COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Quiet all game, Dominique Hardimon got loud in the fourth quarter.
Hardimon scored 12 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter for Poplar Bluff after not scoring more than two points in any quarter. The Mules had 18 fourth quarter points as a team to hold off Liberty North 57-42 at the Norm Stewart Classic in Columbia, Mo., on Saturday.
"He got off to a little slow start. They were a really good defensive team. They filled the middle well and closed down the driving lanes," Poplar Bluff coach Will Durden said. "We started giving him touches and the low post and the high post and he took advantage of them."
Poplar Bluff (2-0) increased its lead slightly after each quarter, going from leading 12-10 after the first quarter to being up three points at halftime and seven points after the third quarter.
"Toward the end we started getting some face break opportunities," Durden said. "The third and fourth quarter, I think the pressure did wear them down a little bit. They played the night before and that was our gameplan going in."
Tyler Cline led Poplar Bluff with 19 points after making a pair of 3-pointers and going 5 for 5 on free throws.
"He guarded their best player, their leading scorer this year and probably their best offensive guard. He locked horns with him and really shut the kid down. Then he his a couple big open 3s for us and got out in transition for us. But his effort on defense is what won us this game," Durden said.
Carlton McDonald-Jordan also had two 3-pointers and chipped in eight points while Joseph Hardimon and Xander Martin each had four.
Poplar Bluff was 9 for 15 (60 percent) at the foul line, which has been a trouble spot for the team in recent years. While Cline was perfect at the line, the rest of the team was 4 for 9.
Poplar Bluff returns to the court Monday against Jackson in the first round of the SEMO Conference Tournament.
I think we are in as good a place as we can be right now," Durden said. "It is always going to be a tough game against Jackson ... I think our guys are ready. We've got some video on them and hopefully we can put something together and go out there and get a win."