Scott Central wins first title since 1990

Members of the Scott County Central basketball team celebrate after receiving their first place trophy in the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament Tuesday night. Andrew Powell, staff

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- It took a quarter, but the Braves continued their tournament dominance.

The first quarter was when Notre Dame's attack was the most effective. They slowed the pace down on the offensive side and worked the ball around on a team that has put up an average of 26 points in the first quarter of their first three games of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament.

They held the Braves to 16 points in the first.

Desmin Williams puts up a shot against Notre Dame in the championship game of the Southeast Missourian basketball tournament. Andrew Powell, staff

"The only thing we did was just stick to our regular game plan and just kept being patient and wait our turn," Braves guard Bobby Hatchett said.

That move paid off.

The Braves started to pull away at the beginning of the second quarter with the help from their famous pressure defense and Scott Central standout Drew Thomas.

Thomas helped the Braves to a 14-2 run to open up the quarter that included a 3-pointer and a monstrous one-handed jam as he was fouled that got the crowd on their feet.

All of that and more led to a 24-15 outscoring of the Bulldogs in the second quarter and set the tone for the Braves as they went on to win their school's fifth Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament title, 80-62.

"It feels good," Thomas said about winning the tournament. "There was a lot of great teams out here that didn't get close to where we got to. To be just in the category of whoever won this tournament is just a great honor."

Thomas scored 14 points in the second quarter alone and finished with a game high 33 points to lead the Braves.

Bobby Hatchett added 17 points and five assists while Randy Timmons chipped in with 15 points, five rebounds and four steals.

Otto Porter finished with 7 points, seven steals, five assists and eight rebounds. Desmin Williams scored eight points.

"It says a lot for small schools -- that they can be competitive," Braves head coach Ronnie Cookson said.

Quickness and defensive pressure led to a 25-point advantage for the Braves by the fourth quarter.

But, Notre Dame wasn't finished.

A 12-0 run in a little over a two minute span pulled the Bulldogs to within 10 points, 70-60.

"Every team makes a run," Hatchett said. "First half or second half, they're going to make a run. We knew they were going to make a run but we just had to contain it and make sure we had a safe lead."

With little over two minutes left to play Randy Timmons was sent to the free throw line where he sank his first and missed his second. The rebound was picked up by Thomas who then stepped back and drained a 3-pointer. That sparked a 10-2 run by the Braves that would end with a one-handed slam by Hatchett that ended the game.

"Notre Dame is tough," Cookson said. "You play them up here its tough. They've got some great kids. That (Austin) Greer kid is outstanding. He's smart and just really plays great. I just love to watch him play."

Greer was the Bulldogs leading scorer with 27 points. Bader chipped in 12 points with four 3-pointers.

With an impressive run threw the Christmas tournament by beating four teams by an average of 39 points, what's next for the Braves?

"Our goal is to win every game," Thomas said. "Unfortunately, we lost one. But, that was our goal to win every game and that's going to continue to be our goal from now on."

Charleston 65, Jackson 52

Antonio Riggens had his best tournament performance with 16 points as fourth-seeded Charleston held off third-seeded Jackson 65-52 for third place.

"I knew that we needed a win," Riggens said. "Last night (Monday) we played against a good team and I knew I had to come out and play hard for my team and get a win."

Donald Dixon scored 18 points to lead Charleston.

Bobby Clark had 20 for Jackson, while Lucas Davis scored 11 and Kyle Keith 10.

Charleston sprinted away from a 40-36 lead with Riggens hitting a 3 and another basket. His second 3 of the game made it 52-38.

"We came out 3-1," Charleston's Donald Dixon said about their overall tournament performance. "That's real good for us. We're coming together as a team."

Advance 54, Cape Central 43

Seventh-seeded Advance, a Class 2 school, defeated fifth-seeded Cape Central, a Class 5 school, 54-43 in the fifth-place game at the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament.

Jacob Bond scored 16 points and David VanGennip added 11 to lead Advance, 8-2.

Zach Boerboom scored 13 and Josh Harris 12 for Cape Central.

The Hornets led 28-25 at halftime but went more than 4 minutes without scoring in the third period as VanGennip left the floor with a cut above his eye.

Central built a 36-33 lead before VanGennip returned and scored to bring Advance within one. Jacob Bond hit two jumpers as Advance's lead grew to 43-38.

Bell City 51, Scott City 38

Antonio Riggens

Bell City jumped off to a fast start and held off Scott City 51-38 in the consolation bracket championship of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament.

Ronnie Gross scored 12 points and 7-foot junior Skylor Blackler added 10 for the Cubs.

Gross hit one of Bell City's three 3-pointers with Melvin Johnson hitting the other two as part of his eight points.

Five Bell City players scored more than eight points.

The Cubs led 15-7 after one period, as Skylor Blackler's putback beat the buzzer, and stretched it to 13 at halftime.

Scott City was as close as seven points, 41-34, but Jeff Long scored off his own miss to bump the lead back to nine.

Cody Page led Scott City with 12 points.