East Prairie wins Scott-Mississippi Tournament for the first time since 2005

OAK RIDGE, Mo. — East Prairie basketball ended its conference championship drought with a thrilling 63-49 win over top-seeded Oak Ridge on Saturday, Feb. 4.

The second-seeded Eagles (17-5) executed a phenomenal gameplan and used shutdown defense, earning retribution against the Bluejays (18-4) for an earlier-season loss.

“You could tell our guys wanted to win this game,” said East Prairie coach Gary Scott. “And do something that hasn’t been done at EP in a long time and that is win a Scott-Mississippi Conference championship.”

It’s just the third time in school history East Prairie won the title. The Eagles also won the tournament in 2005 and 1986.

“This championship means so much because it doesn’t happen very often,” Scott said. “You have to cherish these moments and enjoy them while you can. It’s not easy winning this tournament. We’re so happy to win this thing for our school, community, and all of Eagle Nation. It is a very special moment for all involved. “

It’s Scott’s first season as the team’s head coach after spending several years as an assistant. Last year, Scott also led the school’s baseball team to its first district championship in 17 years.

“As a coach, I feel like if you do things the right way long enough eventually good things are going to happen,” he said. “We have some talented guys that enjoy basketball and work hard at improving as a team. It’s my job to put them in a position to be successful and they’ve done a great job of buying in and now it’s showing off with a conference championship.”

The Eagles led 29-26 at halftime and were able to separate themselves in the second half.

“We played well defensively,” Scott said. “We tried to not allow many open looks from the perimeter and to contest their shots. We did a great job of not letting them get anything in transition and making them run their half-court offense. Offensively, we did a great job of being aggressive and scoring the ball in the paint. We were able to score several baskets in transition or off turnovers which are always nice.”

Wyatt Williams led the team with a game-high 20 points, while Connor Marcum added 13.

East Prairie came up just short of capturing the conference championship last season after falling to Kelly in the title game, and the Eagles used the memories of that pain as motivation.

“Our guys remembered what it felt like last year in losing this game,” Scott said. “ They were determined not to repeat that feeling. Our seniors provided great energy to our team. [Williams] did a great job of attacking the basket, scoring at the rim and rebounding well. [Rafe Byassee] always provides great defense. He is very scrappy and does a great job getting the ball in the right spots on offense allowing us good opportunities to score.”

East Prairie also earned some payback in the semifinals when it avenged another earlier-season loss with a 58-47 win over third-seeded Oran (12-10).

“Those were some tough losses in early to mid-December.,” Scott said. “We felt like we were the better team but they beat us. Fortunately for us, we got another opportunity to prove what we were capable of and that’s beating them on our way to winning the tournament. It’s very reassuring to see the progress we’ve made since early December.”

East Prairie hosts Campbell (6-15) on Tuesday and travels to South Pemiscot (8-12) on Thursday, and Kelly (11-11) on Friday.

Oak Ridge is on the road at Meadow Heights (10-9)on Tuesday and hosts Saxony Lutheran (12-8) on Friday.

__EAST PRAIRIE 63, OAK RIDGE 48__

East Prairie 21 8 16 18 — 63

Oak Ridge 16 10 12 10 — 48

__East Prairie (63) —__ Wyatt Williams 20, Connor Marcum 13, Noah Johnson 7, Kamron Farmer 7, Evan Kenedy 6, Ty Wallace 5, Rafe Byassee 5. FG: 27. FT: 6-13. F: 13. (3-pointers: Wallace 1, Farmer 1, Marcum 1. Fouled out: none.)

__Oak Ridge (48) —__ Ty Wilson 17, Konnor Hobeck 11, Tyler Bishop 8, Camren Volz 5, Karson Ward 3, Tanner Slinkard 2, Ahre Fodge 2. FG: 20. FT: 4-8. F: 18. (3-pointers: Hobeck 3, Ward 1. Fouled out: Wilson, Volz.)