Top-ranked Risco survives road test at Clarkton

CLARKTON -- For the first time in school history the Risco Tigers played a basketball game ranked No. 1 in the state polls.

In a new poll released by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association and MOSports, Risco was ranked No. 1 in Class 1.

"It's a big accomplishment and the kids are proud of it," said Risco coach Brandon Blankenship. "Still we don't want it getting in our head."

The ranking didn't have any impact on the Tigers' play as Risco defeated Clarkton 81-61 in front of a raucous road crowd on Tuesday to improve to 10-0 on the season.

"It was an ugly game but I'm proud of our kids for keeping their heads and blocking out some things that were going on off the court," Blankenship said.

Risco jumped out to a 21-6 lead in the first quarter but Clarkton fought back to slice the Tigers' advantage to 33-23 at halftime. But Risco came out after half and regained control by outscoring the Reindeer 18-10 in the third quarter.

Luke Bixler had 26 points to lead Risco while Jordon Pavy and Chris Pavy added 18 and 17 points respectively.

The win didn't come without a price for the Tigers as Jeremey Fowler injured his ankle in the third quarter and is day-to-day.

"He is a key piece for us and we are going to need other kids to step up," said Blankenship.

Risco lost the junior varsity game 55-51.

Risco will be back in action on Friday when they host Campbell before traveling to take on Meridian, Ill., on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

RISCO (81) -- Luke Bixler 26, Jordon Pavy 18, Chris Pavy 17, Hunter Knight 9, Austin White 8, Jeremey Fowler 3. FG 29, FT 20-28, F 19. (3-pointers: Bixler 2, Fowler 1. Fouled out: White).

CLARKTON (61) -- Logan Blackburn 24, Antron Jones 12, Mikey Jones 9, Jeremy Granstaff 4, Sergio Arjona 4, Dennis Amos 3, Dylan White 3, Marco Alverado 2. FG 18, FT 18-24, F 25. (3-pointers: Blackburn 2, A. Jones 2, Granstaff 1, Arjona 1, White 1. Fouled out: M. Jones).

Scott Central 81, East Prairie 46

EAST PRAIRIE -- The Scott County Central Braves ended a small two-game losing streak with an 81-46 road win over East Prairie on Tuesday.

Scott Central (8-4) led 22-14 after one and 45-26 at halftime and continued to build on their lead in the second half.

Dominique Porter had a big night once again for the Braves with 27 points and 14 rebounds. Larandis Banks added 17 points with four assists and four steals and LaMarcus Steward had eight points to go along with seven assists.

East Prairie was led by Logan Staggs' 22 points.

SCOTT CENTRAL (81) -- Chris Brown 2, Dominique Porter 27, Larandis Banks 17, Aaron Smith 2, Antonio Johnson 4, Antwoine Johnson 4, Jaylen Porter 10, Tyler Masters 7, LaMarcus Steward 8. FG 36 FT 7-12 F 16 (3-pointers: Banks 2. Fouled out: none.)

EAST PRAIRIE (46) -- Shawn King 5, Dalton Golightly 4, Nathan Maynard 1, Devin Cook 2, Phillip Latomondeer 2, Logan Staggs 22, Ryan Mathis 8, M. Douglas 2.

Scott City 75, Delta 43

SCOTT CITY -- The Scott City Rams took advantage of a strong second quarter and rolled to a 75-43 win over Delta on Tuesday night.

Scott City held a 19-14 lead after one quarter but exploded in the second stanza to take a comfortable 43-18 lead into halftime.

The Rams dished out 20 assists and had 21 steals in the game.

Senior Zach Cotner just missed a triple-double, finishing with 19 points, 10 steals and nine rebounds. Ryan Brock led the Rams with 21 points while Landon Robert and Jonathan McFall each added 12 points.

Scott City (11-4) will be back in action on Monday when they take on East Prairie in the first round of the Scott-Miss Conference Tournament at Chaffee.

DELTA (43) -- Greg Brawley 6, Frankie Rozmirsky 3, Trevor Glaus 2, Dillon Lincoln 9, David Brawley 2, Jesse Nance 4, Dallas Naramore 14. FG 17, FT 8-13, F 22. (3-pointers: G. Brawley 1. Fouled out: Rozmirsky).

SCOTT CITY (75) -- Logan Henson 2, Landon Robert 12, Jesse Sanders 5, Eric Essner 2, Jonathan McFall 12, Zach Cotner 19, Nick Bollinger 2, Ryan Brock 21. FG 29, FT 17-24, F 16. (3-pointers: none. Fouled out: none)

Advance 74, Chaffee 64

ADVANCE -- The Chaffee Red Devils lost a road contest to Advance 74-64 on Tuesday night.

Chaffee (7-4) trailed just 17-15 after one quarter but Advance stretched their lead to 38-29 at halftime.

Chaffee's Alex Crowe had a game-high 27 points, knocking down five 3-pointers in the game.

CHAFFEE (64) -- Jordan Yahn 8, Alex Crowe 27, Alex Davie 6, Zach Dannenmueller 4, Peyton Montgomery 7, Charlie Montgomery 6, Layton Tenkhoff 6. FG 25, FT 9-21, F 19. (3-pointers: Crowe 5. Fouled out: Tenkhoff)

ADVANCE (74) -- Hunter Wilson 21, Ethan Barr 20, Lane Below 17, Curtis Gilliland 4, Jacob Spears 7, Tyler Middleton 3, Braden Bien 2. FG 30, FT 8-16, F 20. (3-pointers: Wilson 3, Below 1, Spears 1, Middleton 1. Fouled out: none)

Oran 77, Zalma 28

ORAN -- The Oran Eagles improved to 7-5 with a 77-28 win over Zalma on Tuesday.

No further information from the game was available at press time.