Scott City pushes win streak to six

~ The Rams defeated Chaffee 66-43 in a duel between young squads.

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Scott City's 66-43 victory against Chaffee in a Scott-Mississippi Conference boys basketball Friday night could be seen as a battle of teams moving in two different directions.

The Rams improved to 8-4 with their sixth straight win, while the Red Devils fell to 3-7.

But the long-term view for both programs has some similarities with sophomores playing a big role.

Scott City sophomores Ryan Modglin and Alex King overpowered Chaffee inside, combining for 38 points.

Modglin, a 6-foot-2 forward, scored 16 of his 20 points in the first half. He also grabbed 10 of his 14 rebounds in the first half, when King sat out a large chunk with foul troubles.

"Ryan just started playing basketball in the seventh grade, so he gets better every game with more experience," Scott City coach Lance Amick said. "He's eager to learn and easy to work with."

King, who saw significant time on the Rams varsity last year, didn't score a point until the second half. But the 6-6 forward's 18 points kept Chaffee from extending its second-quarter rally.

"You can't take anything away from what Chaffee did," Amick said. "They played hard, they're well-coached, they've got things on the rise.

"You can't just come in here and get a win. You've got to earn a win."

The Rams, who never trailed, earned their win with a 6-0 spree to close the first half at 27-15 and a 9-0 run midway through the third period that stretched the lead to 42-23.

Junior Rynn Eskew added nine points for the Rams, and sophomore point guard Ethan Watkins had seven on a cold shooting night.

Chaffee similarly showcased plenty of young players, starting two sophomores and three juniors. Junior Augi Orr was the only Red Devils player in double figures with 11 points. Sophomore Andy Hendrix finished with nine.

"We're not going to use being young as an excuse," second-year coach Tyson Moyers said. "When you do that, it makes it easier to accept losing. We just have to get the mental part to catch up with our talent level.

"We're trying to change the attitude within the program and within the school."

The Red Devils, who already have matched last year's win total and surpassed their 2003-04 total, showed some of their spunk Friday night playing a team it had lost to by 35 points in the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament.

Chaffee was 0-for-12 from the field in the first quarter, including three blocked shots by the Rams, while digging a 16-3 hole.

The Red Devils didn't hit a field goal until Orr's layin with 5 minutes, 25 seconds before the half closed the gap to 18-5.

But Chaffee then went on a 10-3 run that closed the gap to 21-15 with 1:43 left before halftime. The Red Devils even had a couple of free throws to cut the gap more but couldn't convert.

"Tonight, I thought we played as hard as I've seen us play on defense and rebounding," Moyers said. "Those are the things we stress in practice.

"We've got some good kids and they work hard. They didn't give up."

Modglin then scored on back-to-back possessions for the Rams and Andy Stephens hit a jumper to conclude scoring in the first half.

King was similarly dominant on the inside during the third-period spree that separated the Rams for good. He scored seven points during the 9-0 run and had 13 points in the period that ended with Scott City leading 46-29.

The Rams, after suffering losses to the likes of Poplar Bluff and Jackson during a 2-4 start, righted their ship with a three-victory run to the consolation championship at the Christmas tournament.

"We're playing better," Amick said. "We've developed some roles in team identlty. I'm blessed with good kids to work with, and hopefully we're going to get better and better."

SCOTT CITY 66, CHAFFEE 43

Scott City 16 11 19 20 -- 66

Chaffee 3 12 14 14 -- 43

SCOTT CITY (66) -- Ethan Watkins 7, Rynn Eskew 9, Andy Stephens 5, Jamie Pinkston 3, Ryan Modglin 20, Landon Hill 4, Alex King 18. FG 28, FT 9-18, F 16 (3-pointers: Watkins 1. Fouled out: none)

CHAFFEE (43) -- Steven Dooley 6, Zach McDaniel 2, Alex Orr 3, Augi Orr 11, Adam Horton 3, Andy Hendrix 9, Korey Chapman 2, Jeff Daugherty 2, Michael Lee 6. FG 15, FT 10-19, F 19 (3-pointers: Dooley 2, Horton 1. Fouled out: none)