Oran rolls to Scott-Miss title

SCOTT CITY - For the second year in a row, the Scott County Central Braves unexpectedly reached the championship game of the Scott-Mississippi Conference Tournament with its win against top-seeded Scott City on Thursday.

However, unlike last year, the Braves didn't have enough magic to win the crown as the Oran Eagles took home the trophy with a 73-60 win at Scott City High School on Friday night.

The fourth-seeded Braves gave No. 2 Oran all it wanted for a half, but in the end, the more experienced Eagles won the game convincingly.

"We had our chances last year and they upset us in the finals," said Oran head coach Mitch Wood. "It's a really good win for us. It's a hard-working bunch of seniors and I thought our juniors played extremely well tonight."

Oran (13-4) got a big game out of senior Nathan Seyer, who led all scorers with 29 points and six rebounds. He had 19 points in the second half.

"This is his type of game," said Wood. "They get out and spread it out, and when they do that, he's quick going back-door. That was our goal tonight to get him the basketball. We're making the extra pass and I think some good things are coming out of it."

The Eagles used a big second half to blow the game wide-open. The score was tied at 30-30 to after Scott Central's Chris Pullen scored on the first possession of the third quarter.

But Oran quickly pushed the lead to double figures as Seyer scored 10 points in the quarter.

Oran led 53-41 heading into the final frame.

The lead swelled to 20 midway through the fourth quarter before Wood cleared his bench to finish out the game.

The Braves never got closer than the final margin of 13 points.

"I think fatigue was a big thing," said Scott Central head coach Melvin Porter. "They got ahead six or seven points. These young kids get excited and then they lose their focus. You lose your focus three or four times down the court and you're down 15 points before you can blink an eye. I'm going to look at the film real close because we had a major letdown in the back of the zone. In the first half we covered it perfect."

True, the Braves were right in the game for the entire first half.

Oran led 14-13 after one quarter. The Eagles led by as much as seven in the second quarter before Scott Central tied it at 28-28 with seconds remaining in the half.

The Eagles' desperation shot from halfcourt was off the mark as time expired, but a foul was called on the shot before the buzzer had sounded.

Oran's Patrick Friga made 2-of-3 free throws to give the Eagles a 30-28 lead and some momentum.

Porter was unhappy with the way the game was called.

"I've seen it over and over again, the referees shouldn't dictate the game," said Porter. "They're controlling the game instead of letting the kids play. Right now the only thing I can think of is that our kids should toughen up and quit worrying about officials and play ball. But it's a hard thing to get young kids over that obstacle."

Scott Central was led by Pullen's 19 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots.

His younger brother Andrew Pullen followed up with 12 points and nine rebounds.

"The kid that surprised me was the (Andrew Pullen) on the boards," said Wood. "He got all of his on the offensive boards and he hurt us. He's a big boy and he did a good job. (Chris) Pullen's going to get his 20 points and we knew that coming in. I still thought Seyer did a good job on him. I thought he worked his tail off for the 19 points he got."

For Oran, Ryne Wood followed up with 14 points, including three 3-pointers. Friga added 11 points. Tyler Cookson and Joey Bickings combined for 16 rebounds.

Junior Matt Seyer didn't score, but he was effective, recording six steals with two blocks and an assist.

"Matt Seyer came through and had a good game defensively," said Wood. "He's trying to prove himself and get back in a starting position. That's what's good about competition and he did a real good job tonight."

Scott Central will host East Prairie for a conference matchup on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Oran will host Oak Ridge on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.

Kelly's JV team won the Scott-Mississippi Conference Junior Varsity Tournament on Friday night with a 66-57 come-from-behind win against Scott City.

Kelly trailed 46-42 entering the fourth quarter but out-scored the Rams 24-11 to pull out the win.

Kelly was led by Mike Glastetter with 21 points. Scott City's Mark Johnston also had 21 points.