New Madrid finds no answer for Scott County Central, Porter

MORLEY, Mo. -- As one of the nation's top-50 high school recruits, there's not much more Scott County Central senior Otto Porter can do to impress the masses.

He continues to try nonetheless.

Porter outscored the New Madrid County Central Eagles by himself when he exited the contest just minutes into the fourth quarter Friday. Porter hit the bench with 38 points while NMCC stood at 35.

"I just play hard," Porter said. "My teammates did a good job of moving the ball and finding me open."

Porter was lights out from the field, hitting 17 of 20 shots (85 percent), which included one 3-pointer, in Scott County Central's 90-47 win Friday at Ronnie Cookson Gymnasium.

"The kid is great," NMCC coach Travis Day said about Porter. "He's a high-major player all the way. We'd have him guarded and he'd just shoot right over the top of us. When you play against a guy like him, you just try to contain everyone else."

Porter, who also grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds, knocked down his first four shots and went 2 of 4 from the free-throw line to help give his squad a 20-4 lead after the first quarter.

NMCC played right into SCC's hands by committing six turnovers in its first eight possessions.

"You try to slow them down, but we started turning it over," Day said. "With them, turnovers equal points. We dug ourselves into a deep hole because of turnovers."

Porter continued to sting the Eagles with his unconscious shooting, hitting 10 of his first 12 shots in the first half for 23 points, which equaled NMCC's first-half output.

The Braves led 49-23 at the half.

"He shot the ball well tonight," SCC coach Kenyon Wright said about Porter. "We actually ran our offense well and got good shots."

SCC (18-2) put the game well out of reach in the third quarter by starting with a 9-0 run. The Braves led 72-33 heading into the fourth quarter.

Although the contest ended up being another in the long list of mercy clock endings for the Braves, both Wright and Porter noticed a few mistakes by the Braves.

"We just made a lot of silly mistakes," Wright said. "A lot of mistakes and turnovers that we shouldn't be making at this time of the year."

SCC did have its share of turnovers in the first half with 13 behind eight steals from the Eagles. NMCC ended with 16 turnovers in the first half and 23 overall.

"I thought we played hard, but it was kind of sloppy," Porter said about the first half. "We just try to keep up the tempo and we had a few turnovers."

SCC had four players in double digits, including Porter's 38 points. Stewart Johnson scored 15 points on a perfect 5 of 5 from the floor, Dominique Porter had 13 and Trey Johnson added 10.

NMCC (4-14) was led by Kay McClachey's 10 points, including seven straight in the second quarter.

NMCC 4 19 10 14 -- 47

SCC 20 29 23 18 -- 90

NMCC (47) -- Kay McClachey 10, Lamonte Nelson 4, Jamareia Jones 6, CJ Chism 7, JaShawn McDaniel 4, Keith Holmes 4, Datrae Hicks 6, Earl Grissom 6. FG 21, FT 4-4, F 15. (3-pointers: McClachey 1. Fouled out: none)

SCOTT COUNTY CENTRAL (90) -- Stewart Johnson 15, Trey Johnson 10, Otto Porter 38, Dominique Porter 13, Calvin Porter 5, Lamarcus Steward 2, Reggie Woodson 5, Bryan Freed 2. FG 38, FT 13-18, F 9. (3-pointers: O. Porter 1. Fouled out: none)