Scott County Central boys basketball team uses quickness, heart to attack boards in semifinal

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Scott County Central senior Dominique Porter doesn't want to hear about the Braves' lack of height.

When he goes in for a rebound, he doesn't care that he's 5 foot 11.

"Make them fear you instead of you fearing them," he said. "If you go in with the mindset that you want the ball and you're going to get it, you're going to do whatever you can and whatever in your power to get the basketball."

Porter was one of nine SCC players to grab a rebound in the Braves' 78-48 victory over Glasgow in their Class 1 state semifinal Thursday at the Hearnes Center.

The Braves' tallest starter is Porter, while Glasgow boasted three starters listed at 6-3. That didn't stop SCC from outrebounding the Yellowjackets 29-24, including a 12-7 advantage on offensive rebounds.

"If you want it, you're going to go in there and get it," Porter said. "If I've got to go in there and put a body on two or three defenders trying to get the ball trying to help my team get the W, that's what I'm going to do."

Glasgow junior Reid Littrell, one of the Yellowjackets' 6-3 players, said his team knew it enjoyed a height advantage entering the game, but the Braves countered with their speed.

"They were just quicker," Littrell said. "Every time the ball went up, there'd be two guys just sprinting straight to the lane. You've got three guys boxing out one or two on the block because we spread the ball out a little bit."

The Braves scored 12 second-chance points off their 12 offensive rebounds.

"As soon as the ball hit the rim, attack," SCC sophomore Larandis Banks said was the key to offensive rebounding. "Try to grab every loose ball. Hustle after every ball. It's the hustle plays that count."

Banks led the Braves' effort on the boards with a game-high seven rebounds. Jaylen Porter added four.

Being the shorter team was nothing new for SCC. That's been the case for most of the season, but it's managed to post a 21-10 record.

"These guys have battled all year and they've had games where we didn't rebound and they've gotten beat," SCC coach Kenyon Wright said. "And we've had games where they've rebounded and we win some of them. It's just one of those things where if they want it and they want to go get it, it don't matter how big you are. If you want it, you've got to go get it."

It's something Wright reminds his team of every game.

"It's the No. 1 thing on the board," Banks said. "Rebound, play together."