'Deer overcome Gideon, illness to reach finals

CLARKTON, Mo. -- Going into last year's Class 1, District 1 Tournament, all the talk was about how would Clarkton fare against Scott County Central in the championship. However, the Reindeer were stunned by the Gideon Bulldogs in semifinal action.

So it seemed fitting that the 'Deer and Gideon meet once again in the semifinals of this year's district tournament.

With Dustin Ferguson battling flu-like symptoms and struggling with fatigue throughout the game, the Reindeer had to dig deep and fight hard to rally for a 74-65 win and a spot in Thursday's finals.

Clarkton will take on second-seeded Risco, which defeated Naylor 73-57 in the other semifinal Tuesday.

Down 53-47 entering the final period, Clarkton's Justin Brown took things over inside. Following a Casey Redden steal, Brown broke away for an electrifying two-handed dunk that brought the purple and white clad fans to their feet.

"Even though it's just worth two points, when Justin does that, it does so much for our team," said Clarkton coach Scottie Blackburn. "It gets the crowd into it, it gets our team fired up. But not just that, Justin just stepped up all the way around. With Casey and Dustin both being sick, he came up big and did what he had to do to help us win."

Redden followed this by knocking down a pair of 3-pointers on consecutive trips down the floor, further turning the tables in Clarkton's favor.

Brown also continued to fill up the stat book down the stretch by going 5-for-6 from the free throw line in the fourth, and dominating the boards on both ends as they 'Deer crossed the finish line with the win.

In the early going, the two teams traded baskets as Gideon sophomore Dylan Cornett knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to ignite the Gideon crowd. However a balanced Clarkton attack, capped off by a Jordan Jones 3 in the corner gave Clarkton the two-point lead after one.

As Gideon continued to chip away with its balanced attack, Clarkton's Justin Brown kicked off what would be a statistically huge night.

But, in the closing minutes of the first half, the Gideon sophomore class continued to flex its muscle as Tim Kelly tossed in four points in the final minute. As a result, the contest was tied at 31 at the break.

As play resumed, Gideon senior Max Johnson stepped up huge as the 6-foot-3 center blocked three shots and scored seven of his 16 points on the night in the third period. With the play of Johnson, along with solid free throw shooting by Cornett and senior Jake Deprow, Gideon seemed to have turned the tables.

The Bulldogs were on the threshold of shocking Clarkton for the second straight year as they held a six-point lead with just a quarter to play, setting up Brown's heroics.

Brown led all scorers with 29 points on the evening. He was joined by the other two members of the Reindeer "Big Three," as Redden and Ferguson finished with 19 and 12 points, respectively.

Gideon had four players in double figures, led by Johnson, who scored 16 points in his final game as a Gideon Bulldog.

Notes: Clarkton and Risco split their two matchups earlier in the year, with the visiting team winning both meetings. Risco downed the Reindeer to win the Clarkton Holiday Invitational, while Clarkton won the rematch against the Tigers at Risco less than a month later. ... The Reindeer last won a district title in 2003, when they advanced to the Class 1 state quarterfinals.