By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Tradition: it’s one of the first words that come to mind when one mentions the Scott County Central basketball program. Going back to the early 1990’s, when the Braves won seven straight state titles under coach Ronnie Cookson, to now, in 2011, when the team, under coach Kenyon Wright, fought for their third straight state title. The only thing standing between the Braves and the three-peat was the Dadeville Bearcats.


After four hard-fought quarters, the Braves were able to claim their trophy, completing the three-peat and nabbing SCC’s fifteenth state championship.

“It was a hard-fought battle. It was one of those games that you come out, you’re playing for the state championship, you want to win it,” Wright said in the postgame press conference, “and we won it. We made some mistakes with the basketball a few times coming down the court that cost us a little bit, but for the most part, they fought and played through it.”


The Braves were led by the one-two punch of cousins Otto and Dominique Porter, putting in 27 and 18 points respectively. Otto was also able to haul in nine boards, five of which were offensive.

The Bearcats were far more physical with ‘Bubba’ than anyone has been in the post-season, and the senior noted Dadeville’s Jacob Goodman’s defensive ability.

“[Goodman] guarded me really well,” Porter said. “He put a body on me a little bit, but it really didn’t bother me at all. I just try to move around more, and get my teammates the ball. We knew they were gonna put one on me, I just had to move and try to get him worn out by the second half. We picked [the tempo] up a lot more in the second half. He [Goodman] played really good D, but it helped to get other guys open.”



Senior Trey Johnson, who ended with five points and two rebounds, likened the Bearcats to several teams that SCC has faced this year.


“They’re [Dadeville] like some of the teams that we’ve played. They’re like Oak Ridge - they’ve got some big guys inside that we had to box out,” Johnson said. “That big guy [Benjamin Dobbins] they had, he was a tough one to box out. He got a couple rebounds, but we came back and followed up strong. Its what we’ve been working for all year - the state championship.”


The Braves, who have blown out everyone in the post-season until Dadeville, held a 35-21 lead going into halftime, but Dadeville’s Zachary Medley and Trenton Bergmann combined for four three-pointers in the third quarter. Despite hot outside shooting, the Bearcats were never able to pull within 10 ponits.


“We just never could pull away,” Wright said. “We’d get up 17, 18 points, but we never could get over that hump and just take off. You come up here and play on this floor, you’ve made it this far, there’s no pushovers left.”


Wright noted Dadeville’s squad’s tough play, as well as their coaching staff.

“We played them here last year, and coach [Michael] Linehan had them ready to go. They wanted to come out here and fight for it - its the state championship, its not just another basketball game. They did a good job of coming out and doubling us, but we were able to make some good passes and hit some shots, and everybody stepped up and did a good job of filling in when we needed them to.”





The Braves will lose 10 seniors this year, the most notable of which will be Otto ‘Bubba’ Porter. Porter has drawn attention from all levels of collegiate basketball - Mizzou head coach Mike Anderson was in attendance for most of the state title game - but, when asked about where he would play next season, just smiled and said “I don’t know”.


Porter also set the state record for Most Points in Final Four Games against Jefferson (Conception) on Thursday (March 17). Bubba dropped in 34 points in the contest, increasing his total to 164 points, breaking a record that had stood since 1960. With his 27 points today, Otto set the bar even higher at 191 points.


Otto reflected upon his own personal successes - as well as those of his team - after the game. “When I first started playing for varsity, I just helped out. It was just an honor to play. Once I was a starter, I had to try to be as relaxed as I can. But we succeeded- we wanted to play for the ‘ship,” Otto said, smiling. “It’s what we’ve all been dreaming about. Even at school we talk about it all the time. We just wanted to bring another one home - 15 state titles..its amazing to add on to [Scott County Central’s] tradition.”





Photos above Top Photo: The SCC Braves celebrate their third consecutive Class 1 State Title.
Middle Photo: Otto Porter puts in two of his 27 points in the contest. The senior shot 10-14 from the floor, a perfect 7-7 from the charity stripe, and had nine boards, three steals, and four blocks in his last game for SCC.
Bottom photo: Trey Johnson (No. 15) cuts to the basket during Saturday's State Championship game at Mizzou Arena.

                                                                     

	1st Q	2nd Q	3rd Q	4th Q	FINAL
SCOTT COUNTY CENTRAL	20	15	16	18	69
DADEVILLE	10	11	18	15	54


SCOTT COUNTY CENTRAL: O. Porter - 27. D. Porter - 18. S. Johnson - 11. T. Johnson - 5. Woodson - 5. Steward - 3.


DADEVILLE: Medley - 19. Bergmann - 14. Webb - 13. Dobbins - 6. Goodman - 2.