Puxico punches ticket to final four

ANNAPOLIS — One year ago, the Puxico Indians boys basketball team found itself on the verge of going to the final four for the first time in more than 70 years, but fell short at the very end of its Class 2 quarterfinal game against South Pemiscot.

The Indians made sure history didn't repeat itself.

Puxico scored the first 10 points of the second quarter of Friday's Class 2 quarterfinal against South Iron to take control of a close game and defeat the Panthers 61-43 to earn its first trip to the final four since 1953.

"It feels pretty good," Puxico coach Bryant Fernetti said. "Last year, we gave away an opportunity — and this year, we just wanted to make sure we didn't do that. They showed up, they played defense and they guarded their (tails) off. That's what helped us get to the final four."

Said Puxico senior Scyler Zimmerman: "It's amazing. I never would've dreamed it growing up. It's a blessing for sure."

The Indians (27-3) led wire-to-wire and held a 19-16 lead after the opening period, but quickly took control of the game in the second quarter.

Mason Parsley hit a layup just 16 seconds into the second quarter to quickly push the lead to five points, then Jett Hancock drained a 3-pointer 30 seconds later to make it a 24-16 game and force a South Iron timeout.

"We started hitting shots," Zimmerman said. "Jett was really big from the 3-point line, so that helped. We were finding (each other) in the lane. We put it together and it came out good."

Zimmerman hit a pull-up jumper to push the lead into double digits (26-16), then Parsley drained a triple with 6:02 left in the first half to cap the run and make it 29-18 Puxico.

"The kids did a good job of hitting the open man," Fernetti said, "and they did a good job of getting stops."

The Indians led by at least 10 points the rest of the half and took a 35-22 lead to the locker room after Hancock's third trey of the second quarter with 49 seconds remaining before the intermission.

"It's hard to key just on one guy when we have multiple people that can score," Fernetti said. "Tonight was Jett's night and he made the most of it."

Sawyer Huff hit a pair of free throws with 5:24 left in the third quarter to cut the Puxico lead to 35-24, but the Indians answered with a 15-2 run to effectively ice the game, taking a 50-26 lead on Landan's Burchard's basket with 10 seconds left in the third.

Hancock led Puxico with 20 points, while Zimmerman added 15, Burchard had 13 and Kaysen Long finished with eight.

"(Scyler) got us going early," Fernetti said. "I think he hit some jumpers that they might not have been ready for, but he's capable. That's what makes us hard to guard."

Sawyer Huff paced the Panthers with 17 points, while Ty Harlow added 11 and Gage Daggett finished with seven.

The Indians will take on the Canton Tigers from northeast Missouri at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Class 2 semifinals at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.

The Tigers are ranked 10th in Class 2 and defeated No. 6 Harrisburg 65-60 in Class 2 quarterfinal action on Friday. Puxico is ranked fourth.