Braves add to district collection

BELL CITY -- Scott County Central's Bobby Hatchett forced a steal against Bell City near midcourt, dribbled to the basket and dunked for an easy two points in the first quarter.

That play best sums up how the Class 1 District 3 boys basketball championship game unfolded as the Braves' pressure defense was too much for the Cubs to handle.

Scott County, the top-ranked team in the district and the No. 2 ranked team in the state, jumped out to an 18-point halftime lead and from there posted a 69-38 victory at Bell City High School on Thursday to claim its sixth straight district championship dating back to 2004.

"We just like playing Bell City -- it's just been a rivalry for so long," Hatchett said. "When we play Bell City, we're like, 'Oh, we're playing Bell City so we've got to come because if we don't they're going to play us out of the gym.' So we've just got to try to come out and play hard when we play them. ... [Winning the district] wasn't as easy as people thought it was. We worked and practiced what they was going to do and things like that, but other than that, we just came out and played our regular ball."

Scott County (25-2), which placed third in Class 1 last year, advanced to a Class 1 sectional contest at Park Hills Central High School at 6 p.m. Tuesday against the District 4 winner. Bell City (15-11) failed to win its district for the first time since 2001. The loss broke a streak of seven consecutive years in which the Cubs advanced to at least the sectional round -- during which time they reached five final fours.

Cubs interim coach Pat Niemczyk stressed to his players before the game that they had to take care of the basketball to stick with the Braves.

"They're just so quick and athletic at every position that it's difficult to handle the pressure," Niemczyk said. "You're going to obviously have to have good players and play very well to beat them. They're definitely one of the top teams in the state. It will take somebody like Jefferson or somebody very good to give them trouble."

Niemczyk said he sees the Braves making the state championship game, where they could face No. 1 Jefferson for the title.

"I don't think you can count out Jefferson yet," Niemczyk said. "But I think it would be a great game. I definitely think Scott Central will get all the way to the finals."

There were times in the first half when Scott County did not look in control when handling the ball, and coach Ronnie Cookson called his team's first-half play sloppy. The Braves also hit just 5 of 15 free throws in the first half and shot 44 percent (11 of 25) from the line during the contest.

Still, the Braves used their relentless press defense to build early leads of 25-7 and 29-13. They also began the third quarter on a 16-0 run to open a 49-15 lead.

"We were more athletic and more physical," Scott County's Desmin Williams said. "The only thing they've got on us is height -- the 7-footer out there. ... Me and Bubba [Otto Porter] came ready to play on the rebounds. That's what we had to do."

Porter was in the starting lineup after not playing in the district semifinal against Richland because of a torn muscle in his chest area and the flu.

"I felt a lot better," Porter said. "I was trying to play hard and trying to get back in shape and stuff."

Drew Thomas led the Braves with 16 points. Hatchett netted 14 points, Williams and Randy Timmons each had 12 points and Porter had 10.

The Cubs ran both a man-to-man defense and zone defense, but Scott County was able to adjust to both.

"We're just taking it one step at a time," Thomas said. "It's an honor to be the district champion."

@z_agate_HSbasketball_linescore:Bell City78158--38

Scott County1716306--69

@z_agate_no tab_no indnt_bld ld:BELL CITY (38) -- Melvin Johnson 9, Jeff Long 4, Skylor Blackler 11, Ronnie Gross 6, Brandon Bell 4, J.P. Arnold 2, Jason Hess 2. FG 15, FT 5-11, F 19. (3-pointers: Johnson 3. Fouled out: Gross, Arnold)

SCOTT COUNTY CENTRAL (69) -- Bobby Hatchett 14, Otto Porter 10, Drew Thomas 16, Randy Timmons 12, Alan Timmons 2, Desmin Williams 12, Nick Johnson 3. FG 29, FT 11-25, F 9. (3-pointers: none. Fouled out: none)