SIKESTON, Mo. -- Xander Martin and Adrian Webb knocked down consecutive 3-pointers to start the game and suddenly Poplar Bluff's offensive struggles from the previous day were a distant memory.
The Mules scored more points in the first half Wednesday in an 83-51 win over New Madrid County Central than all of their opening-round loss at the SEMO Conference Tournament.
"We shot a lot better," Mules coach William Durden said. "Started off shooting better in the first half. Honestly, we play a lot better when we make the first couple of shots. It's a struggle when we don't."
Poplar Bluff (3-1) advanced to the consolation final at 5:30 p.m. Friday and will face second-seeded Charleston, which edged third-seeded Jackson 62-61 in the other game Wednesday night.
It will be a rematch of the third-place game last year when the Bluejays beat Poplar Bluff 67-62.
"Who would have thought we're going to face the two or three seed on the losing side of the bracket?" Durden said. "I'm glad to play on the last day of the SEMO Conference Tournament. I think that's an accomplishment in itself."
The Mules avoided an early exit for just the second time in 12 years by beating the eighth-seeded Eagles, who were playing for a third straight night.
Coming off a 46-41 loss to fourth-seeded Cape Central, Poplar Bluff scored the final six points of the first quarter after New Madrid Central (2-5) tied the game at 11-all. The run reached 10 straight before the Eagles ended a 2-plus minute scoring drought.
"We didn't want to lose," said Poplar Bluff senior Rodney Houston when asked what sparked the run.
Dominique Hardimon scored six of the points and finished with 21 points and eight rebounds.
Houston added 12 points and five assists, Martin had 11 points, seven steals, three assists and three rebounds. Tyler Cline's 10 points led off the bench while fellow reserve Carlton McDonald had nine points and eight rebounds.
The Mules sank a season-high eight 3-pointers on 19 attempts.
"I think (Tuesday) night we played probably our best defensive game in like two years and we still lost," Durden said. "I didn't know how the kids were going to react to that and I think they reacted pretty good."
Turnovers, especially in the second half, were partly to blame for Poplar Bluff's offensive struggles in the opening round and three straight steals by the Eagles in the first quarter Wednesday kept the Mules stuck on 11 points.
A steal and layin by Central's Christen Phillips tied the game at 11-all with 1:15 left in the opening quarter.
Dominique Hardimon was fouled on a putback attempt off a missed 3-pointer and sank both foul shots to put the Mules ahead for good 11 seconds later. A dunk by the junior and a steal by Martin to set up Carlton's layin gave Poplar Bluff a 17-11 advantage heading into the second quarter.
"We're a defense-first team," Houston said.
Joseph Hardimon came away with a long rebound and scored on the other end and missed a foul shot for a three-point play. But the freshman came away with the rebound and his older brother Dominique scored off a pass from Houston for a 10-point lead just 36 seconds into the second quarter.
Poplar Bluff forced three straight turnovers to extend the lead on a Houston layin, Martin's 3 off an inbound pass and a dunk by Houston. Carlton's 3 later capped the 20-4 run for a 31-15 lead.
Cline later had a corner 3, then got a steal to set up another easy basket for Houston as the Mules reached 41 points, their previous night's point total, with 2 minutes left in the half.
Poplar Bluff took a 45-27 lead into halftime, scoring 15 points off turnovers.
"We didn't try to press Cape but these guys are a little younger and a little shakier with the ball," Durden said of the Eagles. "We were hoping to get a couple of turnovers and we did and it turned into layups."
The Mules forced 21 turnovers while the easy buckets led to a 57.1 percent shooting performance a night after shooting a season-low 37 percent.
Poplar Bluff led 66-41 after three quarters, allowing Durden to empty his bench. The starters jumped to their feet when junior Isaiah Johnson got his first career basket.
"That was nice, and for the guys to cheer like he just hit a game-winning shot was even better," Durden said. "That's one thing I like about this group is they're really close."