Charleston boys basketball team buries Scott County Central with third-quarter spurt

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- The Scott County Central Braves know all about Charleston's position.

The Bluejays sat on the lofty perch of No. 1 entering Friday's game against the Braves, a ranking Charleston assumed in the latest Class 3 state poll that was unveiled earlier in the week.

The Braves have owned the title of No. 1 in Class 1 the past three seasons, and it's a position they are hoping once again to hold in a rebuilding season.

The three-time defending state champion Braves lost 6-foot-8 star Otto Porter to graduation and Georgetown University, but they gave notice Friday night that they are not to be discounted from the conversation about the best teams in Class 1.

Otto Porter or not, SCC proved that it could play with the top-ranked team in Class 3.

Charleston's Ryan Parham, right, tries to block a layup by Scott County Central's Larandis Banks during Friday's game. (CHRIS POBST ~ Sikeston Standard Democrat)

The Braves, still ranked No. 7 in Class 1 despite four losses, looked every bit the part of a state title contender when they went into halftime trailing by just one point.

Charleston (14-1), which returns most of the pieces from a team that finished third in Class 3 last season, played the same part in the third quarter, where it exploded to take a 23-point lead on the way to a 99-86 victory.

SCC fell to 8-5 but took a large step in strengthening itself for another playoff run.

"Charleston, they still got the same team they've played with the past two years," said SCC senior Dominique Porter, who finished with a game-high 36 points. "They really didn't lose anybody. They're pretty much already a family. Like us, we had to come together at the first of the season and find our identity and who we were."

The Braves have been trying to get stronger on the boards after the loss of Otto Porter, whose rebounding feats included a final four record 35 boards in the 2010 title game. It's been a slow process for SCC, one that resulted in a fourth-place finish in the Southeast Missourian Christmas tournament after the Braves claimed the previous three titles.

"It picked us up from our loss in the Christmas tournament," Dominique Porter said about the positives in Friday's loss. "I think it's a big confidence booster, showing we really can play. We came together as a team, and we're going to try to keep it that way on the next games that we play."

SCC threw a 16-0 run at Charleston and held an 11-point lead after the Braves controlled an offensive rebound and Dominique Porter buried a 3-pointer with 2 minutes, 45 seconds left in the first quarter.

The Braves were in classic form with quickness, rebounding and full-court pressure that forced six Charleston turnovers in the period, which ended with the Braves leading 24-19.

"We weren't prepared for that at first, but soon as we saw how they were going to play, we got used to it and started playing back at the same intensity and a little bit more intensity than they was," said Charleston senior Aaron Cassell, who finished with a team-high 23 points.

The Braves scored their third offensive put back to open the second quarter before Charleston went on a 9-2 spurt to draw even at 28-28 with 5:01 left in the half.

Three ties followed before Michael Hull came off the bench and drilled a 3-pointer from the left corner to break a 34-34 deadlock with 2:55 remaining. Charleston never trailed again but clung to just a 41-40 lead after Braves sophomore guard Larandis Banks scored on an offensive rebound at the buzzer.

Banks' basket was the third shot on SCC's possession and underlined the halftime topic of conversation for Charleston coach Danny Farmer.

"I can't remember," Farmer said with a smile about his halftime talk. "It was chewing out type of stuff, telling them they had to get with it. Scott County brought their best game against us, which we know everybody is going to play their best game against us."

Cassell recalled the gist of Farmer's chewing.

"He was talking about us not rebounding much at all," Cassell said. "He wanted us to go in rebound more and box out."

The half embodied exactly what Farmer expects from opponents now that his team is wearing the label of No. 1.

"It's a target," Farmer said about his team's ranking. "Everybody is going to come and try to beat us. We know that. Now what I have to do is make them believe that. They're the ones that don't believe that. That's part of it, but everyone is going to play us tough."

Charleston senior Greg Tucker, who will play college basketball at Division I Northern Colorado next season, has played a big hand in a 13-game winning streak that has pushed the Bluejays to the top. He netted 21 points against the Braves, and he's a believer.

"We definitely feel like we have a bull's-eye on our back, being the No. 1 team ranked in the state," Tucker said. "It's not really any added pressure. [We] just go out and play our game."

Charleston did just that in the third quarter with a 37-point barrage.

The Bluejays grabbed two offensive rebounds on their first possession and misfired their second trip down the floor. They then scored on their remaining 17 possessions in the quarter.

"I know we're that type team. We can get points up real quick," Tucker said. "It wasn't too surprising."

The explosion included four 3-pointers and an assortment of fast-break baskets that followed either rebounds on the defensive end or turnovers. Tucker scored 11 of his points in the period, Cassell had nine, while Hull hit two 3-pointers and scored eight of his 17 points.

A Cassell offensive put back pushed the lead to double figures midway through the period, and the lead eclipsed 20 points when Ryan Parham stole a pass near midcourt and scored a layin to make it 73-52 with 49 seconds left.

Cassell scored in the closing seconds on a fast break after SCC missed on a 3-pointer, putting the lead at 78-55 after three quarters.

Charleston connected on 12 of 18 shots in the period and did not commit a turnover, while SCC had four turnovers and was 5 of 13 shooting.

"Charleston just came out and outplayed us in the second half," said Banks, who finished with 22 points. "We just couldn't get any buckets to fall. The first half was good, but the second we didn't come out ready. We were pretty much playing defense with our hands instead of moving our feet. We've just got to get that together and hopefully be ready by the districts."

Dominique Porter scored 16 of his points in the fourth quarter to help the Braves close the gap.

Braves senior LaMarcus Stewart finished with 12 points.

"We played with more effort and more togetherness tonight than we have probably from the first game of the year," SCC coach Kenyon Wright said. "And that's something we have to build off of here on out. If we can build on our togetherness and our effort, to come out every game no matter who we're playing, and play every game like that, we can maybe have a chance to win our district."

SCC 24 16 15 31 -- 86

Charleston 19 22 37 21 -- 99

SCOTT COUNTY CENTRAL (86) -- Dominique Porter 36, LaMarcus Steward 12, Antonio Johnson 2, Chris Brown 2, Jaylen Porter 10, Tyler Master 2, Larandis Banks 22. FG 31, FT 20-21, F 22. (3-pointers: D. Porter 2, J. Porter, Banks 2. Fouled out: Antonio Johnson)

CHARLESTON (99) -- Aaron Cassell 23, Ryan Parham 13, Michael Hull 17, Trey Watkins 3, Greg Tucker 21, Jamaul Gray 13, Krushon Scott 7, Darrion Carter 2. FG 36, FT 16-27, F 17. (3-pointers: Cassell 4, Hull 3, Tucker 2, Gray. Fouled out: none)