By MATT KING/Daily Journal Sports Writer

Published: Sunday, March 05, 2006
Updated: Saturday, March 4, 2006 11:54 PM CST

PARK HILLS - The Mineral Area College men's basketball team was not at its offensive best on Saturday night, but another solid effort on the defensive end has the Cardinals right where they want to be - playing for the Region XVI championship.

The Cardinals avoided a potential pitfall by controlling the boards and shutting down the perimeter game of visiting Moberly for a 70-57 victory in the semifinal round.

Mineral Area (26-4) now stands just two wins away from its first region tournament title since 1997 with home-court advantage in hand. Game one of the best-of-three championship series against MSU-West Plains will take place on Tuesday at the Bob Sechrest, Sr. Fieldhouse.

The Cardinals committed 21 turnovers overall and endured a shaky performance at the free-throw line in the first half as the Greyhounds successfully established a methodical pace to the action.

However, a series of key steals sparked a pivotal 16-0 scoring spurt for Mineral Area late in the first half, and the Cardinals would not surrender the lead from there.

Moberly (19-12) remained mired in a shooting slump throughout much of the night as well, making just 3-16 attempt from three-point range. The Greyhounds totaled just 18 rebounds overall, but still managed to hold a lead throughout much of the opening stanza.

B.J. Benning knocked down an excellent baseline fade-away and an open three-pointer to give the Greyhounds an early 12-7 advantage, but an ankle injury suffered before halftime forced the All-Region standout to miss the remainder of the contest.

Freshman guard Rickey Claitt rescued the MAC offense with 14 points before the intermission, including three timely triples. After Tremaine Wilkerson attacked the basket for a layup, Claitt connected from the left wing to draw the teams even at 22-22.

T.J. Britton scored off of a turnover and Darryl Butterfield finished an assist from Claitt to extend the scoring run. Tony Webb then scored on a designed inbounds lob to propel MAC to a double-digit advantage. The Cardinals carried a 39-29 lead at the break.

Mineral Area hinted a possible pull-away when DeAlan Hicks elevated above the rim for an athletic catch and one-handed slam, but Moberly promptly battled back behind seven straight points from sophomore Marlon Jackson.

Jackson grabbed a long rebound and raced the length of the floor to convert a three-point play, then cashed in one of several errant passes by the Cardinals for another basket. Inman Shokuohizadeh then buried a three with 12:40 remaining to suddenly trim the MAC lead to 47-43.

With three Moberly starters on the bench with four fouls each, MAC turned up the defensive pressure to swing the momentum with three straight transition baskets. Chad Henderson intercepted a pass and threw down a dunk to restore a comfortable cushion.

Wilkerson made it 64-51 with a reverse layup from under the basket, and the Greyhounds were unable to close the gap from there, scoring just three field goals in the final eight minutes.

Claitt held top scoring honors with 19 points and Butterfield added 12, while Webb chipped in nine for the Cardinals, who have won 15 consecutive games.

Jackson paced Moberly with 16 points, and Benning finished with nine.

Moberly 29 28 - 57

Mineral Area 39 31 - 70

SCORING:

Moberly - Jackson 16, Benning 9, DeWalt 8, Judge 7, Shokuohizadeh 5, White 5, Nelson 4, Murphy 3.

Mineral Area - Claitt 19, Butterfield 12, Webb 9, Wilkerson 8, Henderson 6, Britton 5, Hicks 5, Muse 4, Hassell 2.

3-point FG - Claitt 4, Webb, White, Shokuohizadeh, Benning.