Menu
Mules snap four-game skid, stop Dyersburg
The Poplar Bluff Mules ended a four-game losing streak with an exclamation point on Saturday evening.
The Mules defeated the visiting Dyersburg Trojans from Tennessee 64-43 in boys basketball in a commanding performance by the home team at Mules Gymnasium.
The Mules never trailed in the game, jumping out to a big lead and pressing their advantage throughout three quarters that saw Poplar Bluff give one of its best and most complete performances of the season in every aspect of the game.
When asked if this was the Mules’ most complete performance this season, head coach Will Durden agreed.
“That’s exactly what I told the kids in the locker room,” Durden said. “This is the first game that we put together both offensively and defensively and kept the momentum going.”
Poplar Bluff improved to 8-9 on the season thanks in part to three players in double-digits, with Sammy Durden recording a game-high 19 points, Dallas Williams adding 18, and Brendan Durden finishing with 15.
Dyersburg dropped to 10-10 as the Trojans had 11 players on the scoreboard but no one with double figures.
The Mules came out running and gunning in the first quarter, jumping out to an 8-0 lead in the first two minutes, then pushing that lead to 13-0 before the Trojans scored their first point of the game with less than two minutes remaining.
Poplar Bluff finished off the first with a 17-2 lead, holding the Trojans scoreless from the field, with their only points coming from the free-throw line.
The Mules continued to score in the second quarter, increasing their lead to 30-10 halfway through the period.
Dyersburg went on a five-point run to cut the score to 30-15 with three minutes remaining, but the Mules scored the final four points of the period to take a 34-15 lead to the locker room at halftime.
“We’ve been getting off to some slow starts, and we’re trying to tell the kids to turn up the energy level early,” coach Durden said. “I thought the kids did well tonight doing that.”
Poplar Bluff didn’t back off in the third quarter — in fact, the Mules pressed their advantage on both ends of the court, contesting every shot on defense and pushing the ball aggressively toward the basket on offense.
The Mules’ intensity paid off, enabling them to build a 45-19 lead that led to a Dyersburg timeout with 3:09 left in the third.
Williams punctuated the quarter with a slam dunk with 30 seconds left, and Sammy Durden closed out the scoring with two after-buzzer free throws to give the Mules a 53-30 lead going into the fourth.
Dyersburg needed to score 3-pointers in bunches, and quickly, but Poplar Bluff’s defense, especially its rebounding, held the Trojans to only 13 points in the fourth quarter, even though coach Durden sent his bench players in for much of the period.
Although Dyersburg outscored the Mules 13-11 in the final frame, Poplar Bluff still was able to claim a dominating and decisive victory over the visitors.
Next up for the Mules are the Kennett Indians, who come to Poplar Bluff this Tuesday, with the junior varsity game at 6 p.m., followed by the varsity at 7:30 p.m. The Mules will be looking for their first back-to-back wins of the new year.