Scott County Central boys basketball team bests Oran to set up all-Scott conference tourney final

Deantrell Beard finished with a game-high 28 points, and the top-seeded Scott County Central boys basketball team pulled away in the second quarter to secure a 73-56 win over fourth-seeded Oran in a semifinal of the Scott-Mississippi Conference Tournament on Thursday at Scott City High School.

Max Priggel scored 25 points to lead the Eagles, including a personal 8-0 run that tied the game at 19-all early in the second quarter. He knocked down a 13-foot jumper to knot things up at 21-21 before Jeffery Porter scored inside to spark a 14-2 run for the Braves over the final 4 minutes, 17 seconds of the first half.

Scott County Central's Jaden Lane guards Oran's Max Priggel during the second quarter of a semifinal game in the Scott-Mississippi Conference Tournament on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016 in Scott City, Missouri.Glenn Landberg

Porter scored seven of his 20 points in the second quarter, and SCC (11-7) carried a 35-23 lead into halftime.

"We still lost their shooters a little bit too much, but they do a good job of moving the ball around," Braves coach Matt Cline said. "... I thought we got after it on the press a little bit better tonight, and you could tell they kind of got it a little bit."

The Braves shot 62 percent (16 of 26) from the field in the first half and never led by less than 10 points in the second half.

Beard scored 12 points in the third period alone and headed into the final quarter shooting 12 of 15 (80 percent) from the floor. He finished 13 of 20 (65 percent) on the night.

Oran (10-8) was without starter Cole Priggel, who watched the game from the bench in a walking boot. Jacob Shoemaker added 11 points for the Eagles, who finished 24 of 54 (44 percent) from the field.

Oran shot 35 percent in the first half but improved its clip by shooting 54 percent in the second half.

"I give our guys credit. They never gave up. They kept battling and played hard," said Eagles coach Joe Shoemaker, whose team will face No. 2 East Prairie in the third-place game at 6:30 p.m. today. "We didn't shoot the ball extremely well. Part of that had to with Scott County's defense.

Scott County Central's Jeffery Porter drives down the court past Oran's Max Priggel during the second quarter of a semifinal game in the Scott-Mississippi Conference Tournament on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016 in Scott City, Missouri.Glenn Landberg

"They just dominated inside the paint, whether it be on offensive rebounds or entry and scoring around the lane. ... That's where they won the game."

Keyth Blissett Jr. contributed 15 points for the Braves, who will take on third-seeded Scott City in the championship game at 7:45 p.m. today. SCC won a thrilling 75-72 deicision over Scott City at the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament earlier this season.

"We saw Scott City in the Christmas Tournament, and it came down to the last couple seconds," Cline said. "... It's good for us to just keep playing good competition and just keep trying to grow together a little more as a team."

Oran 11 12 15 18 -- 56

SCC 19 16 24 14 -- 73

ORAN (56) -- Max Priggel 25, Jacob Shoemaker 11, Layne Johnson 8, Garrison Mangels 6, Blake Schlitt 4, Preston Hahn 2. FG 24, FT 4-4, F 12. (3-pointers: Shoemaker 2, Priggel 2. Fouled out: None.)

SCOTT COUNTY CENTRAL (73) -- Deantrell Beard 28, Jeffery Porter 20, Keyth Blissett Jr. 15, Deven Blackmon 5, Eric Smith 3, Garry Wilkerson 2. FG 31, FT 8-11, F 10. (3-pointers: Smith 1, Blackmon 1, Blissett Jr. 1. Fouled out: None.)