SCC's JOHNSON SHOOTS DOWN SCORING RECORD

Jreece Johnson wasn't aware just how many points he was piling up.

The Scott County Central basketball star was simply enjoying himself.

"I was just having fun out there," said a smiling Johnson.

Johnson had enough fun to pile up a University High Christmas Tournament-record 49 points as sixth-seeded Scott Central slipped past 11th-seeded Kelly 84-81 in a first-round game at the Show Me Center Monday night.

Scott Central will face third-seeded Jackson in today's 7:30 p.m. quarterfinals. Jackson rolled past No. 14 Oak Ridge 96-34 earlier Monday.

In other first-round action from the lower part of the bracket, No. 2 Scott City breezed past No. 15 Meadow Heights 94-48 and No. 7 Cape Girardeau Central held off No. 10 Oran 69-54. Scott City and Cape Central square off at 6 p.m. today in the quarterfinals.

Lower-bracket consolation play today will pit Oran against Meadow Heights at 10:30 a.m. and Kelly against Oak Ridge at noon.

A 5-foot-11 senior, Johnson did his scoring from virtually all over the court as he put together the best single-game offensive show in the 55-year history of the tournament.

Johnson scored 15 points in each of the first two quarters, was limited to six points in the third quarter and then put in 13 more in the final period as the Braves were just able to hold off the Hawks.

Johnson had 15 two-point field goals, four 3-pointers and he hit seven of 12 free throws. A little bit better performance at the charity stripe would have pushed Johnson past the 50-point mark.

Not that he was complaining, however.

"I've never had that many points before. I think the most was 30 something," he said. "I felt good and I didn't want us to lose."

Johnson, averaging 28 points per game entering the tournament, figured he had to pick up some of the slack due to the absence of the Braves' second-leading scorer, Todd Blissett.

Blissett, averaging 20 points a contest, was on the bench in street clothes because of an apparent disciplinary suspension.

"Without Todd, I felt I had to step up," Johnson said.

Scott Central coach Steve Wells did not wish to disclose the reason Blissett missed Monday's game and he would not say whether Blissett would play today, explaining only that it was a day-to-day thing.

But of Johnson's performance, Wells said, "He's the type of guy, certain nights he can carry you."

Terrance Williams added 17 points for the Braves, who improved to 6-1.

Kelly, which fell to 4-3 and had a three-game winning streak snapped, got 29 points from Jamie Essner, 15 from Jeremy Skelton and 11 from both Barry Ziegler and Daniel Seyer.

"If they could have given us an extra defender to guard Jreece, I would have been happy," said Kelly coach Kent Mangels. "He's an awesome player."

The Hawks held a 23-16 lead late in the first quarter, but Scott Central rallied to within 23-21 by the end of the period. The Braves then continued their run by scoring the first nine points of the second quarter to go up 30-23.

Scott Central expanded its lead to 45-31 at halftime and led 56-48 entering the fourth quarter.

Kelly got to within 65-62 midway through the final period, but the Braves seemed to regain control.

The Hawks, however, had one more run and they pulled to within 83-81 on Ziegler's 3-pointer with two seconds left.

Johnson hit one of two free throws with less than a second remaining and a long Kelly heave at the buzzer was well short.

"I was proud of our kids," Mangels said. "They fought hard and gave everything they had. We've come a long way since the start of the season."

Cape Central 69, Oran 54

Despite not having one of its top players, Travis Friga, Oran was able to hang tough before Cape Central pulled away down the stretch. Friga missed the contest with a sprained ankle.

Ross Conner scored 16 points to lead the Tigers (3-4), who picked up their third straight victory. Demetrius Totten added 13 points while Jonathan Ayers had 12 and Michael Cox 10.

Oran (4-3) got 20 points from Adam Friga and 11 from Garrett Cook.

"I know we can play a lot better, but I thought Oran's kids really played hard," said Cape Central coach Brett Reutzel.

The Tigers jumped out to a 23-9 lead after one quarter and the game took on the makings of a blowout.

But Oran would not go away easily. The Eagles pulled to within 31-24 at halftime and moved to within five points several times in the third quarter.

Cape Central led 50-42 entering the final period. Oran sliced the deficit to 54-48, but the Tigers then pulled away and Conner's emphatic two-handed slam with just over a minute left finally closed out the Eagles.

Jackson 96, Oak Ridge 34

Tory Meyr scored 19 points as the Indians (4-3) had no trouble with the Blue Jays (2-6).

Also hitting double figures for Jackson were Brad Hilbert with 14 points and John Oehl with 10.

No Oak Ridge player scored more than eight points.

The teams were tied 8-8 midway in the first quarter, but Jackson scored the final 20 points of the period to lead 28-8. It was 55-22 at halftime.

Scott City 94, Meadow Heights 48

Ryan Weatherspoon pumped in 23 points as the Rams (7-1) cruised past the Panthers (1-7).

Ben Sample added 17 points for Scott City, Scott Johnston had 11 and Ron Watson contributed 10.

Meadow Heights got 12 points from both Chris Burr and Josh Mayfield.

Scott City led 30-12 after one quarter and 60-32 at halftime.