CEDAR HILL, Mo. -- The Mules are hitting their stride at the perfect time as they advanced to the MSHSAA Class 5 District 1 championship game and a rematch with rival Jackson.
Poplar Bluff was nearly perfect in the semifinal tune-up, beating Fox 68-39 Tuesday night at Northwest High School.
The Mules (17-8) will face Jackson (14-11) at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in a district championship doubleheader. The girls from both schools tipoff at 6 p.m. before the boys play for the title for a fourth straight year.
"They won like seven or six years in a row, we need one," said Poplar Bluff senior Rodney Houston.
Actually, the Indians have won the last five district titles, but following last year's 75-73 overtime loss it has been nine years since Poplar Bluff's last trip to the state playoffs.
For the fourth straight year the Mules are the top seed having won the regular-season meeting with Jackson, which advanced with an 84-37 win over Seckman.
"Tomorrow we're going to work real hard, see what we're going to work on against Jackson," said Poplar Bluff's Dominique Hardimon. "See what they do and then we're going to just come here and play."
The Mules, who have won 10 of their last 11, made it look that simple against Fox (8-18).
Poplar Bluff scored the final 13 points of the first quarter for a 23-9 lead and cruised. The Mules shot 60.5 percent from the field, including 7 of 14 shots from 3-point range, finished with a plus-14 rebounding advantage and scored 28 points off turnovers.
Hardimon had a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds to go with five steals. Carlton McDonald matched his career high with 14 points, sinking a trio of first-quarter 3s, while Joseph Hardimon also knocked down three 3-pointers for nine points off the bench.
"I wasn't really worried about shooting as much as I was us coming in and playing good D," Mules coach William Durden said after a 10-day layoff.
"We had a little break," Durden added. "I thought it was good for our team because we got to heal up. I thought we came out and played hard."
McDonald knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the span of 43 seconds early to give the Mules an 8-4 lead before Dominique Hardimon got a steal and scored.
Fox got within a point midway through the opening quarter but Nik Rowland scored consecutive baskets and Houston got a transition layin off an outlet pass by Hardimon. Joseph Hardimon followed with a 3-pointer and the Mules led by 10 with 2:44 left in the quarter.
McDonald knocked down a 3-pointer off a pass from Tyler Cline in the closing seconds for a 23-9 advantage. The run extended into the second quarter as the Mules led by 17 before Fox ended a drought of 6 1/2 minutes between scores.
"We were playing good defense," Dominique Hardimon said.
The Mules were also taking care of the ball, committing their first turnover with 5 1/2 minutes left in the half, and rebounding led by Hardimon and Rowland who finished with six.
Poplar Bluff finished with 10 second-chance points with the majority coming in the third quarter.
"Never give up on a play," Houston said. "When you get second-chance points is when you crash the boards."
The Mules led 43-22 at halftime and led by as much as 27 after opening the third quarter with an 8-2 run.
Joseph Hardimon's 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter pushed the advantage to 31 to start a running clock.
About the only thing the Mules didn't do well was shoot free throws. They finished 9 for 18 at the line, missing four chances at three-point plays and another on the front end of a one-and-one.
Missed opportunities at the foul line aside, Poplar Bluff looked sharp following a long layoff.
Junior guard Xander Martin, who was averaging 7.6 points per game this season, returned from an ankle injury after missing the last four games.
"Nice to see his number out there instead of being in the bag," Durden said. "An extra couple of days may do him a little better. Just nice seeing him out there."