Kennett advances to district championship game

Staff photo by Aaron Lynn Kennett's Fred Garmon (10) blocks Caruthersville's Vohland Fonda's 3' attempt in Thursday's semifinal game.

After the Tigers got into a hole early, they never could quite climb out of it. Every time Caruthersville cut into the lead, the Indians opened it back up to take the game by a score of 89-77.

The Indians will advance to the Class 3, District 1 championship game where they will face the Charleston Blue Jays on Friday night.

"This win makes 20 for us on the season, so it's pretty special," Kennett coach Jim Vaughan said. "It also gets us to a championship game and that make's it all the better. We had kids out there tonight that were going to make sure that we didn't lose. Caruthersville is good enough to make plays against anybody. They made some runs and we were able to withstand them. We get a chance to play again and that's what this time of year is about."

Kennett took the opening tip and Randrick Caruthers was able to find Fred Garmon on the left side for a 3-pointer 30 seconds in. Caruthersville threw the ball away on its first possession due to Garmon getting a hand on the ball.

After a failed Indian possession, Claude Taylor got a bucket in the paint to put the Tigers on the board. Kennett misfired on their following offensive set, but Garmon came down with the offensive rebound. The Indians worked the ball around and when the shot bounced off of the rim, Jimmy Gooden came down with the offensive board. Gooden's put back was good and he was fouled on the play. Gooden went to the line and converted the free throw 1:30 into the game to give Kennett a 5-2 lead.

After Caruthersville came up empty on the following possession, the Indians put their transition offense to work. Gooden came down with the rebound and found Dwight Usry streaking down the court for a fast break at the 6:30 mark in the first to make the score 8-2.

"That was a big focus of ours tonight," Vaughan said. "We did that pretty effectively earlier in the year. Well, the more that teams see you play, the more they try to take that away. Caruthersville is good at the front of the press, but we knew that if we got the rebound and outlet that we could out run the back side of the press. When you get early offense like that, it makes you ready to guard again and gives you energy. We took advantage of that tonight. More importantly, we made an effort to take advantage of it on every possession. We were good on the attack tonight."

Caruthersville put a small series together on the next few plays. David Shaw hit one of two from the line at 6:13 to make it 8-4. Then, the Tigers got the ball back after Caruthers was called for a travel on the Indians' end. That play led to Elbie Fonda getting a basket in the paint pull the Tigers within two points.

The Tigers had a chance to tie the game after Garmon came down with an offensive rebound for the Indians and they couldn't convert. Caruthersville got the ball back, but ended up throwing it away at the 4:48 mark.

Kennett started to open the game up after that. Cameron Wallace hit a 3-pointer from the right side and Garmon found Jay Shavers for a 3-pointer from the left side to give Kennett a seven point lead at the 3:55 mark.

Jack Walls added a basket before a timeout at 3:15 to push the lead to nine-points at 16-7.

After the time-out, Andy Lack came up with a steal for Kennett. The Indians couldn't convert the steal though as the ball ended up being thrown away. When Caruthersville got the ball back, Walls came up with another steal for Kennett. This turnover led to Caruthers knocking down two foul shots with 2:35 left in the first quarter (17-7). Caruthers foul shots capped a 9-1 run for the Indians. Walls did come up with another steal on the next play, but it couldn't be converted to points.

"I was really impressed with how we came out of the gate tonight," Vaughan said. "We were ready, our kids were ready. They were focused and motivated. We had one goal tonight and everybody stayed true to the course."

Caruthersville missed some opportunities during Kennett's run as they came up with two-steals and two-offensive rebounds, but could only put one-point on the board.

The Tigers did pull to within six-points at the end of the first with Kennett going cold from the field. Taylor hit two foul shots and Massengale followed with a basket in the paint. With 1:19 left, Elbie Fonda came up with a steal and a fast break basket (19-13). Neither team scored in the last minute of the first to close the quarter with Kennett on top 19-13. During the first quarter, the Indians had four 3-point plays. Three 3-pointers and Gooden's "And 1" basket.

In the second quarter, the two teams kept pace with each other. Kennett opened their lead up and Caruthersville closed back in on them a little.

The Tigers got the ball to start the quarter and Caruthers came up with a steal right off the bat. Caruthers' steal led to Garmon getting a put back on an offensive rebound for the Indians (21-13). On Caruthersville's following possession, Kennett's pressure forced Caruthersville into a backcourt situation. The turnover led to Garmon finding Usry in the corner for a 3' 48-seconds into the quarter (24-13).

With the Indians stretching their lead to 11-points, the Tigers put a run together to pull back to within five.

"They came out of their zone and went to man defense pretty early," Vaughan said. "They don't do that very often. They also went to a 1-3-1 zone. I've seen them do that this year, but we haven't seen it as a team. It made us step back and think a little bit, but we went back to spreading it out and trying to attack gaps."

