Braves seek a return to final four

Senior Desmin Williams' eye lit up briefly when he heard Jefferson lost its Class 1 sectional Tuesday.

But Williams quickly caught himself and dismissed Jefferson's loss.

"You win some, you lose some," Williams said. "We just have to come back and play our game. We can't worry about the game that Jefferson lost. We have better competition now because they proved they beat Jefferson. Now we have to bring our game and play better offense and play better defense."

Williams and his Scott County Central boys basketball teammates have spent the season ranked No. 2 in the state behind Jefferson, the three-time defending state champions. The Braves lost to the Eagles in the semifinal round last year, and it appeared the two state powers were destined to meet again in Columbia.

While Scott County held up its end of the bargain Tuesday with its 105-77 victory over St. Elizabeth, Jefferson fell to Newton-Harris 72-56.

With Jefferson no longer looming as a potential championship-game foe, the Braves will try to earn a second straight trip to Columbia today. Scott County (26-2) faces Eminence in a 1 p.m. state quarterfinal at Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff.

"We just want to come back and win," Williams said. "[State] was a great experience last year. Now we can go up there and we'll know everything we're supposed to do to win a ballgame. We have that high intensity and ability to go out and work hard."

Eminence handled Clarkton in its sectional, posting an 89-62 win. The Redwings were ranked No. 4 in the final regular-season state poll.

Eminence will be charged with slowing down the Braves' high-powered offensive attack. Scott County has averaged 88 points a game in the postseason, while allowing 56 points a game. Junior point guard Bobby Hatchett puts the pressure on himself to run the offense.

"That's really my job to try to control it," he said. "I'm not a leader or nothing, but that's my job. I'm the guard. I just really try to slow it down and concentrate. I try to make good plays and listen to coach."

Spreading the ball around isn't an easy task. Senior guard Drew Thomas is averaging 25.3 points a game in the postseason, while Hatchett is at 19.7, sophomore Otto Porter at 15 and senior Randy Timmons at 10.3.

"I've got options," Hatchett said. "If someone's complaining about getting the ball, I'm going to try at least to get them the ball. It's really not about scoring. It's getting everyone involved."

Hatchett hopes he's able to spread the ball around enough to earn a return trip to Columbia.

Even if Jefferson won't be there.