For Scott County Central, scoring shouldn't be a problem this year, but its lack of size might.
For Bell City, defensive intensity is ahead of offensive execution.
The Class 1 rivals have a few months to work things out before what could be another sectional meeting that sends the winner on to the state's final four.
"You hate to talk about the sectional at this time of year," Cubs coach Brian Brandtner said. "We're just trying to play better and better."
Still, it was hard not to wonder how Scott County Central, with legendary coach Ronnie Cookson back on the sidelines after he was lured out of retirement last year as an interim coach, will match up with the Cubs, who have finished second in the state in each of Brandtner's first two seasons, when the the two teams played in back-to-back games Friday night at the 13th annual Riverbend Classic hosted by New Madrid County Central.
Both the Braves and the Cubs won their season openers, and they will swap opponents from Arkansas today.
Scott County Central dominated the taller West Memphis (Ark.), forcing turnovers with pressure and rolling to an 87-64 victory.
Bell City clamped down on Pine Bluff (Ark.) in a 62-55 victory.
And both coaches saw room for improvement amid the positives.
Scott County Central rolled out to a 45-28 lead by halftime, with Caleb Johnson scoring nine of the Braves' 19 first-period points, but the Braves were sometimes sporadic in the second half with the lead in hand.
"It shouldn't have been that way," Scott County Central coach Ronnie Cookson said. "They made it that way, and we're going to have to tackle that.
"They had a lot of height, and we have to get better at making adjustments when they make changes."
West Memphis had several players on the floor taller than the Braves' tallest starter, the 6-foot-1 Johnson. But the Braves' pressure troubled the Blue Devils, and Johnson (19 points) and Drew Thomas (22 points) held their own on the glass.
"I think we played great, we played hard," said Scott County senior D.D. Gillespie, who led the Braves with 25 points and hit three 3-pointers. "If we keep going to the boards and boxing out, we'll be all right."
The Braves may have higher aspirations than all right, though Cookson also wasn't stroking the egos.
"None of our players are outstanding; they're all just good kids," he said.
Seven Braves players scored, showing depth for Scott County Central, and it did not send onto the floor the only freshman in the Riverbend Classic, 6-2 Otto Porter.
Bell City pulled away from Pine Bluff after a 6-6 first period, outscoring the Zebras 15-9 in the second period.
The Cubs hit 23 of 33 free throws, while Pine Bluff was 5-for-12.
Nick Niemczyk, who was shut out in the first period, the Cubs with 29 points. He hit three 3-pointers and was 12-for-16 from the line. Niemczyk scored 12 of his points in the final period.
Phillip Gross added 12 points.
"I loved our intensity," Brandtner said, "and how hard our players played. We've got a long way to go in terms of execution. We've got to get some offense and handle pressure better."
Riverbend Classic
SCOTT COUNTY CENTRAL 87,
WEST MEMPHIS (ARK.) 64
West Memphis 15 13 19 17 -- 64
Scott Co. Central 19 26 18 24 -- 87
WEST MEMPHIS (64) -- Justin Smith 12, Clayborn Stokes 2, Vincent Parker 1, Rikeandal Weast 10, Trent Littlejohn 10, Hakeem Nance 4, Poliford 4, Tarvin Gaines 17, Michael Smith 4. FG 27, FT 8-16, F 19 (3-pointers: Littlejohn 2. Fouled out: None)
SCOTT COUNTY CENTRAL (87) -- D.D. Gillespie 25, Toby Heeb 3, Bobby Hatchett 5, Mark Freed 4, Drew Thomas 22, Caleb Johnson 19, Alan Timmons 6. FG 33, FT 16-24, F 15. (3-pointers: Gillespie 3, Heeb 1, Hatchett 1. Fouled out: None)
BELL CITY 62, PINE BLUFF (ARK.) 55
Pine Bluff 6 9 20 20 -- 55
Bell City 6 15 17 23 -- 62
PINE BLUFF (55) -- T.J. Sykes 2, Terris Smith 17, Love Boyd 11, Howard White 6, Oderah Nwan Kwo 10, Adrian Beard 2, Ebenezer Davis 2, Stephan Collins 4, Chris Scott 1. FG 24, FT 5-12, F 18 (3-pointers: Boyd 1, White 1. Fouled out: None).
BELL CITY (62) -- Nick Niemczyk 29, Melvin Johnson 2, Phillip Gross 12, Marty Dames 7, Austin Bush 2, Jeff Long 6, Bandon Bell 4. FG 18, FT 23-33, F 16 (3-pointers: Niemczyk 3. Fouled out: None).
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