Puxico battles Thayer late, but falls in test of two ranked teams

Puxico High School junior guard Jett Hancock puts up a shot against Thayer on Saturday at Puxico High School.

Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

PUXICO – Fourth-year Puxico High School varsity boys basketball coach Bryant Fernetti knew that he wanted to prepare his talented team over the past couple of seasons for deep runs into the postseason, and with that in mind, he gladly scheduled a home-and-home series with Thayer, who is one of the most storied programs in Missouri.

“It’s a game to get us better,” Fernetti said after his Indians fell to the Bobcats 58-50 on Saturday in Puxico. “They have a different level of physicality and athleticism. There may be teams who have athleticism, but they are not going to be as strong as those guys.”

Thayer has advanced to the MSHSAA State Finals seven times, including achieving third-place finishes in each of the past three seasons. It is currently ranked No. 5 in Class 3, but the Indians (5-1) battled the visitors until the final minute.

“I’ve never really even been in a position to entertain playing a team like Thayer,” Fernetti said.

He is this season.

Saturday’s loss was the first in six games for Puxico, which is ranked No. 5 in Class 2, and Fernetti’s kids had the game tied in the final quarter after the Bobcats (5-1) had stretched a close game to a seven-point margin entering the final period.

The game was back-and-forth through the first half, but Thayer separated themselves to lead 45-38 to end the third quarter. In that period, the Bobcats got offensive production from four different players, and that balance is what made Saturday’s task so challenging for Puxico.

The Thayer senior backcourt of Easton Pitts and Devin Harrington combined for 30 points, and when they weren’t punishing the Puxico defense with size and speed, respectively, then 6-foot-4 beast Cooper Clark (18 points) was.

“(Pitts and Harrington) are probably going to be the toughest one-two punch we’ll see in a long time,” Fernetti said. “When all of your eyes are on those two guys, you’ve got to make sure to stay focused enough to get back and get your man boxed out.”

That strength of Clark, who was a Class 2 All-State Second Team defensive lineman in football, was an issue on the glass, as he kept numerous possessions alive for the Bobcats and/or finished them with offensive putbacks.

“Cooper is the type of guy who can probably bench (press) 350 pounds,” Fernetti said, “and he’s going to play college football.”

The Indians trailed just 51-48 with 1:41 remaining in the game when Fernetti called a timeout. However, Thayer managed a defensive stop, which was followed by an “and one,” and from there, Puxico was in trouble despite the Bobcats missing eight of 15 free throws in the game.

The Puxico junior backcourt of Jett Hancock and Landan Burchard scored 17 and 15 points, respectively while senior post Scyler Zimmerman (nine points), senior Mason Parsley (six points), and senior Jerrett Powell (three points) also contributed.

Puxico will compete in the 68th annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament, in which it is the top seed of 16 teams.

The Indians will open the event on Thursday at 10 a.m. against No. 16-seed Gideon (2-6).