Braves' drive for five ends in quarterfinal loss to Eminence

DEXTER, Mo. -- The Scott County Central boys basketball team is at its best playing at an up-tempo pace.

Unfortunately, Eminence refused to oblige

The result was a 65-55 loss to the Redwings Saturday afternoon in a Class 1 state quarterfinal.

With the loss came the end of an impressive run for the Braves, who came into the season as four-time defending Class 1 state champions. But this season's run fell one game short of returning to Columbia this week. Instead, its Eminence making its first-ever trip to the Final Four.

"They dictated the pace of the game the way they wanted it to be," said Braves coach Frank Staple. "We knew we would have to kind of get them out of rhythm and get them going up and down and playing our style of game. We were just never able to get them out of their flow. And then we weren't able to get into our flow. Offensively, I felt we really struggled, just even to run our offense. Our press was out of whack in our half-court, so we never really got in our flow today in any aspect of the game. Eminence just executed and took advantage of that."

That was never more evident than in the third period. Coming out of a 24-24 halftime tie, the Redwings (24-5) outscored the Braves 16-11 to take control of the contest. The Braves closed the deficit to 48-44 on a pair of Jeffrey Porter free throws at the 5 minute, 54 second mark, but Eminence responded with a 6-0 run to push the lead to double digits at 54-44.

SCC put together a mini-run as junior guard Larandis Blanks sandwiched a driving layup and a single free throw around Porter's pullup jumper to pull within 57-51 with 2:20 left, but the Redwings' Logan Dyer scored underneath off an inbounds pass, then added a drive to the hoop to make it 61-51. When teammate Cole Keeling hit 3 of 4 free throws down the stretch, the Redwings fans knew it was time to celebrate.

"With the pressure (SCC) can bring, it was just a grind," said Eminence coach Pete McBride. "We needed it to be a grind game. We didn't need it to be in the 70s and 80s. We got the score about where we needed it to be."

Scott County Central's Jeffery Porter is fouled by Eminence defender Cole Keeling on his way to the hoop in the fourth quarter of the Class 1 State Quarterfinal game Saturday, March 2, 2013 in Dexter. Eminence won 65-55. (Laura Simon)

The Braves (16-14) simply never got their high-powered offense in gear. Banks finished with 18 points, but had just five in a low-scoring (for SCC) first half.

"We knew they had those two really good guards," McBride said. "We try not to let the best players on the other team beat us. We went in defensively and keyed on Banks and Porter, and I thought we did a good job on those guys, and made everything they got really tough.

"And we had to rebound well, and I thought we did that, too."

The plan worked to perfection, and left the Braves visibly frustrated.

"We knew our keys," Staple said. "We knew we'd have to rebound, we knew we'd have to pressure them, we knew we'd have to take care of the ball on the offensive end. They just did a better job of executing than we did."

Porter was limited to nine points. On the other side, Dyer, a 6-foot-2 forward led all scorers with 26 points, while Keeling, a 6-foot-4 swingman, added 19 as the Redwings dominated inside.

"Just when we would make a run, they would hit a shot here or a shot there," Staple noted. "We knew we'd have to watch (Dyer and Keeling), but at the end of the day, they do what they had to do to come out on top. But I'm very proud of my boys, very proud."

"They had a good game plan," said Braves senior forward Tyler Masters, who scored 10 points off the bench. "They scouted us pretty good, so I guess they had a better game plan than us. We didn't have the right game plan for what they had."

SCC guard Jaylen Porter scored just four points in his final game for the Braves.

"We couldn't get it at the pace we wanted to," he said. "They kept it at their pace. That's about it."

Staple saw the frustration setting in during the tell-tale third quarter.

"It gets frustrating," he said. "They had some bounces go their way, hit a couple shots, and we missed a few layups. In a close, tight game like that, that makes all the difference."

The loss put a damper on what was an unprecedented four-year reign atop Class 1 for the Braves, something Staple said won't be long forgotten.

"It's an amazing run, and it's what they expect of Scott County Central," Staple said of the close-knit communities comprising the small school district. "Even in a year like this, where maybe the expectations weren't as high, the kids still have those high expectations. To start this year the way we started and to make it all the way to the quarterfinals, there's nothing for those kids to be ashamed of.

"We'll be back next year."

Eminence 13 11 16 25 -- 65

Scott Co. Central 14 10 11 20 -- 55

EMINENCE (65) -- Niko Danding 5, Jesse Lacey 11, Cole Keeling 19, Logan Dyer 26, Hunter Adams 3, Damon Craig 1. FG: 23, FT: 15-21, F: 13. (3-pointers: Lacey 2, Danding 1, Keeling 1. Fouled out: none)

SCOTT CO. CENTRAL (55) -- Alvin Gipson 2, Larandis Banks 18, Jaylen Porter 4, Tyler Masters 10, Matthew Blissett 6, Kendall Blissett 6, Jeffrey Porter 9. FG: 19, FT: 13-18, F: 18. (3-pointers: Banks 3, Je. Porter 1. Fouled out: Banks, Ja. Porter)