C2D3: Puxico shakes off recent Ls, dominates way to title game

BLOOMFIELD – If anyone was curious about the vulnerability of the Puxico High School varsity boy’s basketball squad following a pair of losses to close out the Indians’ regular season, just settle down a bit.

“Potosi and Woodland are really good teams,” fourth-year Puxico coach Bryant Fernetti said of the two losses his team endured in the last week. “We went up to Potosi (a team with 19 wins in 23 games) and battled. Woodland (a team with 21 victories) came out and shot really well.”

The Indians showed no signs of malaise in easily dispatching Chaffee 67-37 in the semifinal round of the MSHSAA Class 2 District 3 tournament on Wednesday at Bloomfield High School.

“Sometimes,” Fernetti continued, “you just get beat by good teams. I think (those losses) could have helped us, maybe, refocus a little bit, and realize that at this time of the year, you’re going to have to play your best against everybody.”

Puxico (24-3) showed that against the Red Devils (17-10) early and often.

The Indians, who are ranked No. 4 in Class 2, raced out to a 22-54 first quarter lead and held Chaffee to 12 points by halftime.

Puxico junior guard Jett Hancock lit Chaffee up for 13 points in the first quarter while his sidekick, Indian junior guard Landan Burchard added 11 points by halftime.

Chaffee, which fell one game shy of matching its most victories since the 2017-18 season, got clicking offensively following the break.

Red Devil sophomore guard Nolan Fowler was limited to just one basket in the first half but began to get aggressive and got to the free throw line eight times following halftime, including six attempts in the third quarter.

Chaffee played Puxico competitively (trailing 19-15) in the third quarter, as Fowler tallied eight of his team-best 12 points.

The Red Devils got 3-pointers from senior Devin Best and junior Gavin Perry in the final minutes, but the damage by Puxico was already done.

Burchard led the Indians with 25 points while Hancock chipped in 17.

Puxico will now play Charleston (14-10) in the championship game today at 6 p.m.

The Bluejays, who are ranked eighth in Class 2, advanced after beating Oran 74-52 in the other semifinal on Wednesday.

“If we let Charleston get out in transition,” Fernetti said, “and turn the ball over on offense, it’s going to be a long night. We’ve got to rebound. They are probably the most athletic team we’ve played this year.”