Hunter Whitecotton for River Radio Sports Central
PINCKNEYVILLE, Ill. — The Woodlawn Cardinals earned a spot in the championship game of Pinckneyville’s Duster Thomas Hoops Classic as Kyle Cooper scored 27 points and eclipsed the 2,000-career-point mark in a 54-51 win over Murphysboro in the first semifinal Monday night.
Woodlawn broke a 51-51 tie with four seconds left on a Baylor Rollie free throw make. Murphysboro then turned the ball over on the ensuing inbounds play, and Cooper sealed the Cardinals’ win with two more free throws.
Murphysboro took a slim 13–12 lead after the first quarter behind defensive pressure, while Woodlawn stayed close with steady perimeter shooting. The Cardinals began to find their rhythm in the second quarter, sparked by a 3-pointer from Kylan Moser.
Murphysboro responded when senior Kemmeon Hale scored off an offensive rebound to tie the game at 15–15 with 6:28 remaining in the half. Hale was a steady presence throughout the night, scoring 16 points before intermission.
“We knew coming into tonight that Hale was going to give us fits,” Woodlawn head coach Luke Cooper said. “I think we did a really good job shutting down some of their other scorers, which was the key coming into tonight.”
Woodlawn pulled away midway through the quarter as Cooper knocked down a 3-pointer to cap a 12–4 run, pushing the Cardinals ahead 27–19. The lead grew to 11 at 30–19 following another Moser triple before Murphysboro cut it to 30–23 at halftime.
“We ask a lot of Myles,” Murphysboro coach Daryl Murphy said. “We put him on Cooper tonight and he held him to just 11 in the first half. We’ve just got to piece it all together and get some consistency.”
Murphysboro opened the second half with a basket by DaeJohn Beard, trimming the deficit to five, but Cooper answered on the Cardinals’ next possession. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Cash Brooks and Airrion Swansey Jr. pulled the Red Devils within one before Cooper scored twice in the final seconds of the third quarter, including a steal and basket, to give Woodlawn a 43–38 lead entering the fourth.
“We love games like this,” said senior Kyle Cooper. “It’s games like this that we can look back on later in the season for inspiration before the postseason.”
Woodlawn pushed the lead back to seven early in the fourth quarter, but Hale answered with a 3-pointer and later tied the game at 47 with three minutes remaining. He finished with a game high 30 points.
The teams traded baskets down the stretch, and the game was tied at 51 with 11.9 seconds left.
Woodlawn improves to 13–0, while Murphysboro drops to 7–4. “Their record is really deceiving,” Luke Cooper said. “These are the types of games that will prepare us as we get later in the season.”
“We had a lot of opportunities there throughout the fourth quarter to tie and even take the lead,” Murphy said. “We just made some physical mistakes we have to correct as we go down the stretch.”
Woodlawn will face Sparta in the DTHC Championship game Tuesday night at 8:30. The Bulldogs downed Roxana 60-47 in the second semifinal. Murphysboro and Roxana will square off for third place at 7:00.
Scoring:
Woodlawn
Cooper – 27 points ,Moser – 8 points, McKay – 7 points, Rollie – 6 points, Frick – 6 points
Murphysboro
Hale – 30 points, Guthman – 9 points, Brooks – 5 points, Swansey Jr. – 3 points, Bradfield – 2 points, Beard – 2 points
