Senior duo leads Scott City to rout over rival Chaffee

Led by the senior duo of Colin Blaylock and Lane Johnston, the Scott City Rams played their best game of the season on Friday and defeated Chaffee in dominating fashion, 69-26.

“It’s always good to get a win against Chaffee,” Johnston said.”

Everyone who took the court for Scott City scored at least one bucket. Blaylock led with 15 points while Johnston scored 14 points.

“We played really good as a team,” Johnston said. “This is the best game we played as a team together. We made 30 field goals and 21 of them were off assists.”

“We’ve been sharing the ball really well lately,” Blaylock said.

It was the rare game where Brenden Beussink doesn’t lead the team in scoring and the Rams win by a large margin. In a game where everyone is finding the basket for the Rams, it means something when the two seniors on the team are leading the charge.

“We’ve been friends for I don’t even know how long,” Johnston said. “For us being able to play together and both play real well, it’s really awesome.”

Luke Umfleet drained two 3-point baskets to give Scott City a 15-8 first quarter lead. Blaylock then scored six points in the second quarter while the Rams held the Red Devils to four points to go into halftime up 32-12.

The game really got out of hand in the third quarter when the Rams outscored the Red Devils 23-8. It appeared as if the Rams could not miss a shot. If a Scott City player puts it up, it was going to go in.

“The first two quarters, we played really well,” Johnston said. “We just got real confident so when the third quarter came, our confidence level was super high. It just kept the train moving.”

Jackson Gloth, Jaylen Rulo, and Umfleet finished the game with eight points a piece for the Rams.

It’s been a rough season for the Rams. Prior to Friday, Scott City’s only wins came against Zalma and a struggling Notre Dame team in the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament. The Rams started the new year with a second consecutive loss to Oak Ridge.

The seniors believe that game like this is where the Rams turn the corner.

“The first half of the season, we didn’t play that good,” Johnson said. “We weren’t really playing as a team. “This game, I think, is a really good turning point. We played really well as a team and as individuals. I think we should be doing pretty good the rest of the season.”

“I think we’re going to be playing good after this game,” Blaylock said. “We’ve been practicing really good so I think it is a sign.”

The Rams travel to Delta on Jan. 10.

Shelton Simmons, who scored 15 points, led Chaffee. The Red Devils take on Twin Rivers at the Hall of Fame Classic in Cape Central High School at 10:30 a.m., Saturday.