SCC overcomes fourth quarter deficit, turns back Risco for Class 1, District 1 championship
GIDEON, Mo. -- Deven Blackmon kicked himself after missing a layup that would have given the Scott County Central Braves its first lead since the third quarter. He didn't have to wait long though for redemption.
Blackmon finished a fast break layup with less than 40 seconds remaining to put the Braves on top for good and provided one of many plays that could be considered the play of the game during an all-out war against Risco for the Class 1, District 1 championship Thursday at Gideon High School.
The second-seeded Braves scratched and clawed its way back from a five point deficit in the fourth quarter for a 54-52 win and once again proved too much for a Tigers team that's still searching for that elusive postseason victory over the Class 1 powerhouse.
Deantrell Beard led SCC with 19 points and had six rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Keyth Blissett added 16 points, four rebounds and Blackmon chipped in nine points and five rebounds.
Scott Central, who leads all Missouri schools with 18 state championships, has won 32 district championships in school history after Thursday and also 13 out of their last 14 title chances after a disappointing loss during last year's Class 2, District 1 championship to Bloomfield.
"It feels real great man," Blackmon said, who was part of SCC's 55-48 district title loss last year. "That Risco team is real good and I just send honor to God and I thank my teammates and everybody that's here to support us. I'm happy we got this win."
It looked as if SCC's next district championship was in dire straits with four minutes left to play.
Top-seeded Risco was finding a way to protect its 43-40 lead to start the fourth quarter by giving Drew Fortner the go ahead inside.
The 6-5, spindly senior, who finished with 16 points on 7 of 11 shooting and 11 rebounds, scored each time he touched the ball to give his team a 50-45 advantage that SCC had no answer for at the time.
"He had a heck of a game. He's had a heck of a career," Scott County Central coach Matt Cline said. "I've seen a lot of Risco games in my previous job and seen him his whole career. He's had a fine career."
Then, suddenly, the Tigers' offense ceased.
Fortner's bucket at the 4:14 mark to put his team up by five was the last field goal Risco would get.
"I was hoarding my timeouts trying to save them for the end and I probably should have used one throughout the final stretch to get us a little more under control," Risco coach Brandon Blankenship said. "When we had success we were going inside to Fortner and he was going to work for us down there."
The Braves (23-6) answered with a basket and one free throw from Beard to pull within two. Beard had a chance to cut it to one, missed his second free throw, but still came up with the offensive rebound. He quickly dished to Blissett who kept SCC's momentum going with a basket that tied that game at 50 at the 2:09 mark.
With the SCC faithful rowdy as ever, Risco couldn't counter. Bad shot selections and an offense effected by SCC's length for most of the night had run out of steam.
"Right after Fortner's stretch, we probably had some bad shot selections and they got some good rebounds that allowed them to get some run-outs," Blankenship said. "You can't let them get going like that... Their length was something we talked about. Execution was probably our biggest issue tonight offensively and that was due to their pressure."
Even Nathan Burnett, who lit up SCC for 16 points in the second quarter alone was held without a field goal in the second half.
"We stayed patient and we got a few fingers on some balls," Cline said. "We kept our hands low and got a couple tip-outs. I was proud of them because we got out and guarded. That's been a struggle for us."
A missed shot from Risco led to a breakaway chance for Blackmon with 1:38 to go. His contested layup rolled out. One minute later, Blackmon faced the same scenario and came through. His layup with 36.2 seconds left gave SCC a 52-50 lead.
Once Blackmon took off towards the rim, he had a look of determination that this time, he was finishing.
"I knew I had to get one back for my team," Blackmon said. "They didn't get down on my for missing that first one. I told them I would make it up. The ball came out again and I was able to pick it up and run with it. I knew I had to put it in the hole."
Though Blackmon's final drive to the hoop could be considered the biggest make of the game, many plays after helped seal the win for the Braves.
After another missed layup from Risco, a rebound from TJ Davis, who pulled down 11 total, led to two free throws from Beard to push SCC up 54-50.
A free throw from Fortner pulled the Tigers within 54-51 13 seconds later and Risco immediately sent Garry Wilkerson to the line to stop the clock. Wilkerson missed the front end of the 1 and 1 chance and Risco quickly called a timeout with three seconds remaining.
