High school roundup: SCC boys basketball team advances to district final

The top-seeded and state-ranked Scott County Central Braves boys basketball team eliminated the fourth-seeded South Pemiscot Bulldogs with a 75-44 victory to advance to tonight's title game of the Class 2 District 1 Tournament at Bloomfield High School.

SCC, the defending Class 1 state champions, never trailed South Pemiscot in the game.

Jeffery Porter tallied half of his team's first 14 points as the Braves jumped out to a 14-7 lead after seven minutes of play. The Bulldogs trailed 25-16 with four minutes left in the second quarter before the Braves recorded the final 16 points of the first half to build a 41-16 lead by halftime.

SCC led by as many as 43 points in the second half.

Porter tallied 18 points in the first half and 12 points in the second half on his way to a game-high 30 points.

Drake Kesler hit four of the Braves' seven 3-pointers. Kesler scored 10 points in each half for a total of 20 points.

Javonta Daniel tallied nine of his 11 points in the third quarter for SCC (22-4).

Jarvis Johnson paced South Pemiscot with 12 points. Glen Jackson also finished in double digits with 10 points for the Bulldogs, who wrapped up their season with a record of 11-12.

SCC will take on second-seeded Bernie at 7:45 tonight for the district title. The Mules (22-5) edged third-seeded conference foe and host Bloomfield 56-54 in overtime in Thursday's later semifinal.

South Pemiscot 9 7 12 16 -- 44

Scott County 16 25 28 6 -- 75

SOUTH PEMISCOT (44) -- Jarvis Johnson 12, Kevin Burton 4, Contrell Johnson 2, Michael Smith 9, Glen Jackson 10, Steven Wilbourn 7. FG 19, FT 3-8, F 12 (3-pointers: Jackson, Smith. Fouled out: none.)

SCOTT COUNTY CENTRAL (75) -- Drake Kesler 20, Tyus Banks 3, Jeffery Porter 30, Tre Moore 2, Javonta Daniel 11, Matthew Blissett 9. FG 30, FT 8-11, F 12 (3-pointers: Kesler 4, Porter 2, Banks. Fouled out: none.)

Central 75, Dexter 47

Al Young scored 22 points to lead the Tigers in their regular-season finale conference win at home over the Bearcats to notch their 20th win of the season.

Peyton Montgomery sank 15 points, all from behind the arc, for Central (20-4). Andre Statam recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds and Chase Hagerty pulled down an additional 10 rebounds for the Tigers in their last home game of the season.

Ethan Flowers scored 22 points, including six 3-pointers, to pace Dexter (9-14). Jason Jarrell added 17 points for the Bearcats.

Dexter 11 11 16 9 -- 47

Central 14 16 24 21 -- 75

DEXTER (47) -- Jason Jarrell 17, Jacob Pedigo 4, Austin Chesser 2, Ethan Flowers 22, Addison Moore 2. FG 12, FT 5-6, F 15 (3-pointers: Flowers 6. Fouled out: none.)

CENTRAL (75) -- Nikylus Thompson 3, Al Young 22, Peyton Montgomery 15, Jawone Newell 3, Chase Hagerty 8, Kway'Chon Chisom 5, Kaleb Ward 3, Andre Statam 12, Garrett Jackson 3. FG 17, FT 15-17, F 11 (3-pointers: Montgomery 5, Young, Newell, Chisom, Ward. Fouled out: none.)

JV -- Central won 66-21.

Notre Dame 66, DeSmet 58 (OT)

Quinn Poythress had a game-high 26 points and grabbed seven rebounds as the Bulldogs staved off a scare from the host Spartans to go out of the regular season with an overtime victory in the suburban St. Louis area.

Thomas Himmelberg tallied 11 points and four steals for Notre Dame (22-4). Blake Bauwens notched 10 points and four assists and Tanner Shively snagged eight rebounds for the Bulldogs.

