HILLSBORO, Mo. -- It all happened so fast.
Poplar Bluff's 12-point, second-quarter lead was reduced to a single bucket in a span of 68 seconds Wednesday night, but the Mules overcame their own double-digit deficit with a quick rally in the closing minutes of the MSHSAA Class 5 sectional playoff.
Dominique Hardimon's three-point play with 37 seconds left capped an improbable comeback by Poplar Bluff, tying the game with 37 seconds left.
But the Mules came up empty in the closing seconds after Hazelwood Central's Telly Wright sank two free throws to give the third-ranked Hawks a wild 66-64 win at Jefferson College.
"Just didn't end like we wanted it to but we enjoyed this run," Mules coach William Durden said.
Making their first playoff appearance since 2009, the unranked Mules finished the season 18-9.
The Hawks (27-2) advanced to the quarterfinals to face seventh-ranked Chaminade (25-2) on Saturday.
"They're a good team. We thought we had them down but they went on that run in the third quarter," said Poplar Bluff's Adrian Webb, one of three seniors.
Central ended the third quarter with an 18-7 run to take a four-point lead, then scored eight straight early in the fourth to lead by 10.
The Mules trailed 63-54 when junior Carlton McDonald knocked down a 3-pointer with 2 1/2 minutes to play.
Shaun Williams, Central's leading scorer and a 76-percent foul shooter, missed two at the line leading by three with 48 seconds left and McDonald came down with the rebound. Hardimon dribbled up the right side, got his defender to commit and blew past for a drive to the basket. He was fouled while sinking a right-handed runner and Durden called timeout.
Hardimon sank the game-tying free throw and Durden called for his team to foul Wright who was holding for a final shot just inside the mid-court line.
"I called for a foul and the guys listened to me. They listened to me," Durden said.
"When I looked (at the scoreboard) we were down one and I didn't look again, but I've got to be better than that."
Wright had just split two foul shots a minute earlier to open the door for Poplar Bluff's comeback, but the senior sank two shots with 12.6 seconds left.
Hardimon was fouled driving to the basket and stepped to the foul line with 3.6 seconds showing on the clock. The junior had sank 7 of 8 free throws in the game and had two clutch ones to help clinch Poplar Bluff's first district title in nine years just last week.
But he missed the first and senior Rodney Houston's putback attempts following a second missed free throw also didn't go Poplar Bluff's way to force overtime.
"Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't," Durden said. "I told the guys that I've enjoyed this year and I've enjoyed coaching those seniors and just this group in general."
It was the final game for Houston, who scored 560 career points, Webb and Adeesh Mishra, who joined the team for his senior season.
Hardimon scored a game-high 28 points, playing the final quarter with four fouls. He will enter his senior season three points shy of 1,000 for his career at Poplar Bluff.
"I knew the last time we played them I fouled out on charges," said Hardimon of a 59-55 loss to the Hawks on Dec. 20. "I just tried to change it up this game."
The Hawks again tried to draw whistles on Hardimon, who picked up his second foul midway through the second quarter and picked up two in the span of 14 seconds of the third quarter with the game tied. His third was a charge call before a defensive switch left him guarding the ballhandler.
Both times the Mules were without their leading scorer, Central took advantage.
"It hurt us at the end of the second quarter and the third quarter," Durden said. "It bogs us down. We struggled a little bit but the guys fought back and that's all I can ask."
McDonald had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Mules, while Tyler Cline sank a pair of first-half 3-pointers for six points. Houston and Nik Rowland each had five points and as many rebounds.
The Mules finished with more rebounds and field goals but also turned the ball over 10 more times than the Hawks. Central scored 18 points off turnovers and had 17 second-chance points.
Cameron Williams led the Hawks with 19 points, Shaun Williams and Wright each added 13 while 6-foot-7 Xavier Ball had 10 points and seven rebounds.
Poplar Bluff scored first on a drive to the basket by Houston and held the Hawks scoreless until Ball scored at the 5:26 mark. Central's only other first-quarter basket came on a putback, as the Mules put together an 11-3 run to end the quarter up 15-5.
