Cubs club Scott County

The first two rounds of the 62nd annual Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament have been marked by one blowout after another.

If ever there was a game that appeared destined to go to the wire it was Wednesday's quarterfinal clash between area Class 1 rivals Bell City and Scott County Central.

After all, the teams had met twice previously this year, with Scott County winning by five points and three points.

But there was no drama on this night.

Fifth-seeded Bell City led from start to finish and pounded fourth-seeded Scott County 80-60 in a game that was never really close.

Bell City (6-4), last year's Class 1 state runner-up, advances to face top-seeded Charleston in Friday's 6 p.m. semifinal at the Show Me Center.

Scott County (6-2), ranked second in the most recent Class 1 state poll, will play Oran at 3 p.m. Friday in the semifinal of the fifth-place bracket.

"This wasn't Scott County's night," Bell City coach Brian Brandtner said. "But we felt there were a lot of things we could do better [than in the previous two meetings]."

The Cubs, ranked 10th in the state, apparently did just about everything better against the Braves this time around.

"We didn't turn the ball over, No. 1," Brandtner said. "We got the ball where it needed to go and we didn't take bad shots."

Bell City was also able to keep 6-foot-10 senior center Will Bogan on the floor the majority of the game, after he had been hampered by foul trouble in the first two matchups with Scott County, whose tallest player is listed as 6-3.

Bogan dominated the inside and junior guard Nick Niemczyk spent most of the night either hitting mid-range jumpers or slashing to the basket as those two formed a lethal combination.

Bogan scored 24 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. He added several blocked shots while altering countless others.

"That was huge, keeping Will on the floor," Brandtner said. "He's really been stepping it up."

Niemczyk poured in 31 points, 22 coming in the first half.

"He's a player," Brandtner said. "He's smart and a tough competitor."

Said Niemczyk, who only missed a few shots all game: "Sometimes you just catch fire. Having Will in there was a big factor. It opens things up for me and the other guys."

Bell City scored the game's first 10 points as Scott County went nearly 4 minutes without a point.

The Braves never really recovered from their slow start.

Bell City led 22-14 after one quarter. It was 31-22 midway through the second period when the Cubs began to break things open with an 11-0 run that featured nine straight points from Niemczyk.

The Cubs led 42-24 at halftime. Niemczyk scored 11 points in each of the first two quarters and Bogan added 13 points in the opening half.

Bell City scored the first seven points of the second quarter to go up 49-24 and basically eliminate any chance of a Scott County comeback.

The Braves did make a few mild runs.

Trailing 61-44 after three quarters, they closed to within 63-50 with nearly seven minutes still to go in the contest.

But the Cubs came right back with six straight points to lead 69-50, allowing them to coast to the finish line.

Junior swingman Phillip Gross added 10 points for the Cubs.

Junior forward Caleb Johnson led the Braves with 18 points.

Also in double figures for Scott County were sophomore guard Drew Thomas with 15 points, junior guard D.D. Gillespie with 13 and junior center Richard Brownlee with 12.

"We expected another really close game," Niemczyk said. "I was surprised, but we played good."

Bell City 80, Scott County Central 60

Scott County 14 10 20 16 -- 60

Bell City 22 20 19 19 -- 80

SCOTT COUNTY CENTRAL (60) -- D.D. Gillespie 13, Richard Brownlee 12, Mark Freed 2, Drew Thomas 15, Caleb Johnson 18. FG 22, FT 15-24, F 14 (3-pointers: Thomas 1. Fouled out: none)

BELL CITY (80) -- Nick Niemczyk 31, Melvin Johnson 2, Phillip Gross 10, Austin Segers 4, Marty Dames 4, Will Bogan 24, Clay Dover 5. FG 32, FT 14-17, F 17 (3-pointers: Niemczyk 2. Fouled out: none)