Woodland rallies to set up consolation final vs. Advance

In a whistle-filled shootout, No. 11 Woodland overcame a six-point deficit in the final two minutes of regulation to force overtime and beat Meadow Heights 87-81 in an seMissourian Christmas Tournament consolation semifinal Saturday at the Show Me Center.

The two teams combined for 57 fouls in the game, three more than total field goals between the teams. Each team had its share of calls and no-calls as the referees let the teams play a physical style.

While the second half featured 41 free-throw attempts, the first half saw both teams running their offenses and making things happen. Cody McCraw and Luke Johnson carried the Woodland (6-5) offense early, while Joey Bell lit it up for the Panthers (6-3).

Cardinals coach Ted Hahn said through the course of the game he saw his team's offensive system starting to work.

"Sometimes you wonder if what you're doing is right," he said.

While Woodland's offense had a solid first half, its defense could not stop Bell, who scored 20 first-half points. Although Bell's scoring numbers continued to climb in the third quarter, the Cardinals chipped away at Meadow Heights' seven-point halftime lead.

With the help of guard Alex VanGennip and Johnson, the Cardinals took a seven point deficit and turned it into a six point lead by the end of the quarter. VanGennip scored 15 points in the third, and Johnson added eights points and several key rebounds.

With the Panthers already at 10 fouls by the end of the third quarter, the fourth quarter turned into a free-throw shooting fest. Neither team capitalized with Woodland going 4-of-12 and Meadow Heights 6-of-11. With a couple of key baskets from junior Brad Adams and freshman Terry Wagner, the Panthers found themselves up late.

"I thought we had it," Meadow Heights coach Tom Brown said. "I felt if we played smart we would finish them off."

The Panthers couldn't hold onto their late lead though, and with a circus shot, sophomore Anthony Grojean tied the game at 74 with 23 seconds left. The Panthers had a shot to win late, but Bell couldn't hit from the outside.

Overtime was all Woodland and Travis Benfield. The Cardinals' 6-foot-2 junior scored 10 of his 12 points in overtime, sinking four big free throws down the stretch.

"I knew when we got into overtime we could do it," Brown said.

Bell led all scorers with 36 points for the Panthers, the highest scoring total for a game in the tournament so far. VanGennip led the Cardinals with 26 points, and Johnson added 20. McCraw added 12 for the Cardinals before fouling out. Chris Burr had 10 for the Panthers, Adams had 12 and Wagner added 13.

-- Jeremy Joffray

Advance 75, Scott County Central 58

Advance eliminated Scott County Central from the consolation semifinals Saturday morning with another big win for the Hornets, a day after they handed coach Jim Hall his 500th coaching win.

"This is by far the best game we have played all year long," Hall said. "We played smart and the way I wanted to play as far as taking care of the ball and being aggressive."

Ernest McCray started things off when he converted a fast break layup for Scott Central (5-4), but Jason Bahr responded with a three on the other end. After an early start for Scott Central, the Hornets settled down and scored 13 of the final 17 points in the quarter to answer the Braves' early call and take a 16-15 lead into the second quarter.

That would be the only answering Advance would have to do all afternoon.

Sharpshooting guard Jared Ritter entered the game in the second quarter for the first time after sitting out the first due to a problem with "time management," Hall said.

Ritter's entrance sparked the Hornets to a 24-16 advantage when he knocked down a 3-pointer and followed up with jumper in the paint to contribute to his 27-point day. The Hornets' defense held the Braves to three second-quarter points for a 34-18 halftime cushion.

Scott County cut the lead to 10 after halftime before Jason Bahr's 3-pointer ended the run. Advance got the lead back to 15 quickly with a full-court press that forced an abundance of turnovers.

Despite a trio of three pointers by Braves guard, Josh Boley, in the fourth quarter the Braves could never get within 12 as Ritter sank 10 free throws in the fourth quarter.

"We wanted to play four nights, like everybody else," Hall said. "We lost the first game, but we kept our heads up and played hard, and now we get to play for a championship."

Bahr scored 20 points for the Hornets. Zach Kelly contributed 12, while Zach Hudson added 14.

The Braves were led by McCray and DuJuan Watkins with 10 apiece.--David Unterreiner