Clarkton starts hot, holds off late Gideon rally

CLARKTON, Mo. -- A common phrase in sports is that the best players come through in the biggest games. It's safe to say that the Tri-County Conference's two most decorated players didn't disappoint in this one.

Gideon's senior standout Jordan Boone dropped 31 points on the night while reigning conference Player of the Year Dustin Ferguson finished with 30 to lead the Clarkton Reindeer past their archrivals, the Gideon Bulldogs, 83-65 as they continued their run of dominance through the Tri-County Conference.

In other area games Friday, Delta C7 shocked Cooter 67-65 in overtime, while Holcomb got past Neelyville 57-53.

Ferguson got things started early for Clarkton as he silenced the Gideon faithful that had made the four-mile trip by shooting the lights out in the first quarter. The 5-foot-10 junior drained four 3-pointers and added four free throws on his way to 16 first-quarter points. Davaris Parker also added eight points in the first period to help Clarkton jump out to an astounding 31-5 lead.

After falling down by as much as 34 points, Jordan Boone -- who scored only two points in the first quarter -- helped calm the storm for Gideon by knocking down a pair of 3s on his way to scoring 13 points in the second quarter. However, the three-pronged Clarkton attack of Ferguson, Casey Redden and Justin Brown took center stage in the second quarter as they led Clarkton to a 51-24 halftime lead.

Gideon looked like a different team after the break though as Boone stayed hot from outside and was aided by point guard Jake Deprow as Gideon outscored the Reindeer 23-12 in the third quarter.

As the fourth quarter got underway, the 'Dogs picked up right where they left off as a pair of quick steals and layups to go along with a Curtis Miller 3-pointer energized the Gideon crowd as the Bulldogs had cut the lead to 10 points. However, Redden scored the next six points and Ferguson went 5-for-5 from the free-throw line down the stretch to put the game on ice for Clarkton. After a rebound and a long outlet pass, Brown put an exclamation point on the victory with an emphatic dunk as time expired.

The Reindeer were clutch all night long from the charity stripe as they hit on 18 of their 23 free throws (78 percent). Gideon also was strong from the line as they knocked down 15-of-18 (83 percent).

Ferguson led Clarkton with 30 points on the evening while Redden tossed in 20 and Brown added 12. Boone was the only Bulldog in double figures, finishing with 31 points, while Deprow added nine and Curtis Miller finished with six.

Delta C7 67, Cooter 65
At Cooter, Cody Dudley hit a 15-foot shot at the buzzer in overtime to lift the Chargers to an upset victory over the host Wildcats.

Delta C7 (5-6) trailed 30-13 at the half, but rallied to force overtime and eventually pull out the victory.

Sloan Richardson scored a game-high 23 points to pace the Chargers, while Damian Flowers added 14, James Blanton tossed in 12 and Dudley finished with 11.

Aaron McCaig led Cooter with 21 points, while Aaron Brown added 13.

The Wildcats also lost standout big man Nathan Poe to a broken collarbone during the second quarter. His status for the remainder of the season is not known yet.