Cape Central throttles Bell City, returns to Southeast Missourian Tournament semis

Cape Central junior TySeanDre' Edwards drives toward the basket against Bell City during the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament quarterfinals on Friday, Dec. 27, at the Show Me Center.

Kaiden Karper ~ kkarper@semoball.com

More than 23 minutes into the game, Cape Central had yet to allow its 20th point.

One more clamp-down job like this and coach Lamont Frazier’s Tigers will be D-ing up in the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament finals.

TySeanDre' Edwards’ game-high 15 points were a mere subplot in second-seeded Cape Central’s 60-23 beatdown of No. 7 seed Bell City on Friday night at the Show Me Center. The rout puts the Tigers back in the tournament semifinals for the eighth straight season after coasting to a championship last year.

“I just think being us,” Frazier said of the biggest reason for victory. “At times we get a little bit complacent because it's not easy what these guys go through and to really give yourself the process that you're not very familiar with. Sometimes, especially as a teenager, it can be a little bit challenging, but we're starting to see more and more guys kind of go, ‘hey, this is kind of fun. We kind of like this.’"

Cape Central (6-3) came out swishing shots at a blistering pace and were never legitimately threatened. A handful of Tigers found their touch both inside and outside the arc, as three other players — Matayo Rivers, Mar’K Mills and Goliath Morris-Young — hit double figures to compliment Edwards.

After leading by 20 points at the break, Cape Central bolted out in the second half, put together a 19-5 run over six minutes, played great defense, and ran away with it for good.

Bell City could not consistently counter Cape Central’s physicality and athleticism. Edwards put an exclamation point on the game when he fought through two defenders and had a vicious slam dunk off a second rebound with 1:10 left in the third quarter.

Junior Juan Hernandez had nine points to lead Bell City (6-3), whose No. 7 seed is the program’s highest in the tournament since 2007 when the Cubs were seeded No. 2.

Frazier said that confidence and composure played a big role for his Tigers, who are gunning for their sixth Christmas Tournament title in the past eight years.

“One of my big things is pace and tempo,” Frazier said. “Without having a shot clock, what does a possession look like? And we talk about these things. Giving the players ownership of a possession and, therefore, they have to learn to grow and understand what a possession looks like. Players have to have a little bit of ownership of things that happen on the floor. So, as a coach, I have to be willing to give some of that."

Cape Central will take on the winner of No. 3 Charleston and No. 6 Woodland in the 2024 Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament semifinals tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. at the Show Me Center. Bell City will look to bounce back against the loser of Charleston-Woodland in the fifth-place bracket tomorrow evening at 4:30 p.m.