Scott County Central boys basketball team earns fifth consecutive trip to final four

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Some important things changed for the Scott County Central boys basketball team this season.

Some didn't. The Braves are going back to the Class 1 final four after a 65-51 victory over Eminence on Saturday.

"I'm just speechless," said junior Jaylen Porter, who rarely is at a loss for words. "I've never been through this, so it's a great feeling. I've seen my cousin Otto do it, I've seen my brother do it. I've seen everybody from Scott Central do it, but I ain't never been through it. It's just a happy feeling."

Porter, sophomore Larandis Banks, senior Antonio Johnson and junior Tyler Masters were four of six players to step onto the court for SCC. None of them played a role in SCC's trips to the final four over the past four years or its three consecutive state titles.

"It feels different," said Dominique Porter, a senior and the Braves' only returning starter. "From the start of the season, we had a lot of people telling us that we weren't going to make it, we weren't the same team as we were last year. I mean, just being in this atmosphere with a chance to prove everybody wrong, that feeling is amazing."

Scott County Central's Jaylen Porter shoots against Eminence's Hunter Adams during Saturday's Class 1 state quarterfinal in Poplar Bluff, Mo.

Dominique Porter, Jaylen's brother, and senior point guard LaMarcus Steward, who also played during last year's final four, scored 22 points apiece Saturday to account for just more than two-thirds of the Braves' scoring.

"Everything's going to run through LaMarcus and Dominique," SCC coach Kenyon Wright said. "Not scoring wise, but they're the seniors and they're the ones that have been in this situation before.

"None of these other kids have been in this situation before. They've never been in a chance to go to the final four. They've never had this opportunity, and they've got to learn how to do this. That's something they're in the process of doing, and I think those two really stepped up and done what they were supposed to do."

Steward rescued the Braves' otherwise struggling offense with 16 points in the first half. He shot 8 of 13 (62 percent) from the floor in the half while the rest of the team made just 4 of 13 combined shots (31 percent).

Steward scored the majority of his points on short jumpers and runners in the lane.

Scott County Central's LaMarcus Steward shoots over an Eminence defender during Saturday's Class 1 state quarterfinal in Poplar Bluff, Mo. (BRENT SHIPMAN ~ Sikeston Standard Democrat)

"Coach always tells me to take it to the hole," Steward said. "If they come up, pull up. Whatever they gave me, I took it."

Eminence led for much of the first half, including 15-12 after the first quarter. The Redwings' attack was aided by four offensive rebounds in the period.

"We didn't rebound as we should," Dominique Porter said. "They shot shots and we didn't rebound, so they got a lot of shots and they made us start playing their game instead of us making them play ours."

While the Redwings never stalled, they often did force the Braves to play in the half court.

"We expected them to try to slow the ball down, but we didn't expect for us not to rebound," Dominique Porter said. "If we would've rebounded better, I think the outcome would have been a lot better."

The Braves trailed 23-20 with 1 minute, 50 seconds left in the first half before Steward provided his own mini run. He scored six points in just more than a minute to help SCC to a 26-23 halftime lead.

The Braves forced three of Eminence's 10 turnovers in the opening half during the final minute before halftime.

"We didn't bring our 'A' game," Wright said. "I'll tell you that much. We didn't bring our 'A' game, and Eminence brought their 'A' game. I'll tell you what, Pete McBride is one heck of a coach. Those guys played our butts off for the whole game."

The Braves started the second half on a 10-2 run and built a 42-29 lead with a minute left in the third quarter, but Eminence went on a 10-2 run to pull within four points with 6:15 to go.

"To be honest, I was a little nervous," Steward said. "I was a little nervous, but finally we beat it."

Johnson, Banks, Jaylen Porter, Dominique Porter and Steward all scored in SCC's ensuing 12-2 run that helped seal the victory.

"Eminence got a little tired, and I think we took advantage of them getting tired, which is what we try to do most of the time," Wright said. "We take advantage of that other team. I play five or six kids most of the time, and those guys are playing [32] minutes of up and down ball. They've got to be in shape. They've seen what 'in shape' will do for them."

SCC (20-10) will face Glasgow (25-5), which downed Marion County 31-30 on Saturday. in a Class 1 state semifinal at noon Thursday at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Mo.

"I think it took them a little bit to figure out they could do it," Wright said about his team. "Once they started seeing it and believing it, then they noticed it. They took it and they ran with it starting with the district tournament. It's been all year. It's a process. It's a long process."

The new-look Braves will try to win their school's fourth consecutive and 16th overall state championship.

"It means everything to me," Jaylen Porter said. "This is what I worked for since I was in the seventh grade, just to get a chance to play in a district game and go to state. It's all I know."

SCC 12 17 16 23 -- 65

Eminence 15 8 11 17 -- 51

SCOTT COUNTY CENTRAL (65) -- Larandis Banks 7, Jaylen Porter 6, Antonio Johnson 8, Dominique Porter 22, LaMarcus Steward 22. FG 24, FT 16-23, F 13. (3-pointers: Banks 1. Fouled out: none)

EMINENCE (51) -- Jesse Lacey 13, Cole Keeling 9, Logan Dyer 6, Hunter Adams 7, Alan Brewer 14, James Ennis 2. FG 20, FT 7-10, F 19. (3-pointers: Lacey 2, Keeling 2. Fouled out: Brewer)