Tri-County Tournament: Southland upsets Gideon to secure first winning season since 2016

CARDWELL, Mo. - Southland head coach Tyre Washington said his motto for the Rebels this season was to win a game they weren’t supposed to win.

After taking down the No. 2 seeded Gideon Bulldogs 78-75 in the Tri-County Tournament Semifinals, Washington felt confident to say they finally accomplished their goal.

“This is that win,” Washington said. “We’ve been talking about this win all season, and this was it. They were the two seed, we got our butt kicked last time we played them. We are just on a revenge tour right now.”

The three-point victory was deemed a lot sweeter for Washington compared to a 20-point defeat from the last time Southland went up against the Bulldogs. They lost 74-54 on Jan. 14 at Gideon.

It wasn’t easy, as Southland still trailed the Bulldogs for the majority of the game. In fact, they never even took the lead until the fourth quarter with just over two minutes left to play.

Gideon’s Drake Montgomery proved to be nearly unstoppable throughout the game.

The senior center had 15 points in the first half from the Bulldogs and numerous blocks defensively, keeping the Rebels out of the paint.

Despite his dominating performance, they were only ahead by one point at halftime, 36-35. While he was controlling the paint on both ends, Southland’s junior guard Braylan Cox was doing everything he could to dismantle Gideon’s defense. He finished the first half with 13 points.

Montgomery went on a roll in the third quarter. Hoping to pull away from the Rebels, he scored 10 of Gideon’s 21 points.

Yet again, combating all of the Bulldogs' efforts, Cox kept his team in the game with a hot streak of his own in the third. He knocked down three from deep to score nine of Southland's 20 points in the third. His efforts brought the score to 57-55 entering the fourth, keeping the Rebels in place to strike and take the lead.

According to Washington, although he was impressed with Cox’s hot hand, he was even more astonished when Cox decided to step up and guard Montgomery.

“He was our main scorer and he was bringing the energy all game,’ Washington said. “He is also our best defender that we have and he gets the toughest assignments. I thought it was impressive when we couldn’t slow down Montgomery and he took the initiative and said ‘I want him, I got him.’ Then went and shut him down for two possessions in a row and that was really the turning point of the game.”

As the Bulldogs still controlled the lead, Cox had a green light to take over until he eventually fouled out.

According to Cox, it was all about the battle for him though. He said more than anything, he just wanted to make sure they could say he fought to the end.

“We fought all the way,” Cox said. “I was just feeling good and Coach trusted me to make those shots. Even when I fouled out, my teammates took it to the end on their own and got the win.”

He would foul out with 27 points, trailing 71-70 and around three minutes left to play.

According to Washington, as he preaches battling adversity to his players, he said they were ready for this moment. With the game on the line and Cox fouled out, they refused to roll over when the game was just within reach.

“When our top scorer with 27 points and best defender fouls out, it kind of put a damper on things,” Washington said. “But we rallied around other guys and they stepped up.”

A layup from Trace Gibson and a series of made free throws from Camden Washington and Jeremiah McMinn finally gave the Rebels a slight advantage.

With the seconds ticking off, a steal from Knoah Beal plus a kick-out to Camden Washington who finished the breakaway layup secured their three-point victory.

“It felt great,” Cox said. “This is my team, they will fight. I trusted them and I knew they would get the job done.”

As Cox finished with 27, Seniors Gibson also stepped up with 21 points and McMinn would add 13.

For the Bulldogs, Montgomery was the top scorer with a game-high 31 points. Senior Hayden Lacewell added 17 points while juniors Brayden Knapp and Landon Weaver each had 12.

This upset not only placed the Rebels in the Tri-County Championship game, but it also secured Southlands first winning season since 2016.

Washington found himself filled with emotional pride upon realizing this feat.

“Before 2016, you can’t find a winning record from Southland until my senior year here in 2006,” Washington said. “That’s just big, to know Southland is a winning ball club now.”

The Rebels are set to face the No. 1 seeded Risco in the Championship game on Thursday, Feb. 13. With a home-court advantage, this game will tip-off at 7:30 p.m.