It was a given that Risco's top shooter, Burnett, was going to receive the inbounds and he did, but wasn't given an opportunity to tie the game. Instead, Scott Central alertly fouled Fortner away from the ball to negate any tying chance.
"We wanted to foul him there," Cline said. "We figured if he's on the line that gives us the advantage on the glass. If he makes them both we'll take it out with one second left. If he misses we thought we could secure it."
Fortner hit the first and missed the second to make it 54-52 with 1.4 seconds showing on the clock. Tyus Banks pulled down the crucial rebound as joyous members of the Braves began to celebrate by storming the court after the buzzer sounded.
But it wasn't quite over.
Risco (25-3) fouled Banks with one second left sending the senior to the line for two shots. Banks missed them both. Risco controlled the rebound and got in a timeout as the clock continued to show one second giving them one final gasp.
A half court shot from Burnett sailed wide to put an end to a drama filled final two minutes.
"[Risco] kind of slowed it down a little bit and we guarded people," Cline said about his team's fourth quarter turnaround. "Luckily we had a couple of possessions they didn't go to Fortner because every time they went to him something bad happened to us."
Scott Central led by two at halftime, but it could have been more if it wasn't for the efforts of Burnett.
The Risco sophomore scored all 16 of his team's points in the second quarter. He started the game 0 for 8, but nailed six of his next eight shots, including four 3-pointers.
"He's a very good shooter," Blackmon said. "He knocked a lot of his shots down there. We knew we had to check him or he'd keep burning us."
Burnett, who ended the game with 21 points, briefly gave the Tigers a 20-19 lead in the second, but a three from Blissett sparked a 9-3 run for a 28-23 SCC lead.
Burnett, who scored all but three of his points in the first half, finished his stellar second quarter with a three at the buzzer to make it 28-26 at halftime.
"He's such a good talent for just being a sophomore and we're so proud of him," Blankenship said. "He just seems to have a knack for making big shots for us and always giving us a chance. He's dangerous and can catch fire like that."
Scott Central went ahead by as much as five in the third, but Risco rattled off a 13-5 run to lead 43-40 going into the fourth. Morgan Ludwig scored 11 of his 15 points in the third quarter and also finished with 10 rebounds.
The Tigers shot 38 percent (20 of 52) from the floor while SCC shot 40 percent (20 of 50). Both teams ended with 32 rebounds each.
Thursday's loss snapped Risco's 21-game winning streak that began Dec. 8, 2016. It also marked the sixth time since the 2005-06 season that their year has ended at the hands of the Braves.
"When they're Class 1, anytime you're going to get out of southeast Missouri you're going to have to get by them," Blankenship said. "We've played them in districts, sectionals, quarterfinals, all of them. They just know how to play. They just know how to make plays and get things done.
"As far as our guys, it wasn't for any lack of effort or desire from them. Our top priority was rebounding against them and I felt we did that which gave us a real good opportunity. I think it came down to hitting a few shots when we needed it and making a few big plays that we weren't able to stick."
Scott Central will take on the winner of the Class 1, District 2 championship between Advance and Bell City in a sectional game Feb. 28 at Bloomfield High School.
"I'm very proud of my boys," Cline said. "We turned a lot of things around from last year and now we're out of the district and that's what we play for. We have a tough row to hoe coming up. Probably the toughest one there is to go to Columbia. I'm just super proud of my boys."
Risco | 10 | 16 | 17 | 9 | -- | 52 |
SCC | 11 | 17 | 12 | 14 | -- | 54 |
RISCO (52) -- Nathan Burnett 21, Drew Fortner 16, Morgan Ludwig 15. FG 20 FT 8-15 F 16. (3-pointers: Burnett 4. Fouled out: Ludwig.)
SCOTT COUNTY CENTRAL (54) -- Deantrell Beard 19, Deven Blackmon 9, Garry Wilkerson 4, Keyth Blissett 16, TJ Davis 6. FG 20 FT 11-18 F 12. (3-pointers: Blissett 3. Fouled out: none.)