Scott County Central thwarts host, returns to OIT title game

ORAN, Mo. -- Top-seeded Scott County Central didn't have its prettiest performance, but it made plays down the stretch, holding off a game fourth-seeded Oran, 58-49, to advance to the final of the 60th Annual Oran Invitational on Thursday night at Oran High School.

The hosts nearly pulled off a big comeback in front of a home crowd, rallying from a 12-point halftime deficit to take a 47-46 lead with 3:13 to play, but the Braves made too many plays down the stretch, sparked by star Jeffery Porter.

"I think our inexperience showed tonight," Oran coach Joe Shoemaker said. "We didn't execute well late. They turned it up another notch, and we didn't. *... We're young and we'll learn from it."

Porter drove to the hoop and earned the foul for a three-point play that gave Scott County (3-2) a 49-47 lead, and his team hit its free throws down the stretch to prevail.

As a team, Scott County was just 19 of 41 from the floor. Porter finished with 24 points and 15 rebounds for the Braves. He was 7 of 7 from the charity stripe in the final period of play. Tyus Banks added 17 points and eight boards.

"We basically just needed to shore up out front and realize they had two guys out there -- especially [Jacob Shoemaker] -- who can flat stroke it," Scott County Central coach Matt Cline said. "We had to get out on them. ... [We] got after it defensively except for a couple lapses."

The Eagles (1-1) were paced by Jacob Shoemaker, who exploded for a 13-point third quarter to carry his side back into the contest. He finished with 24 points and was 6 of 14 from 3-point range.

For the second time in as many games, Oran struggled in the second quarter, as Scott County Central outscored the Eagles 18-9 in the period, seemingly beginning to pull away.

But Oran exited the locker room and stormed out on an 8-0 run to pick up momentum. Jacob Shoemaker then hit back-to-back 3s late in the quarter to pull his team within two, 36-34.

Banks responded with a pair of buckets for SCC, but a 3 from Layne Johnson with 1:38 left in the third kept it a three-point game going into the final quarter.

"We stopped turning the ball over," coach Shoemaker said. "We had way too many turnovers at halftime. I think we were a little unsure of ourselves early and they kind of hit us early. I'm proud of my guys for making the adjustment, but I'm not satisfied with the result yet."

Eagle senior Garrison Mangels layed the ball in to tie things at 41-41 with 5:56 to go, and during the next two and a half minutes the lead changed hands seven times.

But Porter got to the rim, drew contact and finished the play, and the Braves held on for the victory.

Scott County Central will face No. 3 Advance in tonight's OIT Championship, scheduled for 8 p.m. The third-place contest will tip off at 6:30, with Oran taking on Malden.

Oran 9 9 18 13 -- 49

SCC 12 18 9 19 -- 58

ORAN (49) -- Cole Priggel 2, Jacob Shoemaker 24, Layne Johnson 9, Max Priggel 3, Garrison Mangels 9, Preston Hahn 2. FG 20-47, FT 2-5, F 20. (3-pointers: Shoemaker 6, Johnson. Fouled out: M. Priggel.)

SCOTT COUNTY CENTRAL (58) -- Jeffery Porter 24, Deven Blackmon 10, Deantrell Beard 6, Tyus Banks 17, Brody Ditto 1. FG 19-48, FT 19-29, F 12. (3-pointers: Beard. Fouled out: none.)