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Scott County Central wins OIT title with 71-67 victory over Malden
ORAN -- In it's 59-year history the Oran Invitational Tournament has been more or less owned by the Scott County Central Braves.
Heading into Friday's title game against Malden, the Braves had already appeared in the tournament's championship game a total of 30 times, having won it 21 of those instances.
Thanks to a strong third quarter in an otherwise tight contest, Scott Central claimed their 22nd tournament championship and seventh in a row with a 71-67 win over the Green Wave.
"It's a blessing," Braves' head coach Frank Staple said of his school's success at the event. "This is a prestigious tournament with some really tough teams. I'm really proud of my team for the way they fought and pulled it out. It's just an honor to be in this position."
After a first half where neither team gained separation and continued to swap leads, it was a dominant start to the second half that put Scott Central in position to hold off a late Green Wave charge.
Coming into the third quarter with a two-point lead, 35-33, gained on a Jeffery Porter buzzer-beater, the Braves swapped things up on defense and reaped the dividends. They had moved to a zone late in the second quarter and decided to stick with it following the break.
The result was a five-and-a-half minute scoreless drought by the Green Wave that allowed the Braves to go on a 12-0 run and built a 14-point advantage.
A bucket in the paint from Malden junior Trevor Ison with 2:32 left in the quarter broke the Braves' run, but the Green Wave still trailed 54-42 entering the fourth quarter.
"We just kind of clamped down," Staple said of the third quarter. "We went to a zone, tried to close off the middle and stop penetration. We were able to attack them on offense a little bit and have a little cushion.
"But they fought back and made it a close game."
It was a put-back from Shamaudre Barber that ignited an 8-2 Malden rally and shifted momentum back in their favor to start the final period. Three-straight baskets midway through the quarter cut the Green Wave's deficit down to two possessions, 61-57, and a Ison 3-pointer with 1:11 to play put them within a basket at 64-62.
Trailing by three, 70-67, with 17 seconds remaining, Malden had the chance to make it a one-point game when Cortez Dobbins was sent to the free throw line. Dobbins missed both shots, however, and Javonta Daniel came down with the rebound for the Braves.
Scott Central killed all but the final eight seconds before Malden could foul, sending Porter to the line with a chance to make it a two-score game. Porter missed his first attempt but nailed his second to make up the 71-67 final.
"I breathed a lot easier," Porter said of making this second shot. "I was just a little nervous on the first one."
Malden heaved one last 3-point attempt, but Daniel again came down with the rebound to close out the game.
One day after going 17 of 19 (89 percent) from the free throw line in the fourth quarter to take down Oran, the Green Wave missed some costly shots from the foul line. They went 3 of 7 (43 percent) in the fourth quarter against Scott Central and 6 of 14 (43 percent) on the game.
"We missed a couple down the stretch," Malden head coach Andrew Halford said of their free throw shooting. "That's something we're going to continue to work on. Scott County is a very good team and we feel like we gave them all they wanted. We also get a rematch when we play them the Dec. 19. Hopefully we'll get our kids prepared for that."
Dobbins had his usual big game for the Green Wave, finishing with a game-high 31 points. He scored 18 of those in the first half with the Braves' defense holding him to 13 in the last two quarters, 11 of which came in the fourth quarter.
Ison was second on the team with 16 points and Shaeen Perkins pitched in 11, including three of the team's five 3-pointers.
"Dobbins is a just a player," Staple said. "Him and Ison, those two really gave us fits. They're a tough matchup for us."
Leading the Braves was Porter, who had 23 points and 11 rebounds to finish with a double-double. Both were team highs as he shot 7 of 15 (47 percent) from the field and 7 of 12 (58 percent) inside the arc.
Skylar Lemons was second on the team with 15 points while Daniel finished with 14 points and four rebounds. Scott Central shot 27 of 56 (48 percent) from the field as a team and 22 of of 42 (52 percent) from inside the arc.
On keeping Scott Central's tournament streak alive, Porter said, " We just wanted to keep it going and do it for our seniors and try to get another one for our fans."
Scott Central's big start to the second half and Malden's late surge was in stark contrast to the first half where neither team was able to gain separation. Hitting some shots early, the Green Wave led much of the first quarter and as late as the final two minutes of the second quarter, 31-29.
