Braves finish third

~Scott Central ends season on high note with 83-58 victory

COLUMBIA -- With the bitter taste of defeat still lingering around the Scott County Central Braves they knew they would have to wake up early Friday morning to take on a tough Fair Play team for a chance at a third place finish at the 2008 MSHSAA Show-Me Showdown.

"We knew we had to forget about it," Braves senior Caleb Johnson said about their semifinal loss to Jefferson. "Because it was in the past and we just had to come out today and get a win."

That's exactly what the Braves did as they claimed their first ever third place finish in Columbia defeating the Fair Play Hornets, 83-58.

"I thought we played pretty good," Johnson said. "Coming off a loss of two points, it was pretty tough but I thought we recovered well."

SCC's Drew Thomas shoots over Fair Play's Daniel Durst

SCC's Drew Thomas shoots over Fair Play's Daniel Durst

The Braves fell to the eventual winner of the Class 1 state championship; the Jefferson Eagles, in an exciting 70-68 semifinal game. This marks the third straight year that Jefferson has hoisted up the state championship trophy at the Mizzou Arena.

"I feel like we worked hard yesterday but, we just didn't play our game," senior D.D. Gillespie said. "We just had to wake up this morning, come out and play our game."

So, they did. The Braves took advantage of their own speed and defensive prowess throughout the game forcing 23 Fair Play turnovers. Scott Central had no trouble capitalizing off the Hornets misfortunes scoring 30 points off of them.

Gillespie finished the game with 21 points,

"I thought we played a little bit better today as far as doing a few things that you don't notice," Braves head coach Ronnie Cookson said. "We played a little harder doing that today. They can play harder. I can tell you that for sure."

SCC's Mark Freed (15) smiles as the crowd sings "Happy Birthday" to him after the Class 1 third place game

SCC's Mark Freed (15) smiles as the crowd sings "Happy Birthday" to him after the Class 1 third place game

Scott Central also had a big game inside the paint as well, scoring 77 percent of their points from underneath the basket. Freshmen Otto Porter, who shared a game high of 21 points with Gillespie, did most of his damage inside the paint by creating most of his shots by himself. Porter pulled down a total of 11 rebounds with five of them being on the offensive side.

"We played pretty well," Porter said. "We just wanted to come out and play our hardest."

Porter has continually shown during the season that while playing beside the other big man in Johnson, that he will definitely be a player to watch for the Braves down the road.

"For him to be only a freshman he's a good player," Johnson said. "So, hopefully he'll progress some more over the years and be pretty good."

Drew Thomas finished the game with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Bobby Hatchett yet again helped out with his smooth passing skills on seven assists and seven points.

This was in no doubt a special day for all of the Braves and their seniors. But, for one in particular senior, it couldn't get any better.

"It's a dream come true," senior Mark Freed said. "I think every high school kid works their freshman, sophomore and junior year to get to their senior year to try and win a state championship. I feel we came out and did our very best today."

After Scott Central had received their medals and third place trophy, the Braves crowd section gave Freed a resounding composition of "Happy Birthday" to celebrate his 18th birthday. Freed finished with only two points for the game but, maybe more importantly pulled down five rebounds for his team.

"I didn't want anything else," Freed said about his birthday. "This is all I could ever ask for."

It was also a special day for 5-9 junior Rhyne McCoy. McCoy, or "Country" as most people call him, more times than not watches the game with the rest of his teammates on the bench. But, for the rare times he does have his chance on the hardwood, the crowd loves to see him have his moment of trying to make that elusive 3-point shot.

On one of the biggest stages the fan favorite has played in, he drained his first 3-point attempt to give the Braves a total of 83 points, which were the last points by any Braves player for the season.

"It felt great," McCoy said. "It was just a big spark off the bench is all I can tell you."

The Braves finish their season with a 28-3 record and their first trip to the Showdown in 14 years produced a third place trophy. Scott Central will lose four seniors on the squad: Johnson, Gillespie, Freed and Jaron Banks.

"We had a couple up and down years and we've been through a couple coaches," Johnson said. "But, in the end it all came out good. We have four seniors on the team and I think they're pretty happy the way it ended in state with third place. I feel good about it but, I wish we could have got the first."

With all that said and done, still one question remains; Will Cookson be back on the sidelines with the Braves next year to make another title run?

"We'll just kind of wait and see what happens between know and next year," the veteran coach said.