Drew Central gets down to unfinished business

DREW CENTRAL 70, MAYFLOWER 59

OSCEOLA — In a season full of uncertainty, Drew Central was certain it wasn’t going home empty-handed Saturday against Mayflower.

Junior guard Travarus Shead scored 16 of his 23 points in the second half and hauled in 14 rebounds to send the Pirates back to the state championship game with a 70-59 victory over Mayflower in the semifinals of the Class 3A boys state tournament at Seminole Arena.

“They played hard and would not be denied this week,” Drew Central Coach C.J. Watson said. “They simply would not be denied. They were focused, had no distractions and knew what they wanted to do.

“A lot of people don’t know we lost a starter after the second game of the season, and he led us in scoring in both of them. At the 3A level, that’s big. But the leadership that we have … they wanted this, and they went out and played that way from the opening tip.”

Unfinished business has been the mantra for Drew Central this season after it lost 52-49 to regional rival McGehee in last year’s final. Now the Pirates will have a shot at redemption after running down the Eagles.

Nicky Barnard (16 points) and Zeb Trantham (14) combined for 30 points, and junior forward Trenton Eubanks finished with 11 points and 7 rebounds for Drew Central (29-6), which was down 1817 after the first quarter but never trailed again after Trantham’s three-pointer with 3:25 left in the first half.

The Pirates shot 51 percent (22 of 43) and committed just six turnovers. The Eagles were 20-of-50 shooting (40 percent) and turned the ball over 11 times.

Senior guard Tyler Tolliver had 17 points to lead four players in double figures for Mayflower (23-10). Sophomore forward Braxtyn McCuien ended with 13 points, 9 rebounds and 7 blocks, while senior guard Jay Nance had 10 points and 5 rebounds. Junior guard Jaheim Cummings also scored 10 points, but the Eagles ran out of steam after getting off to a promising start.

“We’ve played exceptional basketball since the regional tournament, but we didn’t play as well [Saturday],” Mayflower Coach Brent Stallings said. “Give Drew Central credit for that because they got out and got after us tough defensively. We missed some shots, missed some free throws, had some turnovers at the wrong times that went against us.

The teams were tied 25-25 in the second quarter before Trantham’s 22-footer got the Pirates rolling to a 34-29 halftime lead. Drew Central reeled off 10 of the first 14 points of the third quarter, the final three coming on another Trantham three-pointer, to push its cushion to 44-33.

Mayflower sliced its deficit to 58-53 on Cummings’ free throw with 2:45 left. Drew Central countered with a 9-2 run and never let the Eagles get any closer.