Ironton, Mo. (KFMO) - The top 3 seeds of the 98th Annual Arcadia Valley Thanksgiving Tournament are moving on after the first day of play.
The first game saw #1 seed South Iron take on #8 seed Bismarck. The Panthers were dominant from the jump, taking a 29-2 lead after the first quarter and leading 45-11 at the half. South Iron was able to cruise for the majority of the second half, going deeper into the bench while still holding Bismarck scoreless in the 4th quarter. The Panthers eventually won 84-15.
South Iron senior Sawyer Huff led all scorers with 22, and scored his 1000th career point early in the second quarter. Fellow senior Sam Shaw recorded a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Bismarck was led by junior August Martinez and sophomore Talon Goodman, who each had 6 points.
The second game was the 2-7 matchup, West County facing off with Clearwater. Much like the prior game, the Bulldogs were able to pull away quickly, with an aggressive defense giving the team a 28-11 first quarter lead, and then a 41-18 halftime lead. The Tigers played a much better second half, and were able to keep pace with West County, but the damage had already been done, with the Bulldogs advancing following a 70-47 win.
West County's Jaxon Campbell led the way with 22 points, and was joined in double digits by Brody Simily, who had 12. Clearwater's Lucas Recar and Aiden Westmoreland each had 10 to reach double digits as well.
The final game saw #3 seed Fredericktown go up against #6 seed Ellington. Unlike the previous two contests, this one was close for a long time. This contest was also a two-player duel, with Fredericktown freshman Tucker Reutzel and Ellington senior Brock Morey scoring the vast majority of their respective teams' points. However, the Blackcats were able to generate enough scoring around Reutzel to take the advantage down the stretch, eventually claiming a double-digit 74-57 win.
As mentioned, Reutzel finished with 37 points in his first varsity game. Morey finished with 43 points, over 75 percent of the team's offensive contribution.
Three of the four semi-final teams are set. Fredericktown will face off against West County on Wednesday. South Iron will face the winner of #4 seed Arcadia Valley and #5 seed Lesterville, set to be played Tuesday night.
