Staff photo by Mike Buhler Gideon's Jordan Boone (32) shoots over Clarkton's Tolby Richardson during Tuesday's Class 1, District 1 semifinals at Gideon. Boone scored 26 points as the Bulldogs upset Clarkton 77-64. [Click to enlarge]

After losing to the Reindeer three times in the regular season, Gideon took out a year's worth of frustration and more Tuesday night, dominating the 'Deer 77-64 in the semifinals of the Class 1, District 1 Tournament.

"We were just ready. We had them at home," Gideon coach Daniel Sexton said. "It's hard to beat a team four times. Every time we played, I feel like we got a little better."

Staff photo by Mike Buhler Gideon's Dustin Horad (center) puts up a shot in front of teammate Zack Robinson (40) and Clarkton's Deangelo during Tuesday's Class 1, District 1 semifinals at Gideon. [Click to enlarge]

Gideon will take on Scott County Central, the No. 2 team in Missouri's Class 1, for the district title Thursday night at 7:30. SCC defeated Oran 79-39 in Tuesday's other semifinal.

Against Clarkton, the Bulldogs used a stiff defense to slow down the Reindeer's high-octane offense, limiting it to just 33 points through the first three periods.

"Gideon played a great game," Clarkton coach Scott Blackburn said. "You've got to give them credit. They beat us on the boards, especially the first half. They just took everything away from us."

Gideon also capitalized on its height advantage, pounding the ball to its post players and to Jordan Boone, who scored 26 points on the night to fuel the upset.

"Their big guy got in foul trouble and he was guarding Jordan, and they had to put a smaller guy on him," Sexton said. "So we decided to take advantage of it and post him up."

Said Boone: "We rebounded pretty good. We were trying to get the ball inside. Coach had a gameplan for us and we just took it from there."

Did they ever. The Bulldogs took the lead for good on Dustin Horad's basket with 43 seconds left in the first quarter, then took control of the game in the closing minutes of the first half, holding Clarkton scoreless from the field the final 3:27 before the intermission to take a 30-19 lead to the locker room.

The Reindeer closed the gap to 32-24 on Dustin Ferguson's 3-point play in the opening minute of the third quarter, but Gideon answered with a 13-4 run fueled by Boone and the big men to push the lead to 17 points (45-28) on Andy Woodall's basket with 3:18 left in the period.

"That's been one of our weaknesses all year," said Blackburn. "We haven't done well against big, physical teams all year. They turned it into a halfcourt game and that worked against us."

The 'Dogs took a 54-33 lead to the final period and pushed the lead to 63-39 on Travis Miller's bucket with 5:14 left in the game before Clarkton used a late flurry to narrow the final gap.

"They're a very good team. They're very well coached," said Sexton of Clarkton. "We caught them on a bad night. They were cold and I give credit to my kids for playing so hard."

Ferguson led all scorers with 31 points -- 19 coming in the fourth quarter as the Reindeer got within nine (73-64) in the final minute, while Tolby Richardson added 10 for Clarkton.

Miller chipped in 13 for Gideon, while Horad tossed in nine as Woodall and Max Johnson each finished with eight.

The win is even sweeter for Gideon, as it is the Bulldogs' seniors first high-school win over Clarkton.

"All the seniors, we deserved this one," Boone said. "Everybody played good tonight. Coach Sexton did a good job of coaching tonight."

Said Sexton: "I give all the credit to the kids. They got up for this game. ... They really wanted it. It was all the kids."