A 6-2 run to finish the half shifted things in Scott Central's favor entering the locker room.
"The thing about us is we haven't put together a whole game yet," Staple said. "We were lucky to be ahead (at the half). I told my kids good job grinding it out and continuing to fight, but we have to execute a little bit better. But again I give all that credit to Malden. They made it tough."
When the all-tournament team was announced three Braves and a pair of Green Wave players were honored. Porter and Daniel garnered first-team honors for Scott Central while Skylar Lemons was a second-team selection. Dobbins and Ison were both first-team picks for Malden.
After having to replace so much of last year's lineup due to graduation, Staple said a key to his team's 5-0 start has been players like Daniel and Lemons taking on bigger roles.
"He came in and he's been fighting some back pain all week, which has limited him," Staple said of Daniel. "He's really stepped up for us all year and he's going to have to continue to do that. He's a big part of what we do.
"Sklyar does a good job. Sixth man to me is just a very important piece of the puzzle. Skylar comes off and gives us a lot of offense. He played well this whole tournament. I'm very proud of him."
| Scott Central | 17 | 18 | 19 | 17 | -- | 71 |
| Malden | 16 | 17 | 9 | 25 | -- | 67 |
SCOTT CENTRAL (71) -- Drake Kesler 3, Jeffery Porter 23, Tre Moore 8, Javonta Daniel 14, Matt Blissett 8, Skylar Lemons 15. FG 27 FT 12-23 F 15. (3-pointers: Kesler 1, Moore 1, Lemons 3. Fouled out: none.)
MALDEN (67) -- Alejandro Gordon 4, Shaeen Perkins 11, Cortez Dobbins 31, Shamaudre Barber 2, Orlandis Farr 3, Trevor Ison 16. FG 28 FT 6-14 F 24. (3-pointers: Perkins 3, Farr 1, Ison 1. Fouled out: Gordon.)
Advance 61, Oran 44
Advance defeated Oran 61-44 in the third place game.
The Hornets led just 25-23 at the half but out-scored the host school 36-21 in the second half.
Advance (2-1) got a game-high 24 points from Brian Whitson, including five 3-pointers. Dawson Mayo, a 6-foot-3 sophomore, added 12 points.
Mayo and teammates Preston Wuebker and Dalton Wilson were named second team all-tournament.
Oran (1-2) was led by Jacob Priggel's 17 points and Hunter Schlosser's 15 points. Schlosser was named first team all-tournament.
| Oran | 8 | 15 | 14 | 7 | -- | 44 |
| Advance | 13 | 12 | 21 | 15 | - | 61 |
ORAN (61) -- Layne Johnson 4, Max Priggel 4, Jacob Priggel 17, Preston Hahn 2, Hunter Schlosser 15. FG 17 FT 4-10 F 17. (3-pointers: Johnson 1, Jacob Priggel 1. Fouled out: Jacob Priggel.)
ADVANCE (61) -- Dawson Mayo 12, Austin Ladd 9, Dalton Wilson 8, Preston Wuebker 6, Brian Whitson 24, Grant Woodfin 2. FG 23 FT 9-15 F 14. (3-pointers: Wuebker 1, Whitson 5. Fouled out: none.)
Bell City 71, Kelly 65
In the consolation championship, Bell City held off Kelly 71-65.
Bell City (2-1) was paced by Nate Finney's 21 points and Cole Nichols' 11 points.
Kelly (1-2) was led by Maurice Davis with 20 points and Jacob McClain with 18.
| Kelly | 8 | 19 | 20 | 18 | - | 65 |
| Bell City | 19 | 17 | 14 | 21 | - | 71 |
KELLY (65) -- Maurice Davis 20, Ty Householder 11, Evan Abernathy 1, Dalton Huffman 4, Jacob McClain 18, Jacob Riley 2, Conner Dittlinger 11. FG 29 FT 10-19 F 21. (3-pointers: none. Fouled out: McClain)
BELL CITY ( 71) -- Nate Finney 21, Kolten Siebert 8, Cole Nichols 11, Austin Hicks 9, Bobby Wright 7, Peyton Maddox 15. FG 25 FT 15-21 F 30. (3-pointers: Finney 1, Siebert 2, Nichols 2, Wright 1. Fouled out: none."