VAN BUREN --The Neelyville boys basketball team was able to end one long title drought this season but Thayer's zone defense extended another for the Tigers.
The state-ranked Bobcats held Neelyville to 11 first-half points to build a double-digit lead and earned their fifth straight district championship with a 52-35 win Thursday night in the MSHSAA Class 2 District 3 final.
"Probably one of the toughest match-up zones in the state and that's why they're ranked and they definitely proved that on the scoreboard tonight," Neelyville senior Taylor Harlow said. "They held us to, gosh, 11 points in the first half. That probably hasn't happened all year."
Not by a long shot.
Neelyville, which scored 12 points in the opening quarter of the semifinal, came in averaging 62.8 points per game and had scored at least 43 all season. But the Tigers struggled to find the bottom of the net, shooting 32.3 percent from the field, got out-rebounded and also turned the ball over 15 times.
"That's what Thayer does, they make you work for every point you get and we did," Neelyville coach Patrick Morton said. "Even when we got good shots we couldn't get a lot to fall."
The Tigers ended up 22-5, earning the program's first conference tournament title in 34 years, also the last time and only time Neelyville advanced to the state playoffs.
It was the final game for seniors Harlow and Tyler Lowe while Wyatt Moon was sidelined with a broken finger and Jesse Griffin missed the season with a knee injury.
"They had a heck of a year," Morton said. "They made some history for our program. They're leaving our program better than when they found it and that's all you can ask for."
The Tigers were making their first appearance in a district final for the first time since the seniors were freshmen.
Thayer, meanwhile, has reached the final every season since 2002, winning 12 of 17.
"This is nothing for them, so we're pretty young in that aspect of it for sure," Harlow said.
The Tigers started two underclassmen Thursday and had another come off the bench.
"Unfortunately for us that's it," Harlow said. "But I think these young guys will come back and battle back next year and they have a pretty good shot at hanging a banner."
The Tigers missed too many shots this time around.
Thayer (25-4), ranked No. 4 in the state coaches poll, will face either Mansfield (21-5) or Hartville (21-7) in the sectional playoff Wednesday at Mountain Grove.
Ayden Stone had a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds while Kobe Meyer scored 14 points to lead Thayer. Trevor Jenkins chipped in 10 points while Jalen Andrews added nine for the Bobcats.
Neelyville was led in scoring by freshman Jemaane Williams with 14 points. Lowe chipped in six with Harlow while Marquise West, who had a team-high seven rebounds, and Curtis Fowler each sank just one basket after they both scored 11 points in the semifinal.
"Didn't have much of a rhythm," Morton said. "Just one of those nights where offensively we just didn't have it.
"I think that's a credit to Thayer and how good of a team they are."
The Bobcats slowly raced out to a 9-2 lead over the opening four minutes as both teams were patient, looking for the right shot. Stone scored twice as Thayer put together a 7-0 run before West found a path along the baseline to pull Neelyville with 9-4.
Jones sank a 3 to open the second quarter to put Thayer up 14-4 and Jenkins added another 3-pointer before sophomore Elijah Crossen was fouled on a putback and sank two foul shots. That ended a scoreless drought of 5:07 for the Tigers.
Wyatt Russom's 3 with 69 seconds left in the half got Neelyville with eight but Andrews was fouled and sank both ends of a one-and-one. Braden Hufstedler's steal allowed Meyer to knock down a last-second 3 to give Thayer a 24-11 halftime lead.
Lowe opened the third quarter with a 3 but Thayer put together a 7-0 run over the next four minutes to lead 31-14. Crossen ended it with a 3 but the Tigers trailed 36-21 heading into the fourth.
Neelyville scored the final six points of the game, ending with a steal and dunk by Fowler. The Tigers were the 18th opponent Thayer held to under 40 points as the Bobcats have allowed an average of 36.8 points per game this season.
"They always have somebody help. They do a great job of just staying in front of the basketball," Morton said. "They're just a really, really good defensive team.
"When we're not making shots and not getting second-chance opportunities, it's going to be hard to score and it definitely was."