Scott City hands Cubs second loss in as many days

~ Niemczyk and Watkins combined for all but four of Bell City's 55 points.

Even before tipoff, Bell City senior guard Ethan Watkins was not looking forward to playing his old team, the Scott City Rams.

"I was really nervous," he said. "A lot of things were running through my head."

After the Rams handed the Cubs their second loss in as many days, this one by a score of 63-55, Watkins was disappointed, but complimentary of his former teammates, particularly junior Shae Simmons.

The two spent most of the game guarding each other, and it was Simmons who got off to a fast start, scoring 14 points and hitting four 3-point shots in the first half.

"Shae's a really quick player, and he can shoot the lights out," Watkins said. "He kind of made me look stupid in the first half. I knew I had to close up on him in the second half."

While Watkins worked on Simmons and picked up his own offensive output in the second half, it was too little to save Bell City from elimination at the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament. Seeded second and 8-0 coming in, Bell City went home with one win and two losses.

Scott City (6-1) advances to a fifth-place matchup with Scott County Central at 4:30 p.m. today.

Watkins and senior guard Nick Niemczyk combined for all but four of Bell City's points.

Niemczyk scored 34 points, hitting five 3-pointers.

In the first half, Niemczyk accounted for 18 of his team's 23 first-half points, but the Cubs headed to the break down by nine after getting outscored 20-10 in the second quarter.

Scott City coach Lance Amick said despite Niemczyk's scoring total, he was happy with his team's defense on him, provided by John Pinkston and Derek Laxton.

"You do all you can do and try your hardest," Amick said. "Without those guys really stepping up and putting all their mind to defense, it's hard to win."

The Rams were without senior starter Ryan Modglin, who is day-to-day with an injured shoulder.

The Cubs remained in the locker room for all of halftime, as Bell City coach Brian Brandtner said he implored his team to play harder.

"We're just playing bad basketball right now," he said. "If our intensity is that bad, we're not going to beat many teams."

The Cubs cut Scott City's lead to five points entering the final period. However, the closest Bell City would get the rest of the way was four points with 22 seconds left when Niemczyk knocked down three free throws.

Scott City spent a lot of time at the free-throw line, making 19-of-25 attempts on Bell City's 24 fouls. Phillip Gross fouled out midway through the fourth after scoring just three points.

The Bell City forwards had a hard time with Scott City senior center Alex King, who scored 12 points.

For Scott City senior Jay Simmons, who scored 10 points in the fourth and finished with 18, there were multiple reasons to enjoy the victory.

"We lost to them last year pretty big, so it feels even better," he said.

He also liked handing his friend Watkins, who scored 17 points, a loss. He said the Rams players talked about the matchup in the locker room before the game.

"We have a little bit of a grudge," he said with a smile, "but nothing too bad."

Scott City 12 20 11 20 -- 63

Bell City 13 10 15 17 -- 55

Scott City (63) -- John Pinkston 9, Jay Simmons 18, Shae Simmons 19, Caleb Estes 3, Ryan Modglin 2, Alex King 12. FG 19, FT 19-35, F 15 (3-pointers: S. Simmons 5, J. Simmons 1. Fouled out: none)

Bell City (55) -- Ethan Watkins 17, Nick Niemczyk 34, Phillip Gross 3, John Arnold 1. FG 17, FT 12-17, F 24 (3-pointers: Niemczyk 5, Watkins 3. Fouled out: Gross)