Menu
Wright time
SCC coach returns as Braves blast Oran 90-66
ORAN -- It's been nearly three weeks since Scott County Central head coach Kenyon Wright has paced the sidelines.
His Braves made sure Wright was given the proper return on Friday night as they blasted Oran 90-66 at Oran High School.
This was Scott Central's 24th straight win over the Eagles since Feb. 4, 2003.
"They went 3-0 without so I thought about not even coming back," joked Wright.
Wright has been hampered by head injuries sustained by a two-car accident in late Jan. He's missed Scott Central's last three games prior to Oran.
"I was very lucky that it just what it was," Wright said about his unfortunate collision. "It's great to be back. Just to hear the balls bouncing in the gym was music to my ears."
Dominique Porter, Scott Central's leading scorer, poured in 27 points on a night where the Braves shot 53 percent (35 of 66) from the field.
"In our past few games, we've been playing hard because coach was out," Dominique Porter said. "With him coming back, we needed to keep going after it."
Larandis Banks scored 17 points and pulled down eight rebounds, Antonio Johnson chipped in 15 points while LaMarcus Steward added 14 points and six assists.
The Braves (14-7) raced out to a quick 11 point lead after hitting nine of their first 11 shots. They finished with a 69 percent average in the first quarter where Dominique Porter scored 13 points.
"They know that coming down towards the end of the year, they have to be in the gym shooting all the time," Wright said. "This is the time of the year that teams step up and get with it. If we want the chance to win our district and go on, you have to live in the gym from here on out.
"They've really been concentrating hard on that and I'm really proud of them for that."
A 7-2 run by Oran to close out quarter number one had the Eagles looking up at a small 22-18 lead by the Braves.
Oran (13-8) hung with the three time defending Class 1 champions keeping the deficit as close as four until the halfway point of the second quarter. A basket by Seth Ressel with 4:12 left cut Scott Central's lead to 30-26, but the Braves answered with a 14-3 run to end the first half up 44-29.
Scott Central shot 19 of 29 (65 percent) in the first two quarters which included 50 percent from behind the arc.
"I feel our offense is working better than it was," Dominique Porter said. "Every practice, we're trying to hit our shots. It's starting to pay off now in the games."
The Eagles were 34 percent (12 of 35) from the floor in the first half and had eight turnovers to boot.
"We turned the ball over way too much," Oran head coach Joe Shoemaker said. "We gave them some easy buckets to help them get going. They shot the ball well and I feel we didn't shoot it well. They did a good job of controlling the paint and tempo.
"You add those things together, it kind of snowballed on us."
The Braves stretched their lead to 17 points (54-37) before tallying a 15-5 run to end the third frame. Scott Central held a comfortable 69-42 advantage heading into the final eight minutes.
"The kids moved well defensively," Wright said. "Our man (defense) was a little subject, but our press, they were moving well in it. If they keep doing that and keep focusing, that could hurt some teams. It hurt Oran and they have two really good guards, which I was kind of surprised the way that it done that."
Stretching their lead out to as much as 29 points, the Braves coasted to a finish in the fourth quarter.
"When (Scott Central) shoots the ball that well, it makes them really dangerous," Shoemaker said. "They can do a pretty good job of getting to the rim and it just makes them very complete as a team. It makes them that much harder to guard."
Kody Moore led Oran with 15 points which included three 3-pointers. Alex Heuring and Hunter Schlosser added 12 and 11 points respectively.
| Scott Central | 22 | 22 | 25 | 21 | -- | 90 |
| Oran | 18 | 11 | 13 | 24 | -- | 66 |
SCOTT CENTRAL (90) -- Larandis Banks 17, Jalen Porter 10, Tyler Masters 7, Antonio Johnson 15, Dominique Porter 27, LaMarcus Steward 14. FG 35 FT 14-24 F 17 (3-pointers: Banks 1, Johnson 1, D. Porter 4. Fouled out: D. Porter.)
ORAN (66) -- Kody Moore 15, Seth Ressel 8, Alex Schlitt 1, Alex Heuring 12, Blake Henson 5, Adam Schaefer 9, Hunter Schlosser 11, Payton Kern 5. FG 26 FT 8-12 F 19. (3-pointers: Moore 3, Ressel 2, Schaefer 1, Kern 1. Fouled out: none.)