(Park Hills, MO) The second seeded South Iron Panthers defeated ten seed DeSoto Dragons 66-45 in the quarterfinals of the 68th Bob Sechrest Jr. Central Christmas Tournament, advancing to the semifinals.
South Iron started strong after giving up a quick 3-pointer to DeSoto and outscored the Dragons 17-12 in the first quarter. The Panthers outscored the Dragons 18-11 in the second giving them a 35-23 lead heading into the second half. They put a pin in the game in the third quarter with an impressive offensive display, putting up 21 points to DeSoto’s seven. DeSoto outscored the Panthers by five in the fourth, but ultimately it wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit.
The Huff brothers played a large part in the win for South Iron with Sawyer Huff scoring 24 points and Hunter Huff collecting 15 rebounds. Marquis Burse also put up 16 for the panthers. DeSoto was led on the scoresheet by Cole McClinton who had 13 points.
South Iron will play the Farmington Knights in the semifinal round on Friday, Dec. 29 at 7:30pm. DeSoto will play the Festus Tigers in the fifth place bracket on Friday at 4:30pm.