Scott County Central boys win 17th state title

By Erin Unerstall

Southeast Missourian

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Following the Class 1 state championship game Saturday afternoon, Scott County Central senior Larandis Banks mentioned that the Braves team that bowed out of last year's state playoffs in the quarterfinal round was the team that "broke the streak" of four straight state championships.

After Saturday, the group now may be known as the team that started another streak.

The Braves won the school's 17th state title with a commanding 69-39 win against Meadville (25-4) in the Class 1 final at Mizzou Arena.

Scott County Central fans cheer as the Braves' win the Class 1 state championship game against Meadville, Saturday, March 15, 2014, in Columbia, Mo. (Laura Simon)

"Our goal is to get to the state title game, and we did that," SCC coach Frank Staple said. "These guys wanted to go out as champions, and we're here now. The way they performed today is something that I think they'll be able to take with them forever, and now they can tell some of the Scott Central stories. You know, 'We came up to state and won the championship game by 30,' so they have a lot of good memories now and they're part of the lore. They're part of the legend."

Championship No. 17 was never in jeopardy for the Braves. They only trailed twice and led for good just 3 minutes, 50 seconds into the game.

The Braves led by as many as 16 in the first half and held a 32-22 advantage at the half before really opening it up in the final 16 minutes.

"I thought tonight, one of the things we knew we had to do was come out and set the tempo," Staple said. "We did a great job of that in the third quarter. I thought [in the semifinal] against Stanberry we had a little letdown in the third quarter and allowed them to get back in the game. But at halftime we just kind of talked about pushing it out and got some full-court pressure in the third quarter and really was able to spread them out."

SCC continued to extend its lead throughout the second half and never led by fewer than 11 points.

Scott County Central’s Juwan Owens attempts a free throw during the second quarter of the Class 1 state championship against Meadville on Saturday. Owens scored a game-high 27 points.

The Braves' defense forced 30 Meadville turnovers, which directly led to 40 of SCC's 69 points.

"I felt like that the key to the game was to limit our turnovers," Meadville coach Darren Smith said. "I felt like we needed to keep them in front, especially Banks and [Jeffery] Porter. We did that pretty well. We did not limit our turnovers very well. We gave the ball to them too many times, and that was a big key. They do a lot of things to get you out of your comfort zone and are very good at that.

"We stayed out of our comfort zone quite a bit of the time, and so when you do that it's hard to get in any kind of flow. I just felt like my shooters never got in any kind of flow. We never did get it to where we could dump it down. Kolton [Friesner] was having a heck of a ballgame, and when we could get him the ball he could finish. But I almost think that was something -- they were pressuring the guards so hard they were willing to give up a two to keep us from three."

Meadville's plan to limit Banks and Porter worked well with the two of them finishing with 11 and eight points, respectively.

But senior Juwan Owens picked up the slack on the offensive end and finished with a game-high 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting. He was 5 of 7 from behind the arc and scored 21 points in the second half.

Scott County Central's Jeffery Porter recovers a loose ball, leaving Meadville's T.J. Schmitz behind in the first quarter of the Braves' Class 1 state championship against the Eagles, Saturday, March 15, 2014, in Columbia, Mo. (Laura Simon)

"It all goes to them," Owens said, referring to Banks and Porter. "When they're hot, we've got to keep feeding them. I just stepped up tonight, and they kept feeding me the ball. I had to stay aggressive and then take it out for the team."

Friesner, a senior, finished with 18 points, but the Eagles were held to 25 percent (5 of 20) from behind the arc.

Staple said he wanted to extend his team's defense to near half court and not allow Meadville to get comfortable from 3. That plan worked well for the Braves.

"They're so quick and they're so physical with it, and they're just long and athletic," Smith said. "So if you've seen my team at all we don't mind shooting a 25-footer. I mean, I've got kids that can shoot it from 25 foot. We don't mind that so much, but if they're contesting it even out there, you know, that's not a good thing."

The Braves finished the season with 26 wins and five losses, and have now won five state titles in six years.

Scott County Central coach Frank Staple earns his first title as a head coach. Page 4B

"I mean, it's going to stay with me forever," SCC senior Kendall Blissett said. "I always dreamed about coming up here and just being a champion and being on a championship team."

SCC 17 15 19 18 -- 69

Meadville 9 13 8 9 -- 39

SCC (69) -- Larandis Banks 11, Jeffery Porter 8, Kendall Blissett 6, Cameron Blissett 7, Matthew Blissett 6, Juwan Owens 27, Javonta Daniel 6. FG 25, FT 11-15, F 10. (3-pointers: Banks 1, Porter 1, C. Blissett 1, Owens 5. Fouled out: none).

Meadville (39) -- Cade Shiflett 10, T.J. Schmitz 6, Dalton Palmer 3, Blake Burkholder 2, Kolton Friesner 18. FG 16, FT 2-3, F 14. (3-pointers: Shiflett 2, Schmitz 2, Palmer 1. Fouled out: none).