By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Hayti crushed the boards and Purdy’s state title chances.
The Indians out-rebounded Purdy 50-28, including 24 offensive rebounds, in Thursday night’s Class 2 Show-Me Showdown semifinal at JQH Arena.
Darius Jones and Nakwon Harris led four Hayti players in double figures with 13 points apiece. The Indians led by 23 at halftime and held off a resilient Purdy squad in the second half for a 63-46 victory.
“(Rebounding) has been a point of emphasis coming into the final four,” said Hayti coach Aaron Bidewell. “Our kids are excited about competing. They know how important rebounding is.”
Purdy coach Jeremy Dresslaer praised the Eagles’ second-half play. Despite the sizeable halftime deficit, the Eagles outscored Hayti by six over the final two quarters.
Colt Keeling led Purdy with 17 points and nine rebounds.
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“I’m proud of my guys,” Dresslaer said. “When we’re up here in the final four, there are no negatives to be had. There are a lot of teams who want to be here.”
Hayti plays Van-Far in the Class 2 title game at 4:30 p.m. Friday at JQH Arena. Purdy goes for 3rd place against Mid-Buchanan at 12:50 p.m. at Hammons Student Center.
A halftime conversation between Dresslaer and senior guard Tyler Keeler foreshadowed Purdy’s second-half improvement.
“When you have seniors who look you in the eye like a man and say, ‘We’re ready,’ I knew we’d come out and fight,” Dresslaer said. “We ended up winning by six points in the second half. I’m very proud of (Keeler).”
The Eagles cut Hayti’s lead down to 15 on three occasions in the second half.
“Everybody settled down, got the nerves out of them,” Keeler said. “We played ball like we know how. We played Purdy basketball, we played our game.”
Purdy, which has no starters taller than 6’0”, struggled on the boards against a quick, athletic Hayti squad. The Indians had a 20-3 edge in second-chance points.
“We knew we had to crash the glass to get a (victory),” said Hayti guard Kobe Cooper. “Coach puts emphasis on that every day in practice. If we don’t block out, we’re going home.”
Jones grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds to go with his 13 points. Three other Hayti players grabbed at least six rebounds.
“Hayti’s best offense is offensive rebounding. We knew that all week,” Dresslaer said. “We just didn’t do our job at that point, in the first half.
“We didn’t shoot the ball well, either, but if we got the job done defensively and we rebound, it could’ve been a different outcome. It would’ve been tough, but possible.”
Purdy also struggled from the perimeter, making only one of 14 3-point attempts.
“We had to close out, move our feet,” Jones said. “We knew (Purdy) were a good shooting team.”
The Eagles (24-7 overall) committed 20 turnovers to Hayti’s 17.
“I felt like the big gym and the big atmosphere got to us a little bit in the first half,” Dresslaer said. “I’m not worried about the first half because I saw a team who was down 23 at the half and ended up losing by 17. So, we won the second half by six. We got back by doing the things we’re good at.”
Hayti 63, Purdy 46
Hayti 22 16 14 11 — 63
Purdy 11 4 15 16 — 46
Hayti – Nakwon Harris 13, Daris Jones 13, Chrivantae Moore 11, Jerrod Covington 10, Ivory Winters 8, Demorri Reed 4, Jaishaud Moore 2, Kobe Cooper 2
Purdy – Colt Keeling 17, Jose Sanchez 10, Hunter Cook 7, Tyler Keeler 5, Osiel Aldava 4, Scotty Henry 3
