Braves trounce Hornets on senior night

~Gillespie leads SCC with 20 points and six steals

SIKESTON -- The Scott County Central Braves did not disappoint their home crowd on Tuesday night, as they trounced the Advance Hornets on senior night, 88-46. "I think we played real well," Braves head coach Ronnie Cookson said. "I thought the kids hustled. Some of the kids came off the bench and did a good job and picked things up. We did alright tonight." Scott Central started out on a roll, outscoring the Hornets 25-6 to end the first quarter and broke even further away at halftime, 53-21, to close the book on the Hornets. "We came out a little bit intimidated," Advance head coach Joe Shoemaker said. "Of course, Scott County will do that to you. We didn't play extremely well and we didn't take care of the ball." "They dictate the tempo," Shoemaker continued, "Most teams will struggle to play their tempo and beat them when they can get up and down the court like they did. They started turning turnovers into points quickly and crashed the boards well." The Hornets were forced into making 26 turnovers on the night, while the Braves committed seven themselves. On senior night, who else but a senior could lead the Braves squad. D.D. Gillespie finished with 20 points to lead all scorers. Gillespie also had six steals. Drew Thomas was the second leading scorer with 18 points, while Bobby Hatchett finished with 11 points and hit the Braves only 3-pointer. Otto Porter had a nice outing filling in for the injured Caleb Johnson. Porter finished with 15 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Johnson, who finished with two points, went down early in the first quarter with what looked to be like an ankle sprain. The Braves will look to get Johnson back at least by next Monday for district play. All of Scott Central's seniors did manage to score on their special night. Jaron Banks ended up with two points and Mark Freed made one-of-two free throws to finish with one. "I just appreciate the seniors playing for me," Cookson said, "And all the kids that play for Scott County Central, I really appreciate it." Nate Middleton led the Hornets with 11 points. Middleton knocked down three 3-pointers. Cody Mitchell chipped in with 10 points. The Scott Central Braves (22-2) will put their unblemished conference record on the line against the Delta Bobcats on Friday night, which will be the Braves final regular season game. "It's our last game of the season and it should be a good one," Cookson said. "It should be interesting." JUNIOR VARSITY

The junior varsity Braves remained perfect on the season Tuesday night, defeating the Hornets, 77-54. After a tie first quarter, 15-15, the Braves outscored Advance 24-7 in the second period, to take a 39-22 lead at the break. By the end of the third quarter, Scott Central seemed to be in control with a 57-39 advantage going into the final quarter of play. Stewart Johnson led all scorers with 25 points. Reggie Woodson finished with 14 and John Rhoden added 13 points. L. Steil led the Hornets with 19 points, while David VanGennip finished with 14 points. The Braves will put their own unbeaten streak in jeopardy when they will take on the Delta Bobcats on Friday at 6.p.m., preceding the varsity game.