Scott County's consistency pays off vs. Charleston

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- The Scott County Central Braves proved Friday night that they are as consistent as they are potent.

Facing one of the area's more daunting challenges in playing the Charleston Bluejays on their home floor, the defending Class 1 state champions unloaded a lethal 1-2 punch that ran their winning streak to 13 games.

The combo of senior point guard Bobby Hatchett and junior center Otto Porter combined for 62 points as the Braves met the challenge with an 85-67 victory before a capacity crowd.

Porter netted 33 points and Hatchett popped for 29 as the duo supplied 73 percent of their team's points.

It just happened to be the exact winning formula the Braves unleashed on the Bluejays last month in the semifinals of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament on their way to the title. In that encounter, Porter netted 30 points and Hatchett had 28 for 73 percent of the Braves' production in a 79-67 victory.

"That's our style," Hatchett said of Class 1's top-ranked squad, which hasn't lost since its season opener against Dallas Lincoln. "We've got a young team and other guys play their roles. We're just playing our roles tonight. Tonight it was me and Otto, so we had to just put them on our backs because they're young."

The Braves prevailed with the consistency of Porter and Hatchett throughout the game. Scott County scored no less than 19 points in any quarter and topped out with 23. Charleston could not match that steady production.

Ben Freed added 11 points for Scott County, which only had five players score.

In contrast, Charleston (5-10) had 10 players score in the game, but its top two combined for just 24 points as Deonte Jones finished with 13 points and Gregory Tucker had 11.

Scott County took a 19-18 lead into the second quarter, where it outscored the Bluejays 23-12 for a 42-30 lead at intermission. Hatchett and Porter had 30 of those first-half points, or just over 71 percent of the production.

The Braves opened their biggest lead of the half as they scored the final six points. In a span of 11 seconds inside the final minute, Dominique Porter sank two free throws, Otto Porter added two free throws on a technical foul on Charleston coach Danny Farmer and Hatchett hit a field goal.

"[Porter and Hatchett] are very good ballplayers," Farmer said. "They don't miss free throws. In order for us to win the game, they needed to miss free throws. And their free throws are so automatic, and Porter is so tough on the boards."

While Scott County took the momentum into halftime, it was Charleston that appeared rejuvenated when play resumed. The Bluejays scored on their first five possessions of the second half as they opened with an 11-2 burst.

"We were concerned about turning the ball over," Farmer said. "We didn't turn the ball over on the press and that's what enabled us to play with them a little bit. Most teams, the press just kills them."

A 3-pointer by Jones pulled Charleston to within three points at 44-41 and forced Scott County coach Kenyon Wright to take a timeout with less than two minutes gone in the half.

"We didn't move," Wright said of his team's defense. "We didn't get up to that next pass. They were staying back and just watching the basketball. Just standing and not doing what they were supposed to be doing."

The tightened score merely set the stage for another flurry by Otto Porter and Hatchett.

"We just had to pick it up after that because we knew they was going to make a run," Porter said.

Porter set the tone after the timeout when he was fouled as he deposited an offensive rebound. The three points were the start of a 20-7 run over the remainder of the quarter. Porter had 10 of the points and Hatchett added seven.

Scott County took a 64-48 lead into the fourth quarter, which began with baskets by Porter and Hatchett as the Braves expanded their lead to 20 points.

Scott County 19 23 22 21 -- 85

Charleston 18 12 18 19 -- 67

SCOTT COUNTY CENTRAL (85) -- Dominique Porter 6, Bobby Hatchett 29, Trey Johnson 6, Otto Porter 33, Ben Freed 11. FG 28, FT 27-33, F 11. (3-pointers: Hatchett 1, Freed 1. Fouled out: none)

CHARLESTON (67) -- Demonte Farmer 2, Maurice Moore 6, Ryan Parham 8, Jerry Carter 3, Gregory Tucker 11, Claude Armstrong 2, Deonte Jones 13, Demarques McKeller 8, Devonte Johnson 8, Fabrezio Wright 6. FG 25, FT 9-10, F 20. (3-pointers: Moore 1, Parham 2, Carter 1, Tucker 1, Jones 3. Fouled out: none)

JV -- Charleston won 67-59.