Braves win first encounter with Saxony Lutheran

Scott County Central's boys basketball team hammered visiting Saxony Lutheran on the boards Tuesday, and in the process turned a five-point halftime advantage into a 79-58 rout.

The Braves, ranked No. 2 in the initial Class 1 state poll released today, improved to 4-1. This was the home opener for the Braves, who celebrated the second annual Alumni Night on Tuesday, as Scott County coach Ronnie Cookson sat on the bench in the gym named in his honor.

"We came out in the third quarter and Caleb Johnson came out on the boards and did a tremendous job," Cookson said. "That broke their back. That was the difference in the game."

Johnson had 13 of his 21 points in the third quarter, several coming off putbacks. Scott County's frontcourt of 6-foot-1 Johnson, 6-3 Richard Brownlee and 6-0 Drew Thomas simply dominated Saxony Lutheran's post players.

"I told our kids we played hard, but I thought they played a lot stronger than we did on the boards," Saxony coach John Daniel said. "In the second half we had them for 11 putbacks."

Saxony Lutheran (3-1) was held without a basket for the first three minutes and 15 seconds of the third quarter, squandering the momentum built during a strong second quarter. The Crusaders got down 11-2 to start the game and trailed 19-12 after one period.

Less than three minutes into the second the Crusaders had cut the lead to 21-20. Saxony cut the lead to 33-30 on a 3-pointer by Bret Steffens, but Brownlee put the halftime score at 35-30 with a basket in the waning seconds of the half.

"That's the sign of a good ballclub," Cookson said of Saxony's comeback. "We didn't shake them when we got 10 points on them."

The Braves were able to shake the Crusaders in the third, pulling ahead 42-30 thanks to a 7-0 run to start the quarter. Scott County added an 8-0 run following a Saxony basket from Austin Kwikkel for a 50-32 lead and led by as many as 22 points late in the period.

"Once they got the lead we had to chase them on defense, and they got one-on-one in the paint and they did a nice job finishing," Daniel said.

Brownlee led the Braves with 22 points and Thomas added 18. D.D. Gillespie added 11 points from his guard position.

Saxony got much of its scoring from in the post as well, led by 6-3 Alex Jauch with 16 points. Kwikkel added 15 points and Ben Courtois had 13.

"In the second half we were a little more tentative on offense, and we ran our offense too far away from the basket," Daniel said.

• As part of the second annual Alumni Night at Tuesday's game, Scott County Central honored Scott County Central elementary coach Larry Mosely. Mosely has been part of the Braves' basketball program for more than 25 years.

Scott Co. Central 79, Saxony Luth. 58

Saxony Lutheran 12 18 6 22 -- 58

Scott County 19 16 21 23 -- 79

SAXONY LUTHERAN (58) -- Austin Kwikkel 15, Alex Jauch 16, Ben Courtois 13, Bret Steffens 9, Garrett Ruppel 1, Clay Obergoenner 4. FG 26, FT 4-11, F 12 (3-pointers: Courtois 1, Steffens 1. Fouled out: none)

SCOTT COUNTY (79) -- Richard Brownlee 22, Caleb Johnson 21, Drew Thomas 18, D.D. Gillespie 11, Bobby Hatchett 7. FG 32, FT 12-21, F 16 (3-pointers: Hatchett 1, Thomas 2. Fouled out: none)

JV -- Saxony Lutheran 47, Scott County Central 41.