Ryan Stipanovich scored 18 points and Griffin Palmer tossed in 12 points to lead DeSmet Jesuit (9-16).

Notre Dame 6 17 17 12 14 -- 66

DeSmet 11 9 6 26 6 -- 58

NOTRE DAME (66) -- Blake Bauwens 10, Grant Ressel 6, Tanner Shively 8, Quinn Poythress 26, Trent Schumer 3, Thomas Himmelberg 11, Dean Crippen 2. FG 11, FT 17-21, F 13 (3-pointers: Poythress 4, Himmelberg 3, Bauwens, Schumer. Fouled out: None.)

DESMET JESUIT (58) -- Ethan Erusha 9, Dillon Gilkey 8, Matt Winter 4, Jack Swiney 2, Griffin Palmer 12, Ryan Stipanovich 18, Rick Hill 5. FG 15, FT 10-16, F 18 (3-pointers: Stipanovich 3, Gilkey 2, Erusha. Fouled out: None.)

JV -- DeSmet Jesuit won.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Notre Dame 57, Poplar Bluff 53

Lexi Welter netted 17 points, grabbed six rebounds and tallied four steals as the Bulldogs wrapped up the regular season with a close win at home over the Mules.

The Bulldogs outscored the Mules by two points at the end of each half to come away with the win during their last home game of the season.

Hayli Chapman also sank 17 points and pulled down six rebounds for Notre Dame (7-16). Allie Ziegler had six rebounds as well for the Bulldogs, while Sam Brennan dished out 10 assists and Morgan Duschell had four steals.

Kaitlyn Slaughter tallied a game-high 19 points to lead Poplar Bluff (6-17). Jabreuna Brimlett added 12 points to pace the Mules.

Poplar Bluff 16 4 7 26 -- 53

Notre Dame 10 12 19 16 -- 57

POPLAR BLUFF (53) -- Kaitlyn Slaughter 19, Jabreuna Brimlett 12, Halle Huffman 7, Megan Knuckles 6, Doni Everts 5, Lauren Rowland 4. FG 23, FT 17-23, F 21 (3-pointers: None. Fouled out: Kaitlin Harris, Soley Webb.)

NOTRE DAME (57) -- Hayli Chapman 17, Lexi Welter 17, Morgan Duschell 7, Sam Brennan 5, Allie Ziegler 4, Cheyenne Sander 4, Olivia Jansen 2, Brooke Blankenship 1. FG 17, FT 11-18, F 16 (3-pointers: Chapman 3, Duschell. Fouled out: None.)

St. Clair 76, Central 52

Kassidy Pannier netted 14 points, 12 of which came from behind the arc, as the Tigers wrapped up their regular season with a loss on the road to the Bulldogs.

Madison Daum recorded 10 points, four assists and three rebounds for Central (8-16). Abbie Reece tallied nine points and four rebounds and Bailey Manley also had four rebounds for the Tigers.

Reese Arnold drained a game-high 21 points and Kelsey Wachter dropped in 12 points to lead St. Clair (16-8).

Central 14 6 14 16 -- 52

St. Clair 21 21 15 19 -- 76

CENTRAL (52) -- Sydney Tollison 4, Corrie Reece 7, Katelyn May 3, Bailey Manley 2, Kassidy Pannier 14, Madison Daum 10, Katherine Morton 3, Abbie Reece 9. FG 13, FT 11-21, F 22 (3-pointers: Pannier 4, C. Reece. Fouled out: C. Reece.)

ST. CLAIR (76) -- Halley Cokley 3, Sarah Hinson 6, Kelsey Wachter 12, Reese Arnold 21, Katelyn Guehne 8, Abby Ruck 2, Allison Hinson 8, Jackie Arnold 8, Miranda Murphy 6, Megan Hinson 2. FG 18, FT 25-30, F 17 (3-pointers: S. Hinson 2, Wachter 2, A. Hinson. Fouled out: None.)

JV -- St. Clair won 46-32

-- From staff reports