First round of boys' games prove top seeds correct

By DONN ADAMSON\Daily Journal Sports Editor

PARK HILLS - The first round of the boys tournament finished up on Tuesday, and even though there were two overtime games, all of the top eight seeds advanced into the winner's side of the bracket.

Potosi 63, Arcadia Valley 58, OT

The No. 11 seed Arcadia Valley Tigers gave it a great try to pull off the only upset of the first round, but they finally succumbed to the No. 6 seed Potosi Trojans in overtime 63-58.

What got the Tigers into the overtime period was to be their downfall in the period. Arcadia Valley made 11-14 free throws in the fourth quarter to pull even with the Trojans at 50-50, but in the extra four minutes of play, the Tigers were 3-8, while the Trojans went 9-13.

It looked like the Trojans would have things their way from the very start. The Tigers were 2-12 from the floor in the first quarter to fall behind 14-7, but their determination to get the ball off of the boards helped the Tigers pull up close by the half.

Arcadia Valley shot the ball twice as much as Potosi in the first half of play (30-16) even though there were only seven turnovers between the two teams in the first half. The Tigers kept getting the second and even third chance to score each time down the court because of their rebounding on offense.

A cross-key jumper by Dustin Royer gave Arcadia Valley their first lead at 24-23 with 1:15 left in the first half. The Trojans would regain the lead, 26-24 before the break.

Each team had only one basket in the first five-and-a-half minutes of the third quarter as both defenses stepped it up with only five shots from the floor being scored in the quarter.

Arcadia Valley would draw to within two points several times in the fourth quarter, but each time Potosi would go on a one or two basket run and stay just ahead of the Tigers.

The Trojans offense woke up after a three-pointer by Jack Franklin made it a one-point game at 38-37. The Trojans went on a 6-1 run with the help of two jump shots by Bryce Malloy. Arcadia Valley went to the long ball to try and catch up, but to no avail as Potosi took the ball to the hoop to score.

With 1:08 left in the game, a three-point shot by Logan Smith which bounced from side to side on the rim before falling through to make the score 50-48, seemed to energize the Tigers as well as their very vocal fans. The Tigers were able to collect a turnover, but in trying to score, they had the ball tipped away three times by Potosi defenders, until Coach Lance Sprenkel called time to square up his team's offense with 27 seconds left on the clock.

Potosi stole the inbound pass after the time-out, and tried to score but missed, and Royer scarfed up the rebound only to be fouled by the Trojans. Royer sank both free throws to tie the game up. Potosi could not get a shot off on their last possession.

Both teams traded baskets and a pair of free throws, before a conventional three-point play by Bryce Malloy gave the Trojans the lead for good in overtime.

Both Casey Brandon of Potosi and Royer of Arcadia Valley had 11 rebounds. (Scoring for both teams are in the box scores below).

De Soto 58, Central 45

The Central Rebels gave it a great try to upset the De Soto Dragons on Tuesday. The Rebels trailed by just a point after the third quarter, but an early display of offensive firepower and defensive tenacity gave the De Soto a pull-away victory of 58-45.

Trailing 34-33, Central took the floor for the last frame, and a quick three-pointer by Justin Forsyth gave the Rebels the lead at 36-34, but the three-pointer only woke up the sleepy Dragons as last year's champions went on a 12-0 run to put the game out of reach.

The Rebels went to their three point shooting to try and close the deficit, but De Soto sank its free throws, making 15 of 18 to pull off the win.

Central jumped out to the early lead on a pair of baskets by Brice Boren. De Soto was cold from the floor and the No. 10 seed Rebels went up on the No. 6 seed Dragons by a score of 8-5 at the end of the first quarter. De Soto wiped out the lead by scoring the first two baskets in the second quarter.

Nathan Clark hit De Soto's first three at the 2:40 mark. Central's Ryan McFarland answered on the other end with a three for the Rebels, but Clark hit again on the next trip down the floor. The remainder of the second quarter seemed to be made up of fouls and shooting foul shots. The two teams stood tied at 20-20 at the half.

The Rebels kept their pressure on the perimeter to keep the Dragons from popping the three. Even though Central captured the early lead in the third quarter, the Rebels missed on three straight trips down the floor, and the Dragons took advantage of it to tie the game once again at 26-26.

Farmington 78, Viburnum 42

The game between the Farmington Knights, seeded No. 2, and the Viburnum Blue Jays, seeded No. 15, was suspected to be a blow-out, but it didn't take place until the third quarter. Farmington only led by 12 points at the half, 38-26, but a huge third quarter buried the Blue Jays.

The Knights outscored Viburnum to a tune of 28-11 in the third quarter, and the rout was on. Constant turnovers to Farmington's half-court trap resulted in steals by Jake Baechle and a feed to David King that resulted in uncontested baskets. King, who had 14 of his game-high 18 points in the third quarter, never missed from the free-throw line where he went 10-10.

The game started with Schuyler Semar making a steal and feeding King for a break-away basket. Farmington went up by a score of 14-7, but Viburnum was able to break through the Knights' pressing defense to pull within two points at 14-12.

Farmington's press began to take affect at the start of the second frame. The Blue Jays had trouble getting the ball past half-court. Viburnum called time-out to get things together, but on a long inbound pass, King managed to tip the ball down the court and then chase it down. The play resulted in a three by Semar to make the score 36-20.

The two teams flirted with the running clock at the start of the fourth quarter. Finally, the Knights gained the needed 30-point lead to keep the clock running, and get the fans home a little earlier. The tournament was already an hour behind schedule.

Potosi 63, Arcadia Valley 58

SCORING:

Potosi - C Brandon 14, A.J. Long 12, J Brown 8, B Malloy 7, L Jackson 5, J Politte 5, J Newcomer 5, K Brown 5, B Thebeau 2.

3-Pointers - L Jackson 1, K Brown 1.

Arcadia Valley - D Royer 16, J Franklin 15, A Warren 12, N Benz 4, L Smith 3, J Yarbrough 2, B Dunivan 2, J Brawley 1.

3-Pointers - A Warren 1, L Smith 1, J Franklin 1,

De Soto 58, Central 45

SCORING:

De Soto - N Clark 18, M Owen 14, T Greenlee 8, B Pratt 7, J Huskey 6, NL 3, NL 3, K Baisch 1.

3-Pointers - M Owen 3, N Clark 3.

Central - R McFarland 12, Bri. Boren 11, J Forsyth 7, C Beard 6, J Carlyon 4, Bro. Boren 3, M Watkins 2.

3-Pointers - R McFarland 4, J Forsyth 1, Bro. Boren 1.

Farmington 78, Viburnum 42

SCORING:

Farmington - D King 18, N Brewer 13, M Usherwood 11, C Owens 6, H Peterson 6, J Baechle 6, S Semar 5, J Taylor 5, J Kimrey 4, M McDaniel 4.

3-Pointers - S Semar 1, J Taylor 1.

Viburnum - C Rutledge 11, N Barton 8, C Payne 7, C Tiefenauer 5, T Bays 4, J Bozie 3, C LaRue 2, J Asher 2.