Technically speaking, Tigers take advantage of jumpstart to earn spot in Highland tourney title tilt

LEWISTOWN, Mo. — Canton’s Preston Brewer walked calmly to the free-throw line and swished four foul shots.

Before the game had even started.

The Canton boys basketball team had been awarded the four free throws for technical fouls assessed to Palmyra for pregame dunking, which is forbidden in high school games in most states.

Those four foul shots spurred Canton to a 12-0 lead by the midway mark of the first quarter, laying the groundwork for a relatively easy 66-52 victory in the first of two semifinal games Thursday night in the 53rd Highland Tournament.

“Going up 12-0 was a really big factor — talk about a good start,” third-year Canton coach Dalton Armontrout said.

Palmyra coach Brian Rea said he was upset with the assessment of the technicals, feeling they had been charged prior to the start of the official warmup period.

“How the game started killed us,” Rea said. “Our kids felt defeated right from the start.”

Canton, fueled by the quick getaway, ended a five-game losing streak to Palmyra and defeated the Panthers for just the 12th time in their last 37 meetings.

“That fast start really pushed us,” said Brewer, a 6-foot-8 senior who ended with 25 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots. “We wanted to prove we were better than a No. 4 seed.”

Canton (9-2), winning its seventh straight game, entered the Highland event seeded behind No. 1 Palmyra, No. 2 Kirksville and No. 3 Keokuk. Canton will play Keokuk (4-3) in Saturday’s 4:30 p.m. finals. Keokuk blew past Kirksville in Thursday’s other semifinal 64-38.

Canton will be seeking its first Highland title since 2015. Keokuk has never won a championship at Highland.

Brewer will be matched against Keokuk’s 6-foot-10 junior Jaxon Clark in the title game. Clark scored 25 points in the win over Kirksville.

Brewer, who said he is still fielding college offers, is averaging 23.5 points per game and has scored 20-plus points in nine of the Tigers’ 11 games. He has scored a season-best 34 points twice, including back on Dec. 6 in a 64-62 loss to Palmyra in Canton.

“I worked a lot on my shot in the offseason, plus assuming more of a leadership role for our younger players,” Brewer said.

Brewer pocketed 13 of his 25 points Thursday in the first quarter, which ended with Canton on top 22-8. Palmyra made several runs during the middle two periods, but never got closer than five points.

Palmyra (8-2) had been attempting to defend the Highland title it won a year ago and add to its list of 12 championships at the Lewis County tournament. The first-round bye it received was not a blessing in disguise, according to Rea.

Rea said not being able to play in the quarterfinals automatically puts a team behind the competitive eight ball.

“It’s hard,” Rea said. “It is not a plus.”

Seconding Brewer in the Canton scorebook was Kaden Oliver with 14 points and nine rebounds. Tyler Frazier added 12 points.

Another key statistic for Canton was its dominance on the boards, owning a 39-22 rebounding advantage.

“Rebounding was definitely important for us, plus our zone defense, which I think gave Palmyra fits early,” Brewer said.

Armontrout added an intangible to the list of items that led to his club’s victory.

“We also held our composure much better than the first time we played Palmyra,” Armontrout said. “We took a lot better care of the basketball, and we just had a lot of guys who played well.”

Mason Smith, a 6-foot-3 senior, led Palmyra in scoring (18) and rebounding (8). Hudson Bock (17) and Ryan McKinney (12) also scored in double figures for Palmyra.