SCOTT CITY HITS BUZZER SHOT TO WIN TOURNEY

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Scott City relied on Keller instinct Friday night.

Scott City's senior, blue-collar forward Ricky Keller, no stranger to late-game heroics, hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to win the game as Scott City (11-5) fought off the Kelly Hawks 54-51 to claim the Scott-Mississippi Conference Tournament title in front of a packed house at Chaffee High School.

The lead had exchanged hands several times throughout the fourth quarter and with 16 seconds left, Kelly's Jon Heuring tied the game at 51-51 on a two-point basket. With nine seconds left, Scott City set up a play after a time out.

The ball was eventually worked to D.J. Walton -- the No. 1 option on the play -- but he wisely passed it to Keller who was ready and waiting on the right wing.

"(Walton) had the instincts to recognize that he was open," Scott City coach Derek McCord said. "In the timeout, we wanted Walton to take the shot but we told everybody to be shot ready and Ricky's foot was planted and he was right there ready to shoot when it was passed to him."

"It felt good," said Keller, whose dramatic steal in the final seconds in last year's state sectional game led to a buzzer-beating layup and a win over rival Portageville. "It was the best shot that came off my hand all night. I lost sight of it for a while because (Michael) Romas was right there."

The shot hit nothing but net and Kelly didn't have enough time to call a timeout. There's no doubt the final one will be the shot Keller remembers most, but it certainly wasn't his only bucket that helped the Rams.

Keller, with Scott City's top two scorers playing at less than 100 percent, hit six of his nine shots from the field for a team-high 14 points, including two of four from behind the arc. Most of his shots were 12- to 15-foot jumpers.

"I wasn't too concerned about him before the game," said Kelly coach Nick Lanpher. "I knew he could score, but I didn't expect 75 percent shooting."

The game was close from the tipoff.

Scott City had a chance to get a little breathing room going into the fourth quarter, but Kelly scored five unanswered points in the final five seconds of the third quarter and trailed 40-39 going into the fourth quarter.

Scott City was leading 40-34 with 30 seconds on the clock. Rams coach Derek McCord wanted to hold for one shot, but center Nick Steimle -- to avoid a turnover and a three-second violation -- attempted a shot and missed with about 10 seconds left. Barry Ziegler scored his only basket of the game with :05 to go in the third to pull his team within 40-36. The Rams had turned the ball over out of bounds with 1.1 seconds left.

Josh Glastetter, who rarely shoots threes, then caught a fullcourt pass near the right out-of-bounds line and buried a shot at the buzzer.

The Hawks (7-9) took their first lead since the 1:58 mark of the first quarter when Michael Romas -- who led Kelly with 14 points -- scored on the first possession of the fourth quarter. Kelly led 41-40 at the time.

Kelly led by three points twice in the fourth, but Scott City's Craig Jungers hit a couple of shots down the stretch to keep Scott City close.

The Hawks had the opportunity to play for the last shot at the end, but down by two, Lanpher didn't regret holding onto the ball.

"When you get down like that against Scott City, you better take good shots when you've got it," he said. "He did the right thing."

Speaking of the right thing, Keller did exactly that all night long.

Rams guard Ben Sample is still playing with a sore shooting wrist and had a terrible shooting night; and 6-foot-7 center Nick Steimle missed a few days of school this past week because of the flu.

"Coach has been saying I've been too unselfish," Keller said. "He's been getting on me for not shooting enough. With Steimle being sick and Ben's wrist still bothering him, I knew I needed to have a good night."

Despite their ailments, Steimle and Sample both helped Scott City's cause. Sample pulled down 13 rebounds, while Steimle had 11 points and 11 rebounds. Jungers finished with 11 points also.

Heuring scored 12 points for Kelly.

Scott City's junior varsity team, which consists only of freshmen, won the JV title with a 58-49 win over Chaffee.