CAMPBELL, Mo. -- In what has become one of southeast Missouri's most bitter rivalries, the Clarkton Reindeer went on the road Tuesday night to take on the Campbell Camels in what many believed to be a preview of the Tri-County Conference championship game.

Clarkton knew it had some adversity to overcome early on as starting center Devaris Parker and leading scorer Dustin Ferguson missed much of the game due to foul trouble. Also, standout Casey Redden was serving a one-game suspension as a result of his ejection from Friday night's contest with Hayti.

Despite all of this, the Reindeer still managed to walk away with a 75-67 victory in the latest installment of this colorful rivalry.

Campbell jumped out early by turning up the defensive pressure as the high-powered Clarkton offense managed only eight first-quarter points.

The Camels' Andrew Pearson led the way with six points on the quarter to add to his eventual team high of 20 as Campbell outscored the 'Deer 14-8 in the first period.

However, the tables turned quickly when the second quarter got underway as the Clarkton offense found its rhythm by scoring 28 second-quarter points, 15 of them coming from behind the 3-point line. This huge scoring spurt came thanks in large part to Clarkton making adjustments and forcing numerous turnovers on the defensive end as Campbell was held to only nine points on the quarter.

Justin Brown sank a pair of free throws with all zeros left on the clock to give Clarkton a 36-23 advantage at halftime.

As the second half got underway, Brown knocked down a pair of 3s to extend the already big Clarkton lead.

However, with five minutes to play in the third period, Ferguson joined teammates Parker and DeAngelo White in picking up his fourth foul of the contest. With Ferguson, Redden and Parker unavailable for various reasons, it was Brown and senior guard Tolby Richardson that stepped up big for Clarkton.

Richardson went 10-for-11 from the free-throw line in the second half on his way to leading all scorers with 25 points on the night as he helped stave off several Campbell runs.

Free throw shooting was huge on the night for Clarkton as they made 33-of-38 (86 percent) from the line, while Campbell was 13-for-20 (65 percent).

For one of the first times this season, Ferguson failed to lead the Reindeer in scoring as he finished with 13. Richardson led the Reindeer with 25 points, while Brown joined him in double digits with 17 and Ferguson added 13.

Campbell was paced by the backcourt duo of Pearson and Jordan Baggett, who scored 20 and 15 points, respectively.