Taylor hit one-of-two from the line and had a put back on an offensive rebound. Belton McWilliams came up with a steal and got the ball to Elbie Fonda on a fast break (26-18). Then, McWilliams came up with another steal that led to him converting an "And 1" with 5:08 left in the half (26-21).

During the Tigers 8-2 run, Kennett's only scoring came when Caruthers stole the ball and got a dunk off of a fast break.

Over the next 2:30, the Indians opened their lead and pushed it to 14 points.

Lack nailed a 3' from the right side, with Vohland Fonda answering for Caruthersville with a drive to the basket (29-23). Caruthers came back for the Indians with a pull-up jumper in the lane (31-23). On Caruthersville's following possession, the Indians forced them into another back-court violation with their pressure.

"In the last few weeks we haven't been as good at being tight, tough and active on the basketball," Vaughan said. "Tonight, we were in the basketball defensively. We made the offensive player have to do something with it right now. That makes a difference in how we play. It seems like we chase them if we give them three or four feet on a down hill dribble. When we get up and lock down, were not bad at staying in front of the basketball. We can go lateral with it and make them change directions. I though our effort there was as good as it's been in a long time."

The turnover led to Caruthers finding Adam Grantham under the basket for two-points (33-23). Vohland Fonda was called for a travel on Caruthersville's following possession and that turnover led to Lack finding Gooden on the baseline for a jumper (35-23). Lack also came up with a steal for the Indians on Caruthersville's next offensive set. Lack got the ball to Walls for a fast break basket (37-23).

Walls basket with 2:35 left in the half capped the Indians 11-2 run. During the run, the Tigers had three turnovers.

"Like I said the other night, It was going to be a game of who made the fewest mistakes," said Caruthersville coach David Heeb. "We probably had 30-turnovers and missed some real easy shots. You have to give Kennett a lot of credit for that. Every time we made a play, they would strip somebody or back tip. We were just always a step late, but maybe thats because Kennett was a step early. They played hard and converted. We played hard and didn't convert as many."

Caruthersville cut into Kennett's 14-point lead before halftime by hitting three 3-pointers in the final 2:15 of the half.

Caleb Moss, who seldom takes a shot from inside the arc, hit all three of those shots for the Tigers. Vohland Fonda and McWilliams also added baskets along with Moss to give Caruthersville 14-points in the final 2:15 of the half. During that time, Gooden and Usry both had baskets for Kennett while Shavers hit another 3'. Grantham put back an offensive rebound as time expired to give the Indians a nine-point lead going into the half (46-37).

Kennett opened up their greatest lead up to this point, 15 points, in the opening 1:21 of the second half. The Indians' two seniors sparked the run.

"My message to our two seniors tonight was don't let this be your last game at this school," Vaughan said. "We had to kids right there that were not going to let us loose. Jimmy is so blue collar. We put six-foot in the program because it looks good, but he may be 5'11''. As tough as he is around bigger people all the time, 15-points and 11-rebounds is a pretty phenomenal game. Dwight's energy was second to none tonight. It seemed like he would be guarding the ball and contesting the shot on the guy receiving the pass. He was everywhere tonight. Our two seniors were pretty big tonight."

Usry found Caruthers for a mid-range jumper. As the Tigers brought the ball up court, Usry locked up with the offensive player to create a held ball situation that favored Kennett. The turnover led to Gooden getting a put back on an offensive rebound (50-37). After McWilliams put back on offensive rebound for Caruthersville, Gooden pulled down another offensive board for the Indians. Gooden was fouled as he went back up with the ball. Gooden was able to knock down both foul shots (52-39). As Caruthersville brought the ball up court on their possession, Gooden came up with a steal off of the press. Gooden got the ball to Garmon for a lay up at the 6:39 mark of the third quarter (54-39).

Caruthersville halted the Kennett run when Moss found Vohland Fonda in the corner for his second 3' of the night at the 5:53 mark of the third quarter (54-42). Fonda followed his 3' by getting a steal off of the press on the next possession and hitting a pull-up jumper (54-44). Caruthers drove the lane for a basket with 4:44 left in the third, but Shaw answered back for the Tigers by hitting a 3 from the right side to cut the lead to nine (56-47). Kennett came up empty on their next possession and Caruthersville got the ball back. As the Tigers tried to get the ball inside, Shavers came up with another steal for Kennett. This one led to Shavers being fouled on a fast break and knocking down both foul shots(58-47).

Caruthersville would once again get the lead down to eight points with Shaw hitting a 3-pointer from the corner with 2:18 left in the third.

However, Kennett pushed their lead back to 15-points over the next few minutes.

"When they got us into a game like that, it really changed how we wanted to play them," Heeb said "We wanted to pound it at them more. I think Coach Vaughan knew that and they really tried to get after us. Like they say in boxing, styles make fights. Tonight, they were able to get out ahead. Then, they were able to change what we wanted to do. You just have to give them a lot of credit. They played really hard, but we'll be back in this fight."

