EAST CARTER CO. AVENGES SECTIONAL LOSS TO SCOTT CITY

Revenge is a powerful motivational tool and Wednesday night at the Cape Central Fieldhouse, the East Carter County Redbirds got theirs.

East Carter made just one field goal in the final quarter, but sank 12-of-16 free throws in the final two minutes of the game to hold off the Scott City Rams 63-56 in a 2A sectional.

Last year the Rams ruined an undefeated season for the Redbirds in the same sectional, but this time East Carter turned the tables on the Rams. East Carter advances to quarterfinal action at Park Hills with a 26-2 record. The Rams ended their season with a 25-5 mark.

"Our kids had a lot of extra motivation," said East Carter coach Mike Harlow, noting last season's outcome. "Our kids used that as a motivational tool. The revenge factor was there and we were a little more focused than last time."

No one on East Carter was more focused than senior Benji Stahl. The 6-foot-2 Stahl scored a game-high 26 points, including five 3-pointers.

"He's very capable of doing what he did," Harlow said. "He just stepped up like a senior should and knocked down some big, key shots."

Stahl scored 10 of the Redbirds' 15 points in a four-minute span to end the second quarter with East Carter ahead 34-20. East Carter went on a 15-3 run before halftime after Scott City's leading scorer, Dustin Cauble, picked up his third foul at the 4:11 mark and sat out the rest of the half. Cauble still led the Rams with 20 points before fouling out in the final seconds of the game.

Scott City coach Derek McCord said Cauble's foul trouble was a big factor in the game, but gave the Redbirds credit for the win.

"Benji Stahl played tremendous and they hit their free throws," McCord said. "We just didn't shoot well."

East Carter started the second half with two quick baskets by Zach Price to open up a 38-30 lead. The Rams responded with an 8-0 run, started by a 3-pointer from Jon Beck. Tim Lowery ended the spurt with a trey to pull the Rams to within 38-28 with 5:26 left in the quarter.

Beck totaled 16 points, including three 3-pointers as the two teams played evenly from that point. East Carter took a 49-37 advantage into the final quarter.

The Rams came out smoking in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, taking advantage of some passive offensive play by the Redbirds. Scott City started the quarter with a 9-2 run to close the gap to 51-46 with 3:38 left. Beck scored five points in the run and Cauble -- still with three fouls -- added four points to get the Rams back in the game.

But Howie Stubenrauch picked up two quick fouls within 10 seconds to foul out of the game at the 2:47 mark. The fouls seemed to slow the Rams' charge, but they mounted one last comeback attempt.

With the score 56-51, East Carter missed two free throws with 50 seconds left. Cauble was fouled on the rebound and made two free throws to make the score 56-53. But that was as close as the Rams would get.

East Carter hit 7-of-8 free throws in the final 40 seconds to hold off the Rams.