Risco wins on homecoming over Scott County Central

RISCO – The Risco Tigers topped off a rainy homecoming week Friday by defeating the Scott County Central (SCC) Braves decisively. The varsity Tigers stretched its record to 13-3 by beating the 9-10 Braves, 70-48.

Tigers head coach Brandon Blankenship, now in his 22nd season at Risco, heaped praise on the Braves, emphasizing that, "historically, Scott County Central is a great program," and that he anticipated a burner of a contest.

"There are lots of state titles over there," Blankenship said. "They're a District opponent for us.

"We're in the North District this year, District II," he added. "This is a District game, so they're gonna bring it. We call this 'Pre-cursor to Championship Week.' Next week will be more of the same."

SCC head coach Tim Carlisle said his team pulled into town anxious to compete since a week of harsh, winter weather postponed a few games, canceled a few practices and disrupted the season's flow. 

"We know we're gonna be in for a dogfight," Coach Carlisle mused pre-game. "And in this environment? 

"This is by far the smallest, loudest arena in the district," he said of Risco's Roy Hon Gymnasium. "The crowd sits on top of you here. And it's a fun, challenging atmosphere for the kids. A neat atmosphere. A cool atmosphere. It also can be very intimidating and I'm glad we get to play in it."

Carlisle offered his group words of wisdom and advised his team to be extremely wary of a strong Tigers squad. 

"I told my team not to get caught up in the moment," Coach Carlisle said. "The Tigers are good. 

"Very good," he continued. "And their coaching is better. We're here to play some basketball."

SCC took the tip and juggled the ball a bit before losing control to Risco, who scored first with 7:28 left in the first period.

Risco Tigers sophomore guard Eli Rodgers nails a bucket against Scott County Central Braves defenders Friday at Risco. The JV Tigers defeated the Braves 26-24.Photo by Steve Hankins

The game progressed with Risco's man-to-man coverage and a full court press that resulted in the Tigers increasing the lead 36-20 with 1:15 remaining in the half.

The Braves scored, Risco missed an alley-oop, the Braves' Ty Murray grabbed the rebound, blazed his way down court and sank a textbook layup for a bucket, 36-24 Tigers.

The following SCC attempt was batted away by Risco and the Tigers followed up by sinking a couple free throws, missing a couple free throws, and the half ended with Risco in the lead, 38-24.

Risco ruled SCC during the hard-fought third period, 52-39. 

Both teams grew more physical as the evening wore on and Risco's Josiah Vasquez, playing heads-up ball, found himself on his back on the court a number of times during the contest.

Fans remained passionate and vocal throughout the matchup and encouraged both teams to forge ahead.

The opening seconds of the final period found Risco's Landon Baker dumping a fiery three-point stone, 55-39 and Owen Fortner nailing an athletic, successful alley-oop for two, 57-39 Tigers.

The Braves' Zaviar Mize responded with a trip of his own, 57-42 Risco with 6:41 left on the fourth-period timer.

The Tigers' Sammy Smith played a great game and trekked the length of the court to sink a nice goal, 59-42, with 6:04 left to play.

SCC passed the ball cross-court, then launched a Hail Mary down court that resulted in a goal, 59-44 Risco. With the score 62-46, Smith again was fouled, stepped to the line, drew back, fired and sank two free-throws, 64-46 Tigers.

Risco's senior guard C.J. Blankenship was fouled and stepped up to score with three minutes left in the final period. Risco ran a full-court play to drop a beautiful goal, 67-48 with 1:47 remaining, and fired a three-point shot with 1:27 left to play to bring the score to its final, 70-48.

The Tigers face conference foe Cooter High School tonight in a game, "that probably will determine the championship," Coach Blankenship said.

The Tigers started senior C.J Blankenship, junior Sammy Smith, junior Landon Baker, sophomore Owen Fortner and sophomore Eli Rodgers.

The combination of underclassmen and seasoned players works fine for Risco, Blankenship explained.

"We feel like we're a deep team," Blankenship said. "We feel like we're gonna be good for the next couple of years."

The Braves started Zaviar Mize, Asher Britt, Namarius Banks-Warren, Courtney Sanders III and Tay Banks.

Sammy Smith scored 19 points for Risco; Eli Rodgers scored 18; and Owen Fortner scored 17 points for the Tigers.

Namarius Banks-Warren scored 12 points for SCC; Zavier Mize scored 11. 

Risco's C.J Blankenship dropped three, three-point shots followed by Rodgers and Fortner who chipped in one each for the Tigers. SCC's Zavier Mize scored all three trips for the Braves.