"It wasn't as much offense, to me, I thought we guarded really well and we rebounded well," Durden said.
"That helps our offense. Most people think making shots on offense helps your defense. This team, getting stops on the defensive end helps us offensively."
Haridmon's hook off a lob pass from Cline put the Mules up 20-8 with 5:13 left in the half.
With Houston on the bench with two fouls, including a double-technical in the opening minutes, Hardimon picked up his second and joined him. Cline answered with a 3-pointer to put the Mules back up 12 and Poplar Bluff went up 27-15 with 2 1/2 minutes left in the half.
A minute later, the Hawks were attempting a shot to tie the game.
Cameron Williams hit a 3 to start the rally and the Hawks forced three straight turnovers by setting traps, scoring after each one.
"We limited their transition points most of the game to that point," Durden said. "They got six straight points on turnovers. We just ran into the trap and didn't take care of the ball."
Said Webb, "We turned the ball over a lot as a team, can't really point fingers at anybody, we just had to do better."
Hardimon ended Poplar Bluff's scoring drought with a jumper in the paint as his goggles were knocked off to take a 29-24 lead into halftime.
McDonald and Rowland sank 3-pointers early in the third quarter to give Poplar Bluff a 35-28 lead, but the Hawks answered with an 8-2 run.
Cameron Williams got a steal and dunk to cut Poplar Bluff's lead to one and Wright knocked down a game-tying 3-pointer at the 3:37 mark.
Joseph Hardimon later knocked down a jumper for the lead, but Williams answered with a go-ahead 3-pointer and Ball got a putback, starting a 7-1 run to end the quarter up 46-42.
"We never counted these guys out all year," Durden said. "They battled and fought back to where we're in striking distance."
Central missed two chances to extend a 10-point lead in the fourth but was up 63-54 with 2:53 left.
Down six, Hardimon split two free throws before Webb got a steal, diving for the loose ball and getting it to McDonald who was fouled with 1:24 left. McDonald sank the first but missed the second and Hardimon followed a free throw by Wright with a runner that made it a one-possession game with 62 seconds left.
The Mules went 8 of 15 at the foul line while Central was 16 for 26, including 9 of 14 in the final quarter.
"Just didn't end like we wanted it to, but we enjoyed this run," Durden said.
With a beefed up schedule thanks to invitations to see highly-recruited junior Marcedus Leech, the Mules opened the season without him due to an injury. Leech, who was dismissed from the team for violating school rules in January, never played a game.
Poplar Bluff opened with a home win then beat a Corinth (Miss.) team that will play for a state title tonight and went into the Poplar Bluff Showdown 4-4 following that first loss to the Hawks.
The Mules won the Showdown for just the third time in 31 years, beating a Jonesboro (Ark.) team that will play for its state championship Saturday, in a thrilling 61-59 win in the final.
An overtime loss at Farmington and consecutive blowout losses to two ranked Illinois teams in less than 24 hours dropped Poplar Bluff to 7-7.
But the Mules won nine of 10 to end the regular season, going 7-1 in SEMO Conference play. The lone loss was at Sikeston, which earned the conference title on a tiebreaker with Poplar Bluff.
"We just wanted to work harder," Hardimon said. "I think everybody knew it was time to step up."
Hardimon got a game-winner at the buzzer to beat state-ranked Cape Central for homecoming, and Rowland's improbable putback at the buzzer beat Notre Dame two weeks later. The following day, the Mules knocked off Jackson by 14 to earn the top seed in the district tournament.
Facing the Indians in the championship for a fourth straight year, Poplar Bluff ended Jackson's stranglehold on the title with a 58-52 win.
"I've said my ultimate goal was winning a state championship (but) this is the most fun I've ever had playing basketball," Webb said. "I don't care what anybody says, I feel like I have the best team in the state."
Webb said he expects big things from his teammates next season.
"These younger guys have to learn from these older guys and how hard they worked," Durden said. "Hopefully we come back stronger next year."