To claim the SEMO Conference title for the first time in a dozen years, the Poplar Bluff boys basketball team needs a favor from rival Jackson.
The Mules did their part Thursday night, using a 16-8 game-ending run to pull away from state-ranked Charleston for a 73-65 win on Senior Night at the Senior High Gym.
Sikeston can claim the conference title with a win Tuesday at Jackson, but a loss by the Bulldogs means a championship for the Mules (15-8, 7-1 SEMO).
"It really hurts me, like in my soul, to say 'go Jackson,' but..." said Poplar Bluff senior Adrian Webb. "We need that conference 'ship."
Rodney Houston laughed when asked if he would be rooting for Jackson, which has ended Poplar Bluff's season in the district final each of the last three years.
"Man, I don't know," said Houston, who scored a career-high 23 points and had a double-double with 10 rebounds.
The Bluejays, ranked No. 4 in Class 3 of the latest state coaches poll, were in the driver's seat for the title with a win over Sikeston. But they fell behind 16-2 to start the game before rallying to pull even with Poplar Bluff going into the fourth quarter.
Dominique Hardimon broke the sixth tie of the fourth when the Poplar Bluff junior scored off his own miss leading to a three-point play with 3 1/2 minutes left.
Hardimon scored 14 of his game-high 27 points in the final six-plus minutes after the Mules fell behind for the first time.
"We hadn't played smart, especially early in the year, but down here late we've been finishing games," Mules coach William Durden said. "It's about time to do it."
Poplar Bluff, which lost to Charleston 54-40 in the consolation final of the conference tournament in December, improved to 7-4 in games decided by single digits. Three of those wins were in conference play.
"Most of the time it's like that," Charleston coach Danny Farmer said of the tight race for the title. "It's a tough conference. You have to come to play every night. You can't be off."
Mardareyon Clark scored 26 points after a scoreless first quarter to lead the Bluejays (19-7, 6-2 SEMO) while Demarcus Sharp added 15 and the pair each had eight rebounds.
Clark put Charleston ahead for the first time on the opening possession of the fourth quarter but the Bluejays missed chances to add to their lead.
Hardimon tied it with a three-point play off a lob pass with 6:18 left and the teams were tied four more times over the next several minutes.
After a turnover by Charleston, sophomore reserve Josiah Kilgore got a putback off his own miss to put the Mules ahead. Clark answered but Hardimon's go-ahead basket came seconds later.
Sharp's only missed free throw followed but it was the front end of a one-and-one and Hardimon threw an outlet pass to Houston for a layin and a 62-57 lead.
"I thought they were winning the hustle points in the third quarter when they made that run," Durden said. "A lot of loose balls on the floor that we could have got that we didn't. But I thought in the fourth quarter we got those.
"Those made a difference."
With the Mules up 64-59, Terridan Bogan nearly had a steal for Charleston but Carlton McDonald saved the ball from going out of bounds with a diving swipe and Nik Rowland picked up the loose ball. Houston scored on a putbck and completed the three-point play with just over 2 minutes left.
Joseph Hardimon added a basket and Houston followed a pair of missed free throws by Charleston with a pull-up jumper to cap a 14-2 run that put the Mules comfortably ahead.
"You can't quit on plays," Houston said. "You quit on plays you start losing."
The Bluejays didn't score until Sharp's pull-up jumper 2:40 after tipoff as Poplar Bluff scored the first nine points. Charleston threw the ball away twice, missed four foul shots, as well as a 3-pointer, jump shots and drives to the basket.
The Mules led 16-6 after one quarter and by as much as 16 with 5 1/2 minutes left in the half.
"It was good for us to set a tone," Webb said. "We know we have to play at that level, we have to be able to sustain that, especially going into the postseason."
Both teams quickly reached the bonus but while the Bluejays were 10 of 19 at the line in the first half, Poplar Bluff sank 7 of 10. Charleston finished 18 for 32 on the free-throw line.
"We're not a very good free-throw shooting team," Farmer said.
The Mules finished with a plus-13 rebounding advantage and scored 15 second-chance points.
Houston and Dominique Hardimon each picked up their second foul midway through the second quarter and Charleston put together a 15-7 run to end the half.
The Bluejays opened the second half with an 8-3 run to get within 35-32 but Hardimon answered. McDonald hit a 3 midway through the quarter to double Poplar Bluff's lead but Clark later scored then got a steal leading to a dunk to make it a 1-point game.
The Mules only got a point after a technical foul was issued to Charleston's Jeremy Tucker and Clark capped a 13-point quarter with a spinning drive and layin in the closing seconds to tie the game at 46-all.
"We just got out to a bad start," Farmer said. "We couldn't keep it up. I guess we used too much energy to get back in the game. We couldn't keep it up."
The Mules close out the regular season Saturday afternoon against Jefferson City with a 2 p.m. JV tipoff. They earned the top seed in the upcoming MSHSAA Class 5 District 1 tournament, which will be held at Northwest High School in Cedar Hill, Missouri and play at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27.
Charleston won the junior varsity game 64-56.