YATES CENTER — As they did five nights earlier in a gutted-out win to Crest, Southern Coffey County was in control early Tuesday evening.
But, they weren’t able to hold on this time.
“It was the best half of basketball I’d seen us play, ever,” SCC head coach Zach Douglas said.
But Marais des Cygnes Valley turned the tide and took control with a 23-8 third-quarter outburst.
The Titans couldn’t recover. Southern Coffey County got within three points down the stretch, but no closer in a 49-42 loss.
The defeat came in the opening round of Yates Center’s Wildcat Winter Classic.
In other tournament action, host Yates Center had little trouble dispatching Altoona-Midway, rolling to a 64-19 rout.
Yates Center advances to take on Marais Des Cygnes Valley in the championship quarterfinals, at 3:30 p.m. Thursday in Norris Gymnasium. Southern Coffey County plays Altoona-Midway at 8 p.m. Thursday, also in Norris Gymnasium, for the consolation semifinal.
Southern Coffey County’s defense was downright stifling early on.
The Titans raced to an 11-5 lead after one quarter and a 21-10 cushion by halftime.
“Any time you can hold a team like that to 10 points in a half, you’ve played some great defense,” Douglas said.
But Marais des Cygnes Valley guards Christian Cannon and Zave Goodrich took control after intermission, combining for 15 points in the third quarter. Goodrich drilled a pair of critical three-pointers as the Trojans turned their halftime deficit into a 33-29 lead.
The lead wavered between four and six points until SCC’s Chonnor Ludolph scored on a putback, followed by a free throw from Josiah Witteman to cut the deficit to 41-38.
Goodrich took it from there, converting a three-point play with 1:15 left, adding a layup with 50 seconds on the clock and finding teammate Chase Allen for an easy layup with 20 seconds left to secure the win.
Witteman helped keep things close down the stretch, scoring 11 of his game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter. Ludolph and Dakota Gibson each added eight points. Walker Harred scored six before fouling out.
Goodrich scored 15 of his 16 points in the second half to lead the Trojans. Cannon added 14 and Tristan Patterson scored 11.
YATES CENTER erased any such drama in its season-opener, holding leads of 10-0, 17-3, 27-5 and 40-9 in the first half.
“They did just what I wanted them to,” first-year head coach Tanner Davis said. “They came out and played aggressively from the start.”
There were several offensive stars. Brett Holloway scored all of his game-high 22 points in the first three quarters. Kal Hamm scored all 13 of his points by halftime. Meanwhile, freshman Jordan Smith scored nine points, all but two coming in the second period.
Tanner Engelman scored eight to lead the Jets.
On the other side of the bracket, Cherryvale takes on Hartford on the winners’ side Thursday, while Sedan plays Lebo in consolation play.
The final round is Friday.
Altoona-Midway (5-4-8-2—19) (FG-FT-F-TP): Engelman 3-2-2-8, Walker 0-0-2-0, Carrol 2-0-2-4, Caylor 0-0-1-0, D. Phillips 1-1-3-3, Carter 1-0-4-2, Secrest 1-0-2-2. TOTALS: 8-3-17-19.
Yates Center (21-19-19-5—64) FG-FT-F-TP): Bruner 2-0-2-4, Splechter 2-2-3-6, Holloway 10-2-1-22, Smith 3-3-5-9, Busteed 3-0-3-6, Zimmerman 2-0-0-4, Hamm 6-1-3-13. TOTALS: 28-8-17-64