After a sluggish first half, New Madrid County Central used a dominant third quarter to roll past Kelly in the first round of the Class 3, District 1 tournament on Saturday, at Charleston High School. The Eagles opened up the second half on a 12-4 run and finished the frame outscoring the Hawks 30-15 and leading by 22 heading into the fourth. “At halftime, we talked about how we weren’t doing the things — offensively — that we wanted to do,” NMCC head coach Lennies McFerren said. “We weren’t attacking, and when we didn’t attack, we were getting one shot, and that was it. Once we started attacking, then they got aggressive on the defensive end, and they got some turnovers, and that’s what turned it around.” Juniors Bryshawn Williams and Ansel Underwood had strong periods, scoring eight points each in the frame. Bryshawn Williams finished with a team-high 18 points and grabbing three rebounds, while Underwood had 17 points and six boards. Senior Thailin Marsh did not plan on ending his high school career either, scoring 15 points and grabbing five rebounds. “He ran the show tonight,” McFerren said. “He’s capable of doing that every night he’s on the floor. Tonight, he really did a good job, and every night we take the floor, he’s got to be the one that runs the show.” After trailing by six points, at the end of the first quarter, Kelly (9-16) picked up it's scoring in the second period — with 18 points. The Hawks, though, still trailed by seven points heading into halftime. Freshman Gavin Jansen scored eight of his 18 points in the second period. He also finished with six rebounds. Heading into the break, Kelly did not do themselves any favors, with 12 turnovers at halftime. Once the third quarter started, though, Kelly head coach Ryan Garnett said that the lack of athleticism hurt his team a lot. “I don’t think it’s as much of what we didn’t do as what New Madrid did do,” Garnett said. “We felt like we were in a great spot. We had missed some free throws early; we had nine turnovers — which is more than we wanted. I think what happened more than anything is what New Madrid came out and did do. Coach McFerren, obviously, one of the greatest coaches in Missouri history. He didn’t like where they were at, and that was obvious both on their faces and in the way they played in that second half. Hats off to New Madrid, they came out as a bigger, stronger, more athletic, and a better team and they beat us.” Kelly 4 18 15 6 — 43 NMCC 10 19 30 16 — 75 KELLY (43) — Luis Logeman 4, Devin Heuring 5, Bryce Morgan 7, Peyton Eftink 3, Gavin Jansen 18, Austyn Swinney 5, Bryce Ross 2. FG 13, FT 12-24, F 16. (3-pointers: Morgan 2, Heuring, Swinney. Fouled out: none) NMCC (75) — Thailin Marsh 15, Johnnie Walker 9, Austin Davis 2, Christien Phillips 2, Ansel Underwood 18, Bryshawn Williams 17, Ke’von Williams 6, Keaston Phillips 2. FG 28, FT 12-22, F 20. (3-pointers: Walker. Fouled out: none)