Risco upsets Malden, Portageville keeps rolling in Clarkton Christmas Tournament

Risco varsity basketball players and coaches celebrate after beating first-seeded Malden in a semifinal game upset to advance to the championship of the Clarkton Christmas Tournament Thursday.

Photo by Christian Johnson, Delta Dunklin Democrat

Fourth-seeded Risco pulled off 78-75 upset in overtime against first-seeded Malden, and second-seeded Portageville kept their momentum going with a 55-32 win over East Carter County in the semifinal round of the Clarkton Christmas Tournament on Thursday.

Portageville made waves with a commanding 106-11 quarterfinal win over North Pemiscot while Risco downed Doniphan by a 20-point margin Monday as well, winning 73-53.

(4) Risco vs (1) Malden

Risco and Malden's semifinal matchup turned out to be the most hotly contested game of the night, and it was the most meaningful for a lower-seeded team's continuing progression this season. Tigers head coach Brandon Blankenship said he saw progress in many aspects, but primarily in mental toughness and determination.

“It was toughness and loving each other,” Blankenship said. “We preach trusting one another and loving each other. We just battled even when we got down, and we didn't give up early. That's just a testament to our guys' toughness.”

The Green Wave held onto a steady, but narrow, lead through the first half. Malden went into halftime with a nine-point advantage, 36-27, with a team offensive effort and the hot hands of Trey Miller with three 3-pointers in the first half.

“Malden's a great team, and for a good part of the first half they had everything working,” Blankenship said. “They had their bigs working, they were hitting 3's, and that makes it hard to guard against. There late even, we may have had a bit of a lead but they'd hit a big shot every time. You've just got to keep on fighting.”

Risco rallied after the break and took off with back-to-back 3's shot by Sammy Smith and Aaron Denson. Another by Denson gave Risco its first lead of the game 42-41 about halfway through the third quarter. Eventually the two teams tied at 44-44 ending the third, and again at 66-66 entering overtime.

Risco's Sammy Smith moves the ball down court as he is guarded by Malden's Tylyne Mathies during a semifinal game at the Clarkton Christmas Tournament.

Photo by Christian Johnson, Delta Dunklin Democrat

CJ Blankenship fired off a 3-point bomb to start OT and Sammy Smith laid it on for eight more points for the win. Smith led the Tigers with 28 points. Eli Rodgers, Owen Fortner and CJ Blankenship all chipped in 10 apiece, and Reiley Calvert added nine.

Malden has proven to be a high-scoring team already this season if allowed, having taken its four wins all by a margin of around 30 points or more. Blankenship said the Tigers' defense was prepared and with players like Landon Baker taking big charges on defense his team was able to contend.

Quamareous Farmer was the top scorer for the Green Wave with an even 20 points, Laterrence Robinson followed with 16, and Trey Miller added nine.

(2) Portageville vs (3) East Carter

Despite Portageville's explosive offensive show out to begin the tournament, East Carter managed to keep the Bulldogs largely under control in the first half and even tied the matchup early on. AJ Larry and Layden Kellum each put in a layup for the Bulldogs to end the first quarter ahead 11-8, but with a precarious outlook.

“We're still knocking off a little rust, we're still missing some easy ones at the basket, not shooting as well as I'd like, but we're starting to get better,” Portageville coach TJ Smith said. “What I like is seeing how hard we're playing right now on both ends of the floor. We're making some bad decisions, but we're kind of making up for it with pure effort, playing hard and playing together.”

Smith said East Carter's zone made the Bulldogs “stagnant” early on, and while Portageville employed a full court press starting the second quarter the minutes leading to halftime still followed closely.

Kellum tossed in a pair of layups and started to widen the gap, but East Carter's Bryce Stahl put in a 3-pointer and Wyatt Chase quickly added four points to tie the game 17-17. The back and forth ended as Portageville's Mason Adams pulled in a steal and found the net with 15 seconds to go. Portageville entered the break up 21-19.

Portageville's Aaron Dunlap fires off a 3-pointer during a semifinal game against East Carter at the Clarkton Christmas Tournament.

Photo by Christian Johnson, Delta Dunklin Democrat

“We try to speed them up and press them, but we miss layups off turnover and don't score as much as we want,” Smith said. “We want to play a little faster offensively, and in the second half we came out and made some adjustments to get some more movement going.”

Bulldog Aaron Dunlap almost singlehandedly changed the game's course when he kicked off the third quarter with three back-to-back 3-point bombs to jump to a 30-21 lead. Scoring mostly tapered off until the fourth, but Portageville managed to hold East Carter to just five points in the third.

A combined effort overall to end things saw seven Bulldog players find the net, combining for 23 points, and advance to the championship with a 55-32 win. Aaron Dunlap led Portageville with 13 points, Jamarion Smith chipped in 12 and Kellum added eight.

“I love playing in this tournament, and then we've got the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament coming up,” Smith said. “At the end of the year, you've got to put three or four solid games together in order to move on to the next level. This is all about preparing for the end of the year.”

Portageville faces off against Risco in the tournament championship tonight at 8:30 p.m.