Daily Dunklin Democrat: High School Sports: Richland breaks down zone to down North Pemiscot (01/07/09)

WARDELL, Mo. -- The Richland Rebels made the long trip south to take on the North Pemiscot Mustangs Tuesday night in what was the first game of the new year for each team. When all was said and done, it was the Rebels that walked away victorious after a relatively easy 64-50 win.

The Rebels took advantage of North Pemiscot's 2-3 zone defense early and often as Jesse Brown and Ryan Kleffer knocked down early 3-pointers to set the tone for the offense. By the end of the first period, Richland had a 15-10 lead.

On the other side of things, North Pemiscot sophomore Britton Wilson's strong inside play kept the Mustangs within striking distance with what would turn out to be one of the best games of his young career. Wilson scored all 10 of North Pem's points in the second quarter. Despite the effort from Wilson, a balanced Richland attack stretched the halftime lead to 16.

After halftime, poor shot selection did the Mustangs in as they shot poorly all night long from outside against the Rebels' 2-3 zone defense. Solid free-throw shooting down the stretch allowed Richland to hardly break a sweat in the second half on their way to the victory.

Brown led the Richland offense with 16 points and was joined in double figures by Drew Thornton with 13 and Kleffer with 10.

Meanwhile, Wilson's 25 points led all scorers on the night.