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Porter leads Scott County Central to Class 2 title game
COLUMBIA -- After winning five state titles in the last six years, Scott County Central has learned a thing or two about closing out games.
It also helps when you have Jeffery Porter.
Porter scored 12 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter while Javonta Daniel was lights out with 21 points. The duo led the Braves to a 60-49 victory over Crane in the Class 2 state semifinals Thursday at Mizzou Arena.
"Those last couple minutes of the game you're either going to crunch down and pull it out or go home. The guys have been in that situation before," Scott County Central head coach Frank Staple said. 'We weren't nervous today. I was more nervous than the kids were. They just buckled down the last few plays and went on that run and we're moving on."
Porter and Daniel were two of the four Braves' players who scored in double figures. Drake Kesler added 11 points and Matthew Blissett had 10.
Clay Stumpff led Crane with 17 points which included five 3-pointers. Jake Sowell had 14 and Zach Chastain added 13.
"They're big, they're athletic, they're one of the few teams that have been able to really defend me one on one and really our whole team," said Chastain, who is Crane's leading scorer with an average of 17 points a game. "They played really good help-defense and they're athletic."
Porter led the separating charge late in the fourth quarter when Crane trimmed a once 12-point lead in the second half to a tie in the third quarter and just two with 2:33 left to go in the fourth. An 11-2 run which included eight points from Porter and a 3-point play from Daniel quickly followed in the last 1:25 to secure the win.
Porter, who also had seven rebounds, five assists and four steals, had two key steals which led to Daniel's "and-1" as well as a layup from himself to give the Braves a comfy nine-point lead with 52 seconds left.
"He's a big-time player," Crane head coach Chris Hastings said about Porter. "You can only contain him for so long. We knew he was going to get going eventually. But, we've also done a good job all year on other team's best players, especially with guards. But, big-time players step up at big times and he did that today."
If Porter was the guy to close out the win, then Daniel was the player who gave him the opportunity.
The 6-2 forward shot a cool 8 for 10 from the field, grabbed six rebounds and was 5 of 6 from the free throw line. He was a thorn in Crane's side from the high post making moves around the basket.
"It's been big guys that kill us all year. Especially big, active guys that can move," Hastings said about Daniel. "They can catch the ball in the high post, take that one power-dribble -- we didn't have an answer for him today."
The Braves (26-4) fell behind 4-3 after the first two minutes of the game but Kesler made sure his team didn't trail for long.
Kesler hit his first four shots which included three straight 3-pointers to start the game. He scored Scott Central's first 11 points which eventually led to an 18-9 lead after the first quarter.
"Drake is big," Staple said. "He's worked a lot to get to this point and that's the good thing about this team and I've mentioned it several times. We have some really good players but everybody who steps on that floor we have confidence that they can make plays for us. Drake came out and I think he was our leading scorer at half. That was big. Kudos to Drake."
Crane (28-3) began the second with a 9-1 run capped by a 3-pointer from Stumpff to pull within one with 4:29 left. But four consecutive points from Daniel sparked a 10-3 run to close out the first half and ended up ahead 29-21 at halftime.
Most of Crane's first half troubles sprung from poor shooting. They were 9 of 33 from the floor in first half including 3 of 14 from behind the arc. Hastings said Scott Central's quickness on defense was also a culprit.
"They matched up out of that zone. We're not used to seeing that," Hastings said. "They did a great job of, first of all, talking, knowing who they were going to guard off the ball screen and then matching up to our shooters. Obviously, their long arms, they're athletic, they can close out faster than what we're used to seeing down in the Springfield area."
The Braves went up by as many as 12 in the third but Crane tied the game at 35-all thanks to three straight 3-pointers -- two from Stumpff and one from Sowell -- as part of a 14-6 run. Daniel put the Braves ahead 39-35 by the end of the period with a layup and a jumper.
"That's kind of been our M.O.," Hastings said. "We get off to slow starts and then third quarter we try to climb back into it. Usually, it works but against a good, fundamentally sound team like Scott County, you can only get so far trying to scrap back up that."
Crane ended up shooting 34 percent (20 of 58) from the field including 7 of 24 from 3-point range and 2 of 10 from the free throw line. Scott Central shot 21 of 35 (60 percent) from the floor and 15 of 22 from the free throw line.
Scott Central will play for its 18th state championship in school history on Saturday at 11 a.m. against Mid-Buchanan, 60-53 winners over Canton in the other semifinal, at Mizzou Arena.
"The biggest thing today is we just want to relax," Staple said about waiting a day to play the title game. "Just take it step by step. We'll be ready. It'll be another challenge but I have faith in these kids that they'll be ready."
Crane 9 12 14 14 -- 49
SCC 18 11 10 21 -- 60
CRANE (49) -- Zach Chastain 13, Sam Sowell 3, Deven White 2, Clay Stumpff 17, Jake Sowell 14. FG 20, FT 2-10, F 19. (3-pointers: Stumpff 5, Sowell 2. Fouled out: Tanner Gold.)
SCOTT COUNTY CENTRAL (60) -- Drake Kesler 11, Jeffery Porter 15, Tre Moore 3, Javonta Daniel 21, Matthew Blissett 10. FG 21, FT 15-22, F 16. (3-pointers: Kesler 3. Fouled out: none.)