Risco beats Portageville for Clarkton Christmas Tournament championship title

Risco basketball players celebrate after defeating Portageville for the Clarkton Christmas Tournament championship title Friday, Dec. 15, 2023.

Photo by Christian Johnson, Delta Dunklin Democrat

CLARKTON – The fourth-seeded Risco Tigers will go into the remainder of the basketball season with the reputation of a team to not underestimate as they made it past second-seeded Portageville with a score of 51-49 for the Clarkton Christmas Tournament championship title.

The Tigers first defeated Doniphan by 20 points and then pulled off the upset over the tournament’s No. 1 seed, Malden, by the difference of a 3-pointer in overtime.

“Any time you can play for championships early in the season it's a confidence builder,” Risco head coach Brandon Blankenship said after the win. “For us as a Class 1 school, it’s been a lot of bigger competition for us. We’ve only played one other Class 1 school so far, so these kinds of games help us prepare for the future. When we get down to the end of the season, this is the experience we want to have.”

Portageville held a slim, steady lead through the first half of the game, but as seen already in the tournament, the Tigers just wouldn’t go away.

Bulldog Brandon West opened the ballgame with a 3-pointer but Risco’s Owen Fortner immediately answered it with one of his own. The first quarter eventually tied 10-10 before Portageville found a burst of momentum and jumped ahead to a 17-10 advantage with a buzzer beater 3-point long shot by Layden Kellum.

“Portageville’s defense is tough, and they’re historically a really good program so there’s a lot of pride over there,” Blankenship said. “Plus, they had a really good football season this year and they’ve got a lot of good, strong, athletic kids. They didn’t allow us to get much.”

Portageville's Xayvion Bogan (2) fires off a shot during the Clarkton Christmas Tournament championship game.

Photo by Christian Johnson, Delta Dunklin Democrat

It looked as if the Bulldogs might run away with the game in the second quarter, but after all was said and done the margin remained the same at halftime, each team scoring just nine points, entering the break with a score of 26-19 in favor of Portageville.

“At halftime we talked about trying to cut down the driving lanes,” Blankenship explained. “They were able to keep getting to the basket, and we felt like they were getting too many second chance opportunities. We wanted to start pursuing the basketball better off the board.”

Immediately after halftime in the semifinal round Risco began to break out to turn the tide of the game. In Risco and Portageville’s title game, however, it took longer for one to come out on top. The margin again remained the same entering the last quarter of play as both teams put up 15 points.

Risco’s Sammy Smith, Owen Fortner and Eli Rodgers all scored two to start the fourth and quickly narrowed the gap to just one point. Rodgers’ jumper to follow gave Risco the first lead of the game, 42-41, with just three minutes left.

“It took a little longer for us today, and I think that’s just due to Portageville’s defensive presence,” Blankenship said. “But our guys are resilient and I tell them that we can always find a way to come back. I believe in those guys, and I think they never stop believing in that either.”

Risco's Eli Rodgers (3) charges up the court for two points during the Clarkton Christmas Tournament championship game against Portageville.

Photo by Christian Johnson, Delta Dunklin Democrat

The teams swapped leads and tied once more at 47-47, and after a timeout Riley Calvert found the net with another 3-pointer for cushion. Portageville’s Xayvion Bogan nabbed a loose ball and scored two to keep it a one-score game, but Rodgers managed a last free throw with 0.8 seconds to go, leaving no time for the Bulldogs to scramble a last play.

Blankenship said that, while his team has worked hard on improving their rebounding and defense, the key for his group has so far been sheer mental toughness. Sticking to what they know best, according to Blankenship, the game plan was to rely on their familiar man defense to shut down Portageville’s offensive weapons in players like Smith and Kellum after having seen the explosive numbers the Bulldogs are capable of.

Sammy Smith was again top-scorer for Risco with 17 points, and Eli Rodgers closely followed with 15. Owen Fortner added seven, CJ Blankenship scored six and Reiley Calvert contributed four. Jamarion Smith led the way for Portageville, racking up 12 points in total. Layden Kellum added nine, while Xayvion Bogan and Brandon West each chipped in eight.

Players who made the All Tournament Team included Risco’s Owen Fortner, Eli Rodgers and Sammy Smith; Portageville’s Aaron Dunlap and Jamarion Smith; Malden’s Payton Woodard and Quamareous Farmer; East Carter’s Bryce Stahl; Clarkton’s Amauri Gorman; and Doniphan’s Emmit Jones.

Next, Risco travels to South Pemiscot Tuesday before a break until after New Years. Portageville will participate in the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament, for which seeding will be decided today.