Crim: Tigers head to loaded Class 2 final four at Mizzou Arena looking to ‘make a name for ourselves’

CANTON, Mo. — After accepting congratulatory handshakes and hugs and posing for pictures with teammates and fans, Preston Brewer finally felt the enormity of the moment.

While trying to describe the physical pounding he took from relentless Harrisburg defenders for 32 minutes in Friday night’s Missouri Class 2 quarterfinal victory on his home court, he paused.

“Honestly, I can’t talk right now,” he said, trying to collect his thoughts. “I’m sorry.”

He need not be.

Brewer scored 12 of his team’s final 20 points over the closing 10 minutes to help secure the 65-60 victory that sends the Tigers to this week’s state final four at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.

Harrisburg made Brewer work for every one of his team-high 26 points. While he’s accustomed to being double- and triple-teamed — the curse of being 6-foot-8 and gifted — the Bulldogs ratcheted the pressure.

They put a defender behind him, one in front and a guard dropped down every time it appeared he might receive the ball in the post. They shadowed him wherever he went.

They delivered a constant physical pounding, with or without the ball, and on several occasions Brewer and a defender went sprawling to the floor after locking up fighting for position.

“Definitely the most physical game we have played,” Brewer admitted.

“I know they’ve got some guys that play football, and that was a factor,” observed guard Kaden Oliver.

Brewer also had his work cut out on the defensive end. Trace Combs, coming off a 27-point effort against Slater in the sectional, turned in another electric performance.

The 6-foot-5 senior buried two 3-pointers, threw down two dunks and continually put pressure on Canton’s interior defense with slashing, dribble drives to the basket in scoring a game-high 30 points.

But he managed to score just four points over the final 11 ½ minutes when the Tigers erased a deficit that grew to as many as five points.

“He’s hard to guard, no matter who you throw at him,” Brewer said.

“The Combs kid is legit,” Tigers coach Dalton Armontrout said. “We tried to stop him as much as we could.”

While Brewer is the centerpiece, averaging more than 25 points and 11 rebounds per game, Canton continues to advance because it’s more than a one-man show.

Forwards Tyler Frazier and Bleu Taylor combined for 26 points in Monday night’s sectional win over Clopton. They were held to a single field goal and free throw between them by Harrisburg but contributed defensively.

Guard Drew Gottman, who worked his way into the starting lineup, had two big buckets in the fourth quarter against Harrisburg, including one that put the Tigers in front for good with 42 seconds left, and scored in double figures in both contests last week.

And Oliver, who managed just four points against Clopton, found his groove against Harrisburg. The lefty buried five crucial 3-pointers and sank all eight of his free-throw attempts in scoring 25 points, 15 above his average.

“That’s what we’ve been needing from him,” Armontrout said of the 6-foot-1 junior. “We’re hoping he does that again at Missouri on Wednesday.”

Canton has won seven straight and 12 of its last 13. Its last loss came Feb. 8 in the finals of the LaPlata tournament to then-unbeaten Green City, which suffered its only loss Friday night to St. Elizabeth (68-66) in the Class 1 quarterfinals.

The Tigers, now 24-5, face a tough draw. They will likely need to beat two top four teams to win the title, beginning with Wednesday’s 6 p.m. matchup with Puxico.

Fourth-ranked Puxico (27-3) had an 18-game winning streak snapped with back-to-back losses to Potosi and Woodland — teams still alive in the Class 4 and Class 3 tournaments, respectively — to close the regular season.

The Indians have breezed through the postseason, however, winning by margins of 30, 25, 34 and 18 points, the last against No. 5 South Iron in the quarterfinals.

Puxico made four consecutive trips to the Class B state tournament from 1950-53, winning in 1951 and 1952 and losing the title game in 1953, but hasn’t been back since.

The other semifinal features top-ranked Eugene against Lincoln in a rematch of a Jan. 3 game Eugene won handily 62-27.

Eugene (26-4) has won 19 of its last 20 games, including a 58-49 overtime decision over second-ranked and defending state champion Hartville in the sectional. It has not been tested otherwise in the postseason, winning by margins of 29, 34 and 50 points.

The Eagles, averaging nearly 71 points per game, beat Peoria (Ill.) Manual in the Norm Stewart Classic in December. Their only losses have come to larger-classification Missouri schools Blair Oaks, Jefferson City Helias and Columbia Father Tolton, and to Union of Tulsa, Okla.

Eugene finished second in its only previous final four appearance in 1992. Lincoln is 23-4 and has one fourth-place finish in program history.

Canton endured disappointing sectional losses in each of the past two seasons, first to Clopton and then to Harrisburg.

Now, after avenging both defeats in a span of five nights, the Tigers hope to improve on their third-place finish in 2014 and fourth-place showing in 2015, their only previous final four appearances.

“It’s been 10 years now since we’ve been there,” Brewer said, “and now we get to make a name for ourselves.”

State champions has a nice ring to it.