REBELS GET PAST BRAVES

ORAN, Mo. -- It has been quite a turnaround season for the Richland High boys basketball team.

Last year, the Rebels went 4-19. This year, they are the Class 1A, District 2 Tournament champions.

Third-seeded Richland captured the district title here Thursday night by pulling away from fifth-seeded Scott County Central 82-67.

Richland will carry a 20-8 record into Monday night's regional game in Sikeston against the District 1 champion, which will be determined tonight.

Scott Central ends the season with a 12-14 mark.

"You go from a 4-19 season to a 20-8 district championship season...it's cause the guys played hard and believed in themselves," said Richland first-year coach Jimmy Lincoln. "They kept pushing and worked hard."

Junior guard Sherome Cole, the latest in a long line of Richland standouts from the same family, poured in 38 points to pace the Rebels. He made 15 of 22 free throws, including 12 of 16 in the fourth quarter as the Braves were forced to foul.

"Sherome is a good player," Lincoln said. "As a guard, he can score, he does a lot defensively and he rebounds well."

Sean Gibson, who at 6-feet-5 towered above the much smaller Braves, added 20 points and he controlled the boards at both ends. Josh McMullin hit four 3-pointers (Cole had three) and scored 15 points.

Scott Central got 18 points from Chris Johnson, 17 from Terrance Williams and 16 from Todd Blissett.

"Every time we did something, they had an answer for it," said Scott Central coach Steve Wells. "They're a good ballclub and they deserve to be champions.

"I'm real proud of my kids. They went out and played hard."

The game, fast-paced and well-played for the most part, was certainly much closer than the final score indicates.

Richland led just 40-37 by halftime. After the Braves pulled into a 42-42 tie early in the second half, the Rebels used a 7-0 run as they began taking control.

Trailing 60-50 after three quarters, Scott Central made one last charge, closing to within 61-54, but Richland pulled away down the stretch by hitting 14 of 18 free throws in the fourth quarter.

Lincoln is particularly proud that the Rebels have been able to battle through some adversity created by the ongoing saga surrounding Gibson, a transfer from Sikeston.

Complaints have been made to the Missouri State High School Activities Association regarding Gibson's eligibility. The complaints center both around Gibson's current residence and possible recruitment by Richland while he was still at Sikeston.

Richland officials have maintained that Gibson resides full time in their school district and that there was no recruitment of Gibson while he attended Sikeston.

"It's a ploy. We heard about it in January," said Lincoln. "Yeah, it's a distraction, but we stepped up.

"He (Gibson) didn't even start for Sikeston's JV (last year) and we tried to recruit him? He worked hard over the summer and dropped about 30 pounds."

Added Lincoln, "The thing is, one kid doesn't turn a season around. If some of the coaches around here would spend less time with that and more time with their teams, their teams would be a lot better."