Braves record steady victory

~ Scott County Central boys use late surge for 67-47 win over Saxony Lutheran.

For a meeting of two state-ranked small schools, Scott County Central's visit to Saxony Lutheran on Tuesday night didn't produce the most intense clash of styles.

Instead, there was a sense that Scott County Central's 67-47 victory was more along the lines of preparation for future games for both teams.

"We came in here expecting to get better," Saxony Lutheran senior Austin Kwikkel said. "They're just a good team, and they just outran us in the end.

"I don't think anyone of us was walking out of the locker room upset."

Saxony Lutheran, which today will return to the Class 2 state rankings at No. 10, fell to 15-5. All four of its in-state losses have been to ranked teams.

But Kwikkel and the Crusaders knew Scott County Central, now 17-2 and still No. 2 in Class 1, would be among their toughest opponents all season.

"They're right up there," said Saxony senior Max Wieser, who led the Crusaders with 17 points. "There's definitely not going to be anybody in our district that good."

Nonetheless, Saxony hung in with the Braves, mixing patience with opportunism. After a fast start that had the Braves leading 12-10 after the first 4 minutes, the scoring pace staggered with Scott County Central scoring in spurts and Saxony Lutheran battling back.

After the Braves built a 29-21 lead in the second period, Saxony scored the next six points. Scott County Central went to the locker room leading 34-27.

After the Braves built a 40-31 lead on another basket by Bobby Hatchett, who scored 15 points, the Crusaders went on an 8-2 spree. Garrett Ruppel's 3-pointer with 14 seconds left in the third period cut the score to 42-39, but Drew Thomas hit his second buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end a period.

From there, the Braves outscored Saxony Lutheran 22-8 in the fourth quarter. D.D. Gillespie's trey bumped the lead to 10, Hatchett scored off a steal, Mark Freed scored on back-to-back possessions, and Caleb Johnson also scored off a steal.

"In the fourth quarter, we probably weren't playing as tough as they were," Kwikkel said. "I think we got tired. They've been in big games before and they know how to play them."

Kwikkel complemented Wieser by scoring 11 points.

Thomas led Scott County Central with 21. Gillespie scored 14.

Scott County Central coach Ronnie Cookson, whose team made a beeline to the bus to try to beat another storm heading into the region, said the Braves were just running their offense, although it looked scrimmage-like at times as they seemed to work on particular sets.

"It's just what happens happens," Cookson said.

Saxony, for the most part, played a deliberate style that limited turnover opportunities for the Braves. Scott County Central might run into more of that down the road in the state playoffs.

"You've got to play everybody," Cookson said. "This was nothing but good team basketball [by Saxony]. This wasn't like they were trying to keep from getting beat by 100. You could see that's their game."