Tigers fall to Bearcats with 1.4 seconds left

The Cape Central Tigers faced off against the Dexter Bearcats Friday night at 7 p.m. The Tigers were coming off a solid Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament performance. The Tigers went undefeated and knocked off the Notre Dame Bulldogs in the finals. The Tigers had already been defeated by the Bearcats once this season in the SEMO Conference Tournament losing 56-63, but the Tigers were without senior leader, Tyrome Huff.

The Tigers got off to an early start against the Bearcats Friday and that momentum carried over to a 9 point lead at halftime. After a quiet performance from senior Tyrome Huff, junior Jonathan Brandtner stepped up to maintain the lead going into the 4th quarter. The Tigers were leading 42-35 going into the 4th quarter, but after a few untimely turnovers, the Bearcats worked their way back. With the score tied 50-50, the Bearcats worked the clock on their final possession looking for the perfect opportunity to strike. The Bearcats found a way to move the ball around and get an open look at a layup and they capitalized with 1.4 seconds left. The Tigers inbounded the ball to half court and called a timeout immediately with 1.1 seconds left on the game clock down by 2. Jonathan Brandtner inbounded the ball from the far sideline to a 6’7 Cameron Williams, but he was unable to get a shot off to beat the buzzer. The Tigers’ next matchup is against their rivals, the Jackson Indians Tuesday night in Jackson.