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Tigers upset Twin Rivers
NEW MADRID - In the 2000-2001 season, the Caruthersville Tigers finally won their first district championship in school history.
Just three years later, they have their second.
The second-seeded Tigers rallied from 13 down to defeat top-seeded Twin Rivers 58-44 on Friday night in the Class 3, District 1 Tournament at New Madrid County Central High School.
Caruthersville, ranked 9th in the state, will play No. 3 ranked Charleston in the Class 3 Sectional at Poplar Bluff High School on Wednesday at 8:15 p.m.
The Tigers, which trailed 42-41 with 2:30 left in the game, took the lead for good on a drive to the basket by Marshane Foreman.
After that, Caruthersville (20-8) put on a free throw exhibition to remember, hitting 15-of-16 in the final 1:40.
Junior forward Plessie Ellitt, made all 12 of his attempts during the stretch and was a perfect 14-of-14 on the night. The Tigers made 18-of-21 in the game.
All this just one day after making just 3-of-14 in a double overtime win against Portageville.
"We made darn sure that Plessie Ellitt touched the basketball on every inbounds play," said second-year Caruthersville head coach Brian Brandtner. "He was the one that stepped up and proved that he was going to hit them. Last night we were lucky to beat a team like Portageville only making three free throws. Tonight we stepped up and hit them in the fourth quarter. That probably made the score look a little bit worse that it actually was."
In addition to the stellar free throw shooting, Caruthersville's full-court press and ultra-quick guards caused massive problems for the Twin Rivers ball-handlers.
The Tigers caused 25 turnovers, scoring 26 points off them. Caruthersville only turned the ball over five times.
"We can go all the way back to about three minutes left in the second quarter, they turned up their defensive intensity a little bit and it bothered us right away," said Twin Rivers head coach Jim Vaughan. "We had three quick turnovers there at the end of the second half when we had a 13-point lead. If we had capitalized on one or two of those possessions, we may have a chance to spread that 20 in the first half."
Twin Rivers (21-6) led 11-8 after one quarter and extended the lead to 13 on two different occasions in the second quarter.
"We were going to take our chances and make them make shots first half," said Vaughan.
The Tigers were cold from the field in the first half as they made just 9-of-35 (26 percent), including 0-for-10 from 3-point range.
"They (Twin Rivers) sat back in that zone in the first half and we weren't hitting 3s," Brandtner said. "A lot of that had to do with us not attacking the basket and we were just settling for perimeter passes. They were able to sit back and get defensive rebounds. They really controlled the tempo of the game that way."
Caruthersville picked up some momentum heading into halftime when 6-foot-3, 275-pound sophomore Aleric Mullins scored back-to-back inside baskets, including one just before the buzzer sounded to cut the Royals' lead to 27-18.
"At halftime, we had to make the commitment to pick up the defense and get after them and start attacking the basket," said Brandtner. "That's more our style right there -- intensity and playing great defense."
Caruthersville was still trailing 32-24 midway through the third quarter, but the Tigers caught fire, going on a 10-0 run to take their first lead of the game.
Paul Sanders and Kyle Hubbard connected on back-to-back 3-pointers, the only two treys of the game for the Tigers, to tie the score at 32-32 with 3:25 left in the third.
Sanders the came up with a steal and transition layup to take the lead.
Caruthersville led 37-36 heading into the fourth quarter.
In the final frame, Twin Rivers tied the game at 39-39 on a Brandon Lowe 3-pointer. After exchanging baskets, Twin Rivers took a 42-41 lead on a Matt Stanford free throw with 2:27 left in the game.
It would be the last points Twin Rivers would score until Stockton scored a meaningless bucket with 11 seconds remaining.
Caruthersville out-scored the Royals 42-17 in the second half.
"When they started getting some momentum through that defense -- as soon as they got something to thrive off of, things started going a lot better for them," said Vaughan.
Ellitt led Caruthersville with 18 points. Hubbard followed up with 14 points.
Caruthersville was just 2-of-19 from 3-point range in the game.
Twin Rivers was led by sophomore Michael Lance's 16 points.
It's been a long road back after a slow start to the season for Caruthersville.
With its football team making it to the state semifinals, the Tigers got a late start against arguably the toughest Class 2 schedule in the area.
"We really stress family," said Brandtner. "We talk a lot of non-basketball stuff, as far as pulling together and what it takes to win. With the schedule we have and the late start -- we only practiced for a week before we played Cairo -- if you can stay competitive with the big schools, I think it helps you in the long run. Now if you're getting beat 40 or 50 points every time you play them, that doesn't help. I think that tough schedule turned out to help us."
The second-seeded Twin Rivers Lady Royals captured their fifth straight district championship with a 48-43 victory against top-seeded Doniphan.
Twin Rivers will play Charleston on Wednesday in the Class 3 Sectional game at Poplar Bluff High School at 6:30 p.m.
Doniphan led 43-42 on a 3-point shot by Lindsey Rush with 1:55 left, but Twin Rivers closed out the game on a 6-0 run.
"The will to win," said Twin Rivers head coach Jeff Walk.
"Four seniors out there on the court had the will to win. We worked hard the last month for this game. This is what it's all about this time of the year. It doesn't matter what goes on through the year. Just a super effort."
Twin Rivers (21-7) led 14-10 after one quarter and led 26-16 at the half.
They continued to extend the lead in the third quarter, leading 38-26 heading into the final frame.
The Donettes started the fourth quarter with seven straight points to get back in the game. They continued to chip away at the lead before finally breaking through with Rush's 3-pointer.
But the Lady Royals' Amanda Lance scored an inside basket to take the lead for good with 47 seconds left.
Twin Rivers made 4-of-6 free throws in the final 30 seconds to seal the victory.
"I've got to give credit to these girls, there was a 1:23 on the clock and we were down one," said Walk. "They didn't give up. That's the heart of a champion right there. To win five straight, that's a hell of an accomplishment by these kids right here. A lot of dedication and a lot of hours in the gym. It's an excellent group of kids."
Lance led all scorers with 17 points. Candace Heath followed up with 11 points.
Amanda Crockett led Doniphan with 13 points.