ESSEX -- Richland beat Clarkton with the deep ball Friday night, hitting 13 three-pointers in an impressive 83-70 victory.
Standout Sherome Cole led the attack with six treys, finishing with 28 points overall. Josh McMullin contributed three from downtown and scored 23 on the night.
"The kids are coming on," said Richland coach Jimmy Lincoln. "We played back-to-back games, and I'm very pleased with our effort on both nights."
Man for man, Richland was no match for the Reindeer, who boast a frontcourt of a 6-foot-9 center and two 6-4 forwards. All three are foreign exchange students.
"They were a very big team, and just sat in a 2-3 zone," explained Lincoln. "We had trouble penetrating it, but they let us shoot threes. We got really hot in the second half. Once we started moving the ball and making the zone shift, we started getting good, open looks."
Richland hit 10 trifectas in the second half, and outscored Clarkton 20-17 in the third quarter and 20-13 in the fourth.
David Mathis led all Reindeer scorers with 29 points. He scored 22 in the first half, but McMullin's defensive pressure made him non-factor in the final two periods.
"We're not going to complain about our size anymore," said Lincoln. "We went to a 1-3-1 look, and really used our high post man to kick the ball out to the wings. I was proud of the effort."
Behind Cole and McMullin, Scott McGarity scored nine points for Richland and Travis Nelson contributed seven.
For Clarkton, Tyler Miller scored 12, followed by Jerry Jones with 11 and Jovan Jovicic with 10.
Richland (9-12) will travel to Bernie on Tuesday. Clarkton (13-7) will compete in the Tri-County Conference Tournament starting Monday.
PORTAGEVILLE -- Two Southeast Missouri Class 2A heavyweights collided Friday night with Portageville beating Charleston in overtime, 56-48.
The Bulldogs outscored Charleston 16-14 in the first quarter and 10-9 in the second frame. After a 12-12 stalemate in the third quarter, Charleston finished the game on an 8-5 run to force overtime.
Portageville regrouped in the bonus period, hitting 6-of-7 free throws down the stretch to pull out the win.
"Our shots fell and we hit our free throws," said Portageville coach Jim Bidewell. "We just kept plugging. It was one of the most physical games I've ever coached."
J.T. Williams had a banner day for the Bulldogs, scoring a game-high 19 points while pulling down 17 rebounds.
"J.T. has played phenomenal for me the last couple of weeks," said Bidewell. "He has really come into his own. I can't say enough good things about him. He is really stepping it up on the inside. In fact, a couple of kids on our team are getting mad at him because he's even taking rebounds from them. He's playing top-notch basketball right now."
Eric Booker was also productive, scoring 16 points. For Charleston, Jordy Mixon led the way with 14 points. Ashton Farmer finished with 11.
"It was good to win," said Bidewell. "This was our last home game, so we're glad for our seniors. It was kind of an ugly game. Neither team shot the ball real well -- it was kind of a grind-out."
Charleston (13-7) will host Cape Central on Tuesday.
Portageville (21-2) will travel to NMCC on Friday.
"I think our kids are wanting to play, and (NMCC) will be ready for us," said Bidewell. "In order to beat them, we're going to have to play a near-perfect game. They're capable of blowing you out of the gym too."
RISCO -- Bell City's rampage continued on Friday night as the Cubs blistered Risco, 90-51.
Bell City had 11 players contribute to the final score and knocked down nine 3-pointers as a team.
"We're heading in the right direction," said Bell City head coach David Heeb. "We are probably peaking at the right time of the year."
Eric Henry led Bell City's offense with 26 points, followed by C.J. Hadly with 19 and Kenyon Wright with 17.
Dominitrix Johnson contributed 10.
"We really shot the ball well," said Heeb. "If Kenyon Wright and Jason Rampley shoot the ball like they did tonight, we're going to be tough to beat. When they're on, we've got five kids on the floor that can score in a hurry."
Luke Carter led Risco with 17 points, followed by Greg Landers with 15 and Kyle Carlisle with 11.
Bell City (19-5) will take the week off before hosting Scott Central on Feb. 19. Heeb has no fear of a letdown.
"The guys are smart enough to know what time of the year it is," said Heeb. "Getting in this position has kind of been a two-year process for us. They've invested so much, I don't think they're going to let this chance slip by. They're focused on getting to the district and doing well."
CHAFFEE -- For the third straight game, Chaffee's defense held its opponent under 50 points. But this time it was good enough for a win as the Red Devils defeated Oak Ridge, 55-38.
"We finally got the offense rolling," said Chaffee coach David Mirly. "We attacked the glass really hard and got a lot of offensive rebounds. We also hit our jumpshots and got a lot of layups. We ran a different offense, and it created some easier shots for us."
Andrew Horrell scored 21 points and Josh Lamer contributed 10 in the win.
"Horrell and Josh Lamer both really stepped it up tonight," said Mirly.
Clayton Ruesler iced four 3-pointers and paced Oak Ridge with 14 points. Chaffee (5-15) will host Delta on Tuesday while Oak Ridge (7-14) hosts St. Vincent.
KENNETT -- Action got a little out of hand Friday night in Dexter's 69-59 win over Kennett.
Four technical fouls were called between the two team, and there was a double-foul late in the fourth quarter.
Chris Hyten and Chris Carr led the Bearcats with 17 points each. Julius Taylor pace Kennett with 14. Tishaun Carter contributed 12.
Dexter (20-3) played Caruthersville on Saturday at Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff.