Ferguson leads 'Deer past Camels for title

RISCO, Mo. -- For decades, the Clarkton Reindeer and Campbell Camels have been two of the most successful and consistent programs in the Tri-County Conference.

However for many years Clarkton's biggest rival was two miles away in Gideon, and the Camels seemed to have their fiercest battles with their neighbors to the south, the Holcomb Hornets.

Since the arrival of Clarkton's class of 2009, the two schools have battled for the Clarkton Holiday Tournament championship, the Tri- County Regular season championship -- and for the third time in the last four years, what seemed like the entire conference showed up to watch the Reindeer and Camels go at it in the Conference Championship game.

For the second time this year, it was the Reindeer that came out on top 79-74 in a gutwrenching battle that tested the will of both sides.

As things got underway it was all Campbell as the Camels not only held the Reindeer without a field goal for the first four minutes of play, but got into an offensive rhythm early as a Joe Campbell 3-pointer stretched their lead to 14-3, forcing Clarkton coach Scottie Blackburn to call a timeout.

"I told our kids we had to calm down," Blackburn said. "We had to trust our offense, take things one possession at a time and try to get back into it."

And get back in it they did as Clarkton, led by Dustin Ferguson and Justin Brown, exploded for 26 points in the second quarter, pulling the game into a 36-all tie at the half.

Coming out of the locker rooms it became evident that Clarkton did the better job of making the right adjustments. The 'Deer continued their offensive rampage with another 25-point quarter output and used their defensive pressure to break the rhythm of the Camel offense. With a quarter to play, top seeded Campbell trailed defending champion Clarkton 61-51.

With both teams plagued by foul trouble throughout, two-thirds of the Clarkton senior trio of Brown, Ferguson and Casey Redden found themselves on the bench much of the night. The situation went from bad to worse as Brown fouled 3-point shooter Justin Fowler, allowing him to pick up a four-point play. On the ensuing inbounds play, with just over four minutes to play and his team clinging to a two-point lead, Brown picked up his fifth personal foul.

With the game tied and his fellow seniors watching from the bench, Ferguson took over.

Ferguson all but etched his name in stone as this year's Tri-County Conference player of the year as he scored 12 points -- including a perfect 6-for-6 effort from the free throw line -- in the final quarter. Despite another Fowler 3, Ferguson wouldn't let the 'Deer lose as he penetrated into the lane for a layup at the one-minute mark.

Two more late free throws from freshman Mikey Jones drove the nail in the Camel coffin as Clarkton picked up the win.

Looking at the stats, it was easy to see that the game was won at the free throw line where the Reindeer shot 82 percent (27-for-33), while the Camels shot 53 percent (20-for-38).

Ferguson led all scorers yet again as his 33 points on the evening gave him an average of 31 points per game on the tournament.

"Well what can you say -- it was an awesome game," said Ferguson. "The atmosphere was amazing and I want to thank our student section as they are a huge part of our success. We wanted this one bad and we came out and took care of business. We also got a ton of help from our underclassmen. It's great to have the teammates that I have."

Brown also had a big night in his last Clarkton-Campbell game as he finished with 19.

Campbell junior Justin Fowler put together an impressive night to lead the Camels with 25 points.

With the win, the Reindeer stretched their winning streak over Campbell to six games.

Additionally, the Clarkton senior class won its third Tri-County Conference Championship, with the one loss coming at the buzzer back in 2007.