Scott Central strikes first in Oran Invitational

Thomas, Porter and Timmons combine for 54 points in Braves' win

ORAN -- After Scott County Central's 76-60 loss to the Memphis Central Warriors in the Riverbend Classic on Saturday night, Braves guard Bobby Hatchett said that they had to come out and work on some things in their first game of the Oran Invitational Tournament.

"It was kind of hard to come out after that loss," Hatchett said. "We had to come out and work on some things. That was the only difference. We had to come out and do some different stuff and work on a lot of things tonight."

Oran's Jake Carter puts up a shot over Rashad Brown, of Scott Central, in the second half of Monday night's contest.

Oran's Jake Carter puts up a shot over Rashad Brown, of Scott Central, in the second half of Monday night's contest.

Unfortunately for Oran, the Eagles were the team that had to face the Braves next as they tried to straighten their 'stuff' out.

"We had to work on some stuff," Braves head coach Ronnie Cookson said. "We had to get some stuff straightened out."

The No. 1 seed Scott Central Braves rolled over the No. 8 seed Oran Eagles on Monday night as they advanced to the second round of the Oran Tournament winning 92-35.

The Braves started the game with a 10-0 run until Oran's Jon Morrow scored the Eagles' first basket at the 4:30 mark in the first quarter. Scott Central went on to take a 20-8 lead after the first quarter and a 47-25 lead after the first half.

It was more of the same from the Braves as they went on to outscore the Eagles 45-10 throughout the second half.

"You can't simulate the quickness that Scott County has in practice," Oran head coach Joe Shoemaker said. "They're a good team and they force you to do a lot of things that you don't want to."

Hatchett and his smooth passing skills was one of the reason's that the Braves got off to a fast start as he recorded five assist's in the first half. He also had six points as well.

"I just try and play the same every night," Hatchett said. "Just play hard, do my part and pick up the slack."

Hatchett finished with 10 points, seven assists and six steals in limited playing time as the starters were sat down towards the end of the first and second halves.

Drew Thomas led all scorers with 30 points while Otto Porter and Randy Timmons added 12 points respectively. Porter also pulled down eight rebounds and Timmons had five steals. Dez Williams added nine points and seven rebounds.

Oran was led by Morrow and Preston Scherer who each scored eight points a piece. Morrow grabbed eight rebounds as well.

"My kids battled hard," Shoemaker. "They're learning as we go on. We saw some things that we're going to try and build on and try to improve upon. Overall, I was pleased with what we did."

This was Shoemaker's first game as the Eagles head coach. Previously, Shoemaker was the head coach for the Advance Hornets who are also in the Oran Invitational.

"We're young and we know that it's going to be a process for us to grow through," he said.

Oran's next game will be on Thursday night against the loser of the Malden-Kelly match-up that will be played tonight, while Scott Central will play the winner of that same game also on Thursday.

Twin Rivers 75, Bell City 67

In the second game of the night, the No. 2 seed Twin Rivers Royals defeated the No. 7 seed Bell City Cubs 75-67.

Kyle Oberkramen led the Royals with 19 points while Brett Whitlock scored 17 points and Ryan Miller added 16 points.

The Cubs were led by Ronnie Gross with 22 points. Melvin Johnson had 16 points while Skylor Blackler helped out with 14.

Twin Rivers will face Advance on Thursday at 8 p.m. while Bell City will battle Cooter tonight at 7:30 p.m.

Advance 72, Cooter 43

ORAN -- In the last game of the first round of the Oran Invitational Tournament, the No. 6 seed Advance Hornets upset the No. 3 seed Cooter Wildcats 72-43.

Brad Steil and Jacob Bond each led the Hornets with 20 points a piece. David VanGennip added 15 to their total.

Cooter's Zack Watkins led the Wildcats with 12 points while Aaron McCaig was right behind him with 11.

Advance will face Twin Rivers on Thursday at 8 p.m. while Bell City and Cooter will battle tonight at 7:30 p.m.