JEFFERSON CITY - Tyler Stevens made it look easy.

The Hickman senior opened last night’s Class 5 District 10 Tournament opener against Smith-Cotton at Rackers Fieldhouse with a turnaround jumper. The next time down the floor, the lanky 6-foot-6 post player tossed in a jump hook.

It was the start Hickman Coach Kenny Ash wanted.

"We were nervous coming in," Ash said. "Starting off and getting the ball in to Tyler early really helped."

Stevens helped calm his teammates’ nerves by scoring Hickman’s first six points. He finished with a game-high 16 points and was among 11 Kewpies to score in a 57-27 romp.

"We knew they didn’t have the level of post play that we’ve seen this season," Stevens said of the sixth-seeded Tigers (5-18). "I got to take advantage of it real quick, got two right off the bat, and we tried to use that throughout the game."

After establishing Stevens on the inside, the third-seeded Kewpies (15-11) unleashed their full-court furry. Tied at 6, Hickman turned to its defensive pressure and started to pull away. Leading 12-8 after Stevens closed the first-quarter scoring with a twisting basket in the lane, the Kewpies held Smith-Cotton to two field goals in the second quarter to build a 28-13 lead at half.

Besides the 12 turnovers Hickman’s defense forced in the first half, the Kewpies earned several extra scoring opportunities by running down loose balls and missed shots. Helped by 12 offensive rebounds, Hickman took twice as many shots as Smith-Cotton in the first half (30-15). Unofficially, the Kewpies finished the game with 24 offensive rebounds.

"We shoot the ball quite a bit, and sometimes we don’t make it," Ash said, "so instead of standing and watching, we’ve been preaching to our kids all year long to go crash the boards and maybe you’ll make a break."

Hickman fired up 20 shots in the third quarter - making eight - to extend its lead to 30 points. Inspired by a late-arriving group of vocal female fans who sat behind the Hickman bench, Ben Dierkes scored six straight points to start a 10-0 run that gave the Kewpies a 47-17 lead.

Dierkes’ brief scoring flurry ranked him third among Hickman’s scorers in the game. Rob Heath scored five points in the fourth quarter to finish with 11.

The dominating victory extended Hickman’s season-high win streak to four games and advances the Kewpies into a 7:30 p.m. semifinal tomorrow against second-seeded Helias (19-2). The Crusaders defeated the Kewpies 51-45 on Jan. 9 in Jefferson City, but Ash believes his team is playing with a different confidence than it was early in the year.

After coming up short in several tough games this season, a come-from-behind overtime win at state-ranked Class 4 Westminster Christian to end the regular season last week has the Kewpies believing they can contend for a district title.

"After you play eight state-ranked teams on your schedule and you come up short quite a few of those games and you beat one at the end of the season and you get a couple wins together," Ash said, "I think our confidence right now is high."

● Jefferson City 59, Camdenton 45: In the early game, Missouri football recruit Terrell Resonno scored a game-high 20 points to help the fourth-seeded Jays overcome 6-for-21 shooting from the foul line.

Camdenton (7-14) trailed 42-36 after three quarters, and Jefferson City (9-14) pulled away in the fourth to advance to a 6 p.m. semifinal tomorrow against top-seeded Rock Bridge (21-2).

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