2024 Scott-Mississippi: Third-quarter surge leads Scott City over Chaffee

A big third quarter proved to be the difference as the Scott City Rams downed the Chaffee Red Devils 63-48 on Saturday in the opening round of the Scott Mississippi Conference Tournament at Oran High School.

Early on it was tough for either team to find a rhythm as both teams quickly found themselves in foul trouble.

Despite allowing a plethora of Scott City free throws in the opening eight minutes, the Red Devils were able to remain composed and hold a 14-11 lead after one quarter.

“We felt like we were OK,” Scott City coach Mark Dannenmueller said. “We obviously weren’t very happy with where we were at but we felt like we were alright.”

Scott City was able to flip the game in the second quarter as the Rams opened the frame on an 8-0 run that saw them take a 19-11 lead and eventually a 28-18 lead into the locker room at halftime.

“We got some good shots,” Dannenmueller said. “Kids started settling down a little bit. We played about as poorly as we could in that first half and that was our message at halftime because we were still up 10.”

Chaffee’s Blake Yarbro has proven to be a dominant force inside and while he was still scoring, the Rams did a good job of baiting passes into the post and then getting around Yarbro to steal the pass.

“We just wanted to be active,” Dannenmueller said. “You can’t stay behind him because he’s so big. We were just trying to make it hard on him because if you just stay behind him he’s going to turn and score.”

Following a first half where Jaylen Rulo was tenacious on the defensive end picking up steals, he continued to see success in the second half.

“Jaylen did a lot of good things,” Dannenmueller said. “When he settles in and he plays he’s a good basketball player.”

Rulo’s defense seemingly inspired the entire Scott City team as the Rams opened the third quarter on a 16-4 run to take command.

“I liked our energy,” Dannenmueller said. “I thought we played a lot better and I thought we were confident in what we were doing.”

As Chaffee battled back, the early burst was enough to give Scott City a 53-34 lead after three quarters.

The Rams would survive a late Chaffee rally to hang on 63-48.

Leading the Scott City offense was Jackson Gloth who scored 13 points in the win.

The Red Devils were led by Blake Yarbro who scored 14 points and Levi McKinnie who scored 12 points.

Chaffee (5-11) will take on the loser of East Prairie and Oran at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 31, at Oran High School.

Scott City (15-3) will battle the winner of East Prairie and Oran at 7:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 30, at Oran High School.

“We’ve got to get off to a better start,” Dannenmueller said. “East Prairie and Oran are both good teams.”

__ SCOTT CITY 63, CHAFFEE 48__

Chaffee 14 4 16 14 — 48

Scott City 11 17 26 9 — 63

Scott City (63) — Jackson Gloth 13, Jaylen Rulo 12, Kobe Watson 9, Kalen Connor 8, Mark Panagos 6, Nathan Ham 6, Brenden Beussink 6, Kaden Lowry 3. FG: 23. (3-pointers: Rulo 2, Ham 2, Gloth 1, Watson 1)

Chaffee (48) — Blake Yarbro 14, Levi McKinnie 12, Shelton Simmons 8, Nolan Fowler 7, Rolen Reischman 4, Craig Hanlen 2, Connor Berry 1. FG: 19. (3-pointers: Fowler 1, McKinnie 1)