We were sluggish on offense at times."

While the Rams were making easy shots, Cape Central had a lousy shooting night from the field, making just 35 percent of its shots (22-for-62), including just five of 17 from 3-point range for 29 percent.

Reutzel wasn't displeased with the shot selection, however.

"They did a good job on Ross and my hat's off to them," Reutzel said. "They also had Eric (Wessel) covered up. Somebody else has got to start hitting the shots. We're shooting some 15-foot shots and some open threes. We just didn't shoot the ball real well."

Scott City had four players in double figures Enderle, Watson, Weatherspoon and Ben Sample, who scored 11 points.

Weatherspoon got into foul trouble early, picking up his third with about 2:30 left in the second quarter.

"I can't say enough about the job that Matt Miller and Nick Steimle did," said McCord. "They did a great job defensively when Spoon got in foul trouble."

Wessel joined Conner as the only other Tiger in double figures. Wessel scored 12 points.

Conner put on an offensive show in the third quarter, scoring four field goals in a five-possession stretch.

"Ross turned the level of his game up a little and Spoon was in foul trouble, so that had a lot to do with it," said Reutzel. "But we played better as a team in the second half. If we play that hard in the first half, we may not have won it, but it would've been just two teams battling."

Cape Central, which had a three-game winning streak snapped and fell to 3-5, will play Scott County Central at 4:30 p.m. today in the fifth-place semifinals.