The Park Hills Central Rebels had a strange, but highly successful week. Not only did they win a pair of regular season games against Arcadia Valley and Fredericktown, but they resumed the Conference Championship game from last week against Ste. Genevieve. And won! The game was postponed due to a scary injury to a Dragon player, but picked up where it left off with just under four minutes remaining in the second quarter. The Rebels were up 33-17, and they managed to regain their momentum from last week and bring home the Conference Title.
All three of the games for the week were in Park Hills, so Central had the luxury of home court advantage throughout, and they didn’t waste the opportunity. The game against Arcadia Valley was a tutorial on dominance, as the Rebels jumped out early and just rolled. Collin McMullen had an insane five three-pointers in the first quarter and Jobe Bryant had a pair to put the Rebels up 31-11. Then in the second McMullen hit three more and Mason Williams added two (three total in the first half) for a bananas 56-19 lead at the half.
The final two stanzas of the game would see the bench rotate in with such a big lead in tow, but Central kept getting it done regardless of who was on the court. They were barely outscored 22-16 and 10-9 in the final two frames, but the game was pretty much set in stone after the first half. The Rebels easily held on for the 81-51 victory.
McMullen led the way with his eight three-pointers and 26 total points. Bryant had 12 points in limited time and Williams had nine with his trio of treys. It was a clean all-around victory.
Next up was the game against Fredericktown on Friday, and if the Rebels were able to knock off the Blackcats they would claim their second straight MAAA Conference Large Schools Division Regular Season Championship. That is a mouthful, so let’s cut to the chase. They won. Handily.
Ten points from Caden Casey and eight from Bryant helped stake Central to a 27-13 lead after the first quarter, and they added to it in the second. Bryant had seven more and the Rebels put up 18 to the Blackcats’ 12 for a 20-point lead at the half.
Then, just to make sure the game (and the regular season Championship) was truly in their hands, Central turned on the jets in the third. They won the frame 21-8 and doubled up Fredericktown 66-33, thanks to five more points from Bryant and threes from Casey and McMullen. The bench racked up most of the minutes in the third, and the Rebs were outscored 20-16, but McMullen’s outside shooting game continued to impress. He hit three more from downtown in the fourth and Park Hills sealed the deal with an 82-53 victory.
Bryant led all scorers with 20 points, but Central had four players in double digits. Casey had 15, Williams had 13 and McMullen and his four threes accounted for 12. It was once again a balanced attack, and now all that was left was to resume the Conference Championship game.
So, the next day at noon, the Rebels and the Dragons picked up where they left off a week ago, at 3:45 of the second quarter with Central holding a 33-17 lead. The first quarter from last week featured strong efforts from Bryant, Casey and Triston Stewart, and helped the home team build a 21-13 lead. They continued to pour it on in the second with 26 more, thanks in large part to 12 from Bryant and a pair of threes by McMullen, which led to a 47-24 lead at the break.
After halftime, the Rebels banged home 22 more points, and despite the efforts of Ricky Hunter (the Ste. Gen star who was rushed to the hospital last week to stop the game), they increased their lead yet again. Up 69-38, the fourth quarter held little meaning outside of the final whistle. Central laid back and ate the clock due to the luxury of their sizable lead. They were outscored 17-11, but were never in any danger of coughing up the lead. They took down the game and the Conference Championship with an 80-55 victory.
Bryant led all scorers with 27, but Casey had a big game as well with his 20 points on seven buckets and two from downtown. Stewart reached double digits as well with 12, and McMullen was hot once again from beyond the arc with three treys to lead the team.
It was an unorthodox Championship, but a convincing one nonetheless. The Rebels have now won 10 in a row and have two more tuneup games to play next week before the Class 4 District 2 playoffs begin. They will host Cape Central on Tuesday night to try and keep the streak alive.
