Raiders squander late lead, lose to Festus in overtime

By MATT KING\Daily Journal Sports Writer

HILLSBORO - The North County Raiders have repeatedly found ways to win tight games in crucial moments during this basketball season, but their good fortune ran out on Wednesday night, resulting in an abrupt end to their season.

The Festus Tigers stormed back from a 10-point deficit in the final six minutes of regulation to force overtime, then surged ahead during the extra session for a 67-64 victory in semifinal action at the Class 4, District 2 tournament in Hillsboro.

Despite drawing a lower seed in the bracket, the Raiders were favored by many to reach the finals after thumping Festus at home, 86-50 just eight days earlier. Instead, Festus (19-8) finds itself in the championship game on Friday against No. 1 seed and Jefferson County rival, De Soto.

North County (16-11) stretched its fourth-quarter lead to 49-39 on a three-point basket by Nick Counts. The Raiders hesitated on open shots while trying to stall during the closing minutes, and the plan backfired when a series of pivotal turnovers sparked the stunning Festus comeback.

After Cody Stites scored on a baseline drive, Senior Colby Culton made a sudden steal and took it the other way to cut make the score 51-47. Another Culton steal led to a transition putback by Myles Becquette, and Jeff Foster followed a missed free throw with a putback of his own to tie the score at 53-53 with 1:00 left.

The Raiders set up for a game-winning shot after calling timeout with 13.2 seconds on the clock, but a driving layup attempt was blocked out of bounds by Becquette. A desperation heave from three-point range by North County missed at the buzzer.

Stites buried his third triple of the night to open the overtime period, and Culton scored two straight times in transition to extend the Festus lead to 64-57. A late three-pointer by C.J. Peterson produced the final margin, but time expired before Festus had to inbound the ball.

The victory provided a needed moment of jubilation for a Festus squad mired in controversy and turmoil, centering around previous player suspensions and the apparent impending resignation of successful 10th-year coach, Jarrod Brown.

North County closed out the first quarter with a triple by sophomore Chuck Schwartz, and a layup by Counts to level the score at 12-12. Despite not starting the contest, Schwartz quickly tallied 16 first-half points, including a long triple which propelled the Raiders to a 25-22 edge at the intermission.

Junior Chad Moss scored on the drive to begin a promising 7-0 run by North County, and the lead increased to 40-31 on jumpers by Peterson and the returning Aaron Blunt.

The Raiders built achieved their largest lead of 10 points on two separate occasions after the Tigers drew to within 40-34 at the conclusion of the third quarter, but could not sustain the momentum.

Both teams finished the night with four double-digit scorers, and 11 turnovers per side. North County converted 10-13 free throw attempts, but Festus had more chances from the stripe, making 16-24.

Stites and Foster each scored 15 points for the Tigers, while Culton added 12 and Becquette chipped in 10.

Schwartz spent much of the second half in foul trouble, but finished with a game-high 18 points. Counts contributed 14 points and eight rebounds for the Raiders, while Moss scored 11 points and Peterson dropped in 10. Tyler Beers added seven points.

North County 12 13 15 13 11 - 64

Festus 12 10 12 19 14 - 67

SCORING:

North County - Schwartz 18, Counts 14, Moss 11, Peterson 10, Beers 7, Elders 2, Blunt 2.

Festus - Foster 15, Stites 15, Culton 12, Becquette 10, Winters 9, Derousse 6.

3-point FG - Schwartz 3, Stites 3, Peterson 2, Counts 2, Beers, Winters, Culton.

De Soto 53, Potosi 38

HILLSBORO - The top-seeded De Soto Dragons dominated the third quarter against pesky Potosi on Wednesday night to reach the district tournament finals with a 53-38 victory.

De Soto (17-10) held a slim 20-17 lead at the intermission despite struggling to hit its outside shots, but closed out the third quarter on a 12-0 scoring run to take control.

Tough man-to-man defense by the Dragons forced 16 turnovers and denied Potosi of many chances to score inside. The Trojans were never able to get on track from the perimeter, making just 1-13 three-point attempts.

The lead quickly changed hands six times in a physical first half. After Jake Huskey converted a three-point play to put De Soto on top by a point, Ryan McCourtney knocked down a short jumper for Potosi. Justin Madden hit a leaning jumper before the first-quarter buzzer to give the Dragons a 9-8 lead.

Potosi's Kevin Brown buried a three-pointer from the left wing to even the score at 13-13, but Tyson Davis answered from long range for the Dragons. De Soto extended its lead to five before the break, but a three-point play by Jeremy Brown momentarily kept the Trojans within striking distance.

Huskey dominated the paint with key points and rebounds to help De Soto pull away in the third quarter. The junior center began the decisive 12-0 spurt with an offensive putback, then sealed off a defender in the low post for a three-point play after Davis drained an open triple.

Jeremiah Garrett slashed to the basket to give De Soto a 35-20 advantage at the close of the period, which saw Potosi notch just three points.

The pace of the game slowed drastically due to an abundance of foul calls down the stretch. Brandon Casey made an offensive follow with 4:24 left after Tim Pashia made a steal to trim the deficit to 39-29, but consecutive baskets by Huskey and Garrett kept the score from becoming closer.

Huskey finished with 17 points and Davis added 14 to lead the Dragons.

Jeremy Brown notched a team-high 17 points and pulled away eight rebounds for Potosi. Kevin Brown scored seven points, and Casey grabbed 11 boards.

Potosi 8 9 3 18 - 38

De Soto 9 11 15 18 - 53

SCORING:

Potosi - J Brown 17, K Brown 7, Politte 5, Casey 4, McCourtney 4, Long 1.

De Soto - Huskey 17, Davis 14, Garrett 8, Madden 7, Baisch 4, Harbison 3.

3-point FG - Davis 2, Madden, K Brown.