Campbell bracing for pressure test against tradition-rich Tigers

PORTAGEVILLE – No one needs to tell veteran Caruthersville High School varsity boy’s basketball coach Lamont Bell about the hoop program at Campbell this season.

“They’re good,” Bell said succinctly when asked about the Camels.

The two teams will meet tonight for the Bootheel Conference Tournament championship at 7:45 p.m. at Portageville High School, and the Tigers (10-8) will be seeking a bit of revenge.

The Camels (17-2) beat Caruthersville 82-75 last month in Caruthersville.

“Campbell plays very smart,” Bell said. “They are well coached. They shoot it well. They execute well.

“We’ll have to play our ‘A’ game.”

Campbell got to this point by beating South Pemiscot in a semifinal, who tried to pressure the Camels defensively over the length of the court, which is precisely what Caruthersville will try and do, as well.

“Caruthersville has some shooters,” Fowler said. “They are very physical and very athletic.”

The Tigers knocked off rival Hayti in a semifinal in an emotional battle, and first-year Indian coach said the key to surviving the Tiger pressure defense is to “get the ball in the middle of the court.”

“Get the ball in the middle of the court and don’t let them speed you up,” Webb said. “They sped us up (in a 75-67 Indian loss) a little faster than I would want us to.”

Fowler knows that feeling well. He said the same thing after dealing with South Pemiscot.

“We let them speed us up a little bit,” Fowler said following that win. “We got in a hurry some, and we played just a little quick.

“We could have done just a little bit better job of executing.”

One thing that could help the Camels is the return of senior starter Ben Rowland, who missed Tuesday’s semifinal with an illness. Fowler classified Rowland as “day-to-day.”

“Ben’s been playing really well for us,” Fowler said. “He rebounds well and scores for us.

“We really missed him (against South Pemiscot) on the glass.”

For the Tigers, advancing this far in this tournament is nothing too far out of the ordinary.

Caruthersville has won this tournament three times (2023, 2022, and 2017) in the past decade. However, for the Camels, who are ranked No. 7 in Class 2, a moment like this is something to savor.

Campbell’s win over the Bulldogs on Tuesday was just their third victory in this tournament over the past 10 years. Campbell won this event in 2021.

“In the Bootheel Conference,” Fowler said, “anytime you can get to the finals, it’s huge. The Bootheel Conference is so loaded.”

The Tigers led Campbell early in the recent January loss, and Bell isn’t going to allow his players to forget that night.

“We had them down at (our) house,” Bell said. “They came back in the last couple of minutes and took it from us.

“It’s a rematch, but Coach Fowler is definitely going to have his boys ready to go.”

In the girl’s championship game, top-seed Portageville (18-3) will face No. 2-seed Malden (13-5) at 6:15 p.m.

The Bulldogs are ranked No. 9 in Class 3, and beat Malden in Malden 59-41 just a week ago. Tonight’s game is a rematch of last year’s title game, which Portageville won 60-30.