Canton denies Puxico shot at state title

COLUMBIA — Led by an unbelievable performance from senior big Preston Brewer, Canton willed its way out of a 5-point deficit in the second half to overtake Puxico boys basketball and claim a 65-50 victory in the semifinal stage of the MSHSAA Show-Me Showdown Class 2 bracket.

It wasn’t pretty, relying on a 16-1 run in the third quarter to stock up a double-digit lead after being pushed to the limit just minutes prior, but coach Dalton Armontrout of Canton revved up the intensity and commanded the Tigers to new heights.

Holding off Landan Burchard of Puxico, who’s built up a reputation as one of the top players in all of Southeast Missouri, the Tigers overcame a hard-nosed effort from the Puxico offense to punch a new piece of program history.

“[Landan Burchard] had 22,” Armontraut said. “We knew he was gonna get his, but we just had to stop everybody else, and we did that. I thought we controlled the tempo there towards the end of the third quarter.”

Now, they’re headed to their first state championship game in program history.

“We took what they gave us, and now the story is written,” Armontrout said. “The story is written, but we're not done yet.”

For Puxico, it’s a much less glorious story. Getting drilled in the rebounding game due to a serious height disadvantage that couldn’t quite be made up for by heart alone, the turnaround was crushing.

With dreams of venturing back into the state title game, it came down in the most disheartening fashion that sent an already emotional Indians team into a spiral down the stretch.

“They're probably a lot bigger and more athletic than what the film showed,” Indians coach Bryant Fernetti said. “They're bigger across the board, and it bothered us a lot.”

After a quick blitz out in front early, a 7-0 run from Canton got the Tigers in the driver’s seat as the two traded leads back and forth in the first half, but a cold-blooded triple from Landan Burchard saw him finish the half with 11 and a 2-point edge at 26-24.

That edge increased when Burchard came out and drilled another 3-pointer to start the third, but that’s when Canton turned on the burners. When Brewer found himself wide open from the corner already up 5 points, it truly felt like the dagger in the hearts of the Indians.

Mounting a lead of 16 points at its peak, Canton stymied the Indians on the boards with a 40-16 win in the rebounding game to upend a Puxico victory in the turnover margin, slamming the door shut with an unbelievable defensive effort led by the senior post.

Preston Brewer’s game was a nearly perfect one: 23 points, 14 rebounds, 77 percent from the field and a trifecta of blocks that erupted Mizzou Arena like a cannonball each time.

Tyler Frazier added 14 points and Drew Gottman another 11, which silenced a Puxico side that featured an unreal 22-point game from Landan Burchard, adding 4 assists, 2 steals, a block and a 50 percent day from deep.

Canton advances to its first state title game in school history, having appeared in two final fours but finishing third and fourth back in the mid-2010s, anticipating either Eugene or Lincoln at that stage as the two tip off immediately after.

It’s a program first for Canton, and the Tigers are riding high heading into a matchup that very well could, and should, feature the No. 1 team in Class 2 as Eugene looks to unseat Lincoln.

Going to the final four for the first time in over 70 years, the Puxico audience that jammed Mizzou Arena’s lower bowl full seems ready to support their Indians no matter what, which includes an appearance in the third-place game on Thursday afternoon.

If anything, it might even bode well for Puxico. The last time the Indians finished third, they won the state championship the next year, and the year after, and appeared in the final four again the year after that.

Fernetti noted the unique opportunity to finish the season as one of just two teams in the class to end on a victory, and with any luck, it’ll be a repeat of 1950 as the Indians look to add one more feather to an already bedecked hat.

“It's not the way we wanted, but we get still get to end the year on a big note, for sure,” Fernetti said. “We'll try to do that for the town.”