Charleston, Kelly reach district title game

Kelly advanced to the championship game of the Class 3, District 2 boys basketball tournament Tuesday night by using a late surge to upend Scott City 61-55 at Bloomfield, Mo.

Scott City (17-7) took a 44-39 lead into the fourth quarter but stumbled down the stretch.

Kelly (13-13), the third seed, will face top-seeded Charleston (24-3) in Thursday's 7:30 p.m. championship game. The Bluejays, ranked second in Class 3, breezed past fifth-seeded Bloomfield 93-49 in the other semifinal.

Seniors Lance Scheffer and Major Burger carried the load for Kelly in the fourth quarter. The pair combined for 17 of the Hawks' 22 points in the period. Scheffer scored eight of his team-high 20 points in the quarter while Burger netted nine of his 16.

Tyler Ward led Scott City with 20 points, while D.J. Walton scored 13.

Scott City led 13-11 after one quarter and 24-22 at halftime.

Their five-point lead evaporated in the fourth quarter as Kelly hit on 10 of 12 free throws. By compariosn, Scott City went just 4 of 10 from the line.

"The difference is they made big plays at the end, and we didn't," said Kerry Thompson, who coached his final game at Scott City. "We made some crucial turnovers and they made some big shots."

Thompson has accepted the principal job at the high school after two seasons as head coach.

"It's a good bunch to go out with," Thompson said. "I couldn't ask for a better group of players."

Bell City 73, Leopold 49

Top-seeded Bell City started slowly by scoring only 33 points in the first half, but had more than enough to beat No. 4 Leopold to advance to the Class 1, District 2 finals versus Oran in Delta, Mo..

The Cubs outscored Leopold 18-6 in the first quarter and led 33-21 at halftime. Leopold (11-15) kept pace in the third but still trailed by 14 entering the final quarter.

Dominitrix Johnson scored a game-high 23 for Bell City. Eric Henry added 16 points for the Cubs and Kenyon Wright had 13. Josh Van de Ven and Kevin Holzum each had 17 points for Leopold.

Bell City (23-5) will face second-seeded Oran (22-6) at 8 p.m. Thursday in the championship game

Oran 69, Delta 28

Second-seeded Oran held sixth-seeded Delta to five first-half points in cruising to a 31-5 halftime lead. Delta (6-17) had just 11 points entering the fourth quarter.

Patrick Friga led 11 Eagles in scoring with 13 points. Garrett Roslen added 10 points.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Scott County Central 91, Oran 36

Second-seeded Scott County Central easily advanced to the final of the three-team Class 1, District 2 tournament at Delta, Mo.

The Bravettes will face top-seeded Delta (22-2) in the final at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

Second-seeded Scott County led 49-17 at halftime and 59-28 at the end of the third quarter. Brittany Godwin led Scott County with 24 points. Jennifer Hoots added 16 points, Janet Penrod had 14 and Christina Valenzuela had 12.

Amanda Eftink and Teresa Hodges each had 13 points for Oran.

-- From staff reports