Usry and Walls both hit one-of-two from the line after offensive rebound situations. Walls followed that up with a steal from the press that led to a lay-up (62-50). Vohland Fonda hit one-of-two from the line for Caruthersville and came up with a steal that led to a Taylor basket with 1:42 left in the third (62-53). The Indians answered that basket with five-points. Shavers got a steal and found Lack for a 3 and Gooden put back an offensive rebound to close out the third quarter (67-53).

"If we made a 3 they came back with one and vice versa," Vaughan said. "We answered each other consistently tonight. Shooting the basketball was a key for us because we are such a perimeter oriented team. We've got to be able to spread people out to attack with the dribble. We've got to be able to move through a man or a zone defense to get some inside-out plays. We did that and knocked down are fair share tonight."

The Tigers entered the final quarter needing to overcome a 14-point deficit. Taylor took to that task by coming up with a steal from the Indians. As the Tigers were in their offensive set, Garmon took the ball back for Kennett. Garmon got the ball to Caruthers who was fouled and hit one of his shots (68-53). Taylor put back an offensive rebound for the Tigers on their next possession, but Grantham answered for Kennett with a basket in the paint one-minute into the quarter (70-55).

Caruthersville came back with McWilliams finding Vohland Fonda for a lay-up, but Garmon opened Kennett's lead when Caruthers found him for a 3'. Garmon's 3' gave Kennett their biggest lead of the night, 16 points, with 6:35 left in the game (73-57).

The Tigers didn't throw in the towel though, as they cut the lead back down to eight-points over the next 1:30.

Vohland Fonda drove the lane for a basket (73-59). McWilliams got a steal from the press as Kennett brought the ball up court. McWilliams scored on a lay-up after the steal and was fouled on the attempt. McWilliams hit his foul shot to convert the "And 1" (73-62). The Indians couldn't put points on the board during their possession and Taylor came down with the defensive board. However, Shavers came up with another steal for Kennett and got the ball to Caruthers for a dunk. Caruthers dunk sent a charge through the Indians players and fans.

The Tigers kept clawing though. McWilliams got penetration against Kennett's defensive and dished a behind the back pass to Shaw in the corner. Shaw had an open look at the 3' and knocked it down (75-65). When Kennett came up empty again on their offensive set, Taylor came down with another defensive rebound. Taylor got the ball down court to Vohland Fonda for a quick transition lay-up with five-minutes left (75-67). Caruthersville had cut the lead back down to eight-points with five-minutes to go.

As was done all game when the Tigers pulled back to within eight-points, Kennett opened the lead back up.

Garmon found Gooden and Walls in the paint for buckets after the Tigers threw the ball away (79-67). Caruthersville came up again on their next set and Gooden came down with the board for Kennett. That play led to Wallace hitting two foul shots with 4:18 left. Walls, Kennett's defensive specialist, came up with a steal on the Tigers following possession. Walls got the ball to Usry who was fouled and hit one of his two shots (82-67). Wallace followed that up by hitting one more from the line for Kennett to push the lead back to 16-points with 3:55 left to play (83-67).

The Tigers had one last run in them though.

Elbie Fonda found Moss in the corner for a three (83-70). Taylor came up with a steal and hit both foul shots on a one-and-one. After the Indians threw the ball away, Taylor drove down the baseline for a basket with 2:27 left (83-74). Kennett got a bucket from Usry with 1:53 left (85-74). 43-seconds later, Taylor came up with a steal for Caruthersville. The Tigers worked the ball around and got it back inside to Taylor. As the defense collapsed, Taylor kicked the ball out to the corner where McWilliams had an open look. McWilliams knocked down the 3. McWilliams' 3-pointer pulled Caruthersville back to within eight-points with only 57-seconds left in the game.

The Indians were able to stave off the run and seal the game. Garmon was sent to the line where he hit both shots. Then, Caruthers stole the ball from Caruthersville with 38 seconds left. The Turnover led to Gooden's basket in the paint and finished off the Tigers (89-77).

"At this time of the year, you hope you have a team thats crying because they lost or crying because they won," Heeb said. "That means that you have a group of kids that care about each other. We had a room full of crying kids tonight. They improved more, from beginning to end, more than any other team I have coached. I'm sure going to miss those seniors. They were a great group to start with."

Caruthersville had five players reach double digits in scoring with Vohland Fonda leading at 19 points. Taylor put in 15 and Moss added 12 points from behind the arc. Shaw totaled 11 and McWilliams finished with 10 points.

Kennett also had five players reach double digits in scoring with Gooden leading at 14 points. Shavers put in 14 and Caruthers added 13. Garmon totaled 12 and Usry finished with 11 points.