Puxico downs Lincoln, takes third in Class 2

COLUMBIA — In a battle with Lincoln for third place in Class 2 at the Show-Me Showdown, the Puxico Indians wasted no time whatsoever as it stormed out to a big lead quickly and rolled to a 61-38 win over the Cardinals to claim third place, the Indians’ second in program history.

It felt like a little bit of everybody in the victory, with typical leading scorer Landan Burchard just missing double figures while junior Jett Hancock used some slick shooting and senior Kaysen Long a physical effort to join him there as the Indians blew past Lincoln to claim bronze.

Most importantly, it hinged on an infallible defense that managed to win the turnover battle by 10, recorded five blocks and, additionally, won the rebounding battle by a strong margin.

“I thought we did a better job overall defensively tonight,” Indians coach Bryant Fernetti said. “We did a good job getting everybody in so they could experience it. It was kind of the goal going into the game. We hoped we could do that and let everyone enjoy the moment.”

After getting crushed in the rebounding game in the semifinal, Puxico returned the favor against Lincoln as it claimed a blowout victory in the board margin. Facing a team with comparable size, if not winning the size game, it looked evident that Puxico’s heart and hustle were a determinate factor.

Winning the battle of the boards 42-28, including hauling in 13 more offensive boards than the Cardinals, Puxico’s intensity and dependence on physicality made it a clear favorite from the get-go in a thundering victory to claim third.

Jett Hancock’s 15 points made him the leading scorer for the Indians, adding seven rebounds and three steals while Kaysen Long’s 10, Landan Burchard’s nine and another nine from Mason Parsley had scoring depth up and down the lineup.

Scyler Zimmerman snuck in with another eight points to go with his game-high nine rebounds in the victory, finishing his senior season on a high note as he’s taking the four-hour drive back with a bronze medal on hand.

Braydn Benham led the Cardinals in scoring with 12 points in the loss, notching a steal but not receiving the necessary depth as no other Cardinal put up more than six points.

Concluding a stellar season in which Puxico claimed the crown as the top small school in Southeast Missouri boys basketball at one point or another, doing the dance with cross-county rival Woodland, a win in the third-place game is a great omen for a program on the rise.

Instead of a rivalry, however, that blossomed into a spectacular relationship at the final four as instead of being at odds with their rivals, it appeared that the two fanbases banded together to support each other this year.

That love hasn’t gone unnoticed, with the fans in the stands roaring louder than ever before to support two small ballclubs that have been at each other’s throats seemingly all season.

“When people don't understand is, there are people that might fire off something on a Facebook page, or a post, or whatever, after the game,” Fernetti began. “When Woodland beat us at home, their kids were talking to our kids on the floor.

“When you play against them your whole life, you end up at least respecting them, if not becoming friends.”

Winning third place for the first time since 1950, it’s almost a little eerie how the Indians’ return to state comes at the return of the third-place trophy, seeing how that same title began their run through the early 1950s, winning two titles.

While that’s certainly not a guarantee of winning a state title, anything but, really, it’s a good omen for success to come given the young talent of this Indians squad.

Asked about this, Fernetti smiled as if he already knew.

“They're gonna put in a lot of hard work to get better, to get to that point,” Fernetti said. “Hopefully these guys, and the rest of the seniors, and really the kids before me, hopefully they all laid a foundation for these kids to realize that this is possible.

“We wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't even for those kids before us, because they bought into what I wanted to do. They bought in, which then led to buy-in from the younger guys, too. Hopefully the kids coming up can see it is a possibility to be here.”