Patient Panthers put away Potosi

PARK HILLS — A series of efficient possessions over the final three minutes on Saturday helped the South Iron boys basketball team secure a 46-38 victory over Potosi at the Bob Sechrest Fieldhouse.

Senior James Cornell scored a game-high 13 points for the Panthers, who closed the action with a methodical 9-1 run. Point guard Jared Middleton went 9-for-10 from the charity stripe and notched 11 points with seven assists.

Will Sutton put South Iron (11-1) ahead to stay with consecutive layups on driving passes from Justin Ford and Middleton after Potosi pulled even at 37-37 with 2:48 remaining.

Potosi (6-9) built its largest lead of 18-12 when Zach Gibson drilled back-to-back threes in the second quarter, but baskets from Middleton and Ford sparked a 10-0 South Iron response.

Cody Smith opened the third quarter with a pair of triples as the Panthers surged to a 33-24 advantage midway through the third.

Landon Young began a low-scoring fourth quarter with a steal and layup, and Potosi erased the nine-point deficit with four straight free throws before missing its last nine shots from the floor.

Gibson finished with 10 points and sophomore Dylan Eye added nine for the Trojans, who suffered their fourth straight loss.

South Iron  10  13  13  10 – 46

Potosi  12  10   9   7 – 38

SCORING:

South Iron – Cornell 13, Middleton 11, Ford 8, Sutton 8, Smith 6. 3-point FG – Smith 2.

Potosi – Gibson 10, Eye 9, Shepard 7, Belfield 5, Young 4, Rulo 2, Breakfield 1. 3-point FG – Gibson 3, Eye.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

St. Dominic 56, Farmington 52

ST. LOUIS — The Farmington girls basketball team rallied from an eight-point deficit to take a momentary lead on Saturday afternoon, but unbeaten St. Dominic hit several free throws down the stretch for a 56-52 victory.

Senior Lindsey Schmucker scored a game-high 16 points including the final seven for the Crusaders. Her second-chance layup with under two minutes left proved to be the game winner.

Taylor Jensen and Molly Barnes shared the team scoring lead with 15 points each for the Knightettes. Jensen put Farmington ahead 51-49 with two late free throws moments after tying the game with a driving layup.

Barnes made three early field goals and Farmington (8-3) concluded a defensive first quarter leading 12-10 after Brittany Ernst buried her first of two three-pointers off the bench.

The Knightettes’ advantage reached six on a short jumper from Kaitlin Knox midway through the second quarter before the state-ranked clubs entered halftime even at 24-24.

Leslie Wilmes totaled her 13 points in the second half and Allison Betley added 11 for St. Dominic (11-0). The Crusaders finished 22-for-27 overall from the line, and claimed their largest margin of the day at 40-32.

The teams met for the first time since the 2007 state playoffs when Farmington picked up a 56-48 semifinal win in Columbia.