Scott Central's Otto Porter puts up a shot in the Class 1, District 1 championship game Thursday night. (Josh Mills/Standard Democrat) [Click to enlarge]

GIDEON -- Since the 2003-04 season the Scott County Central Braves have won four-straight Class 1, District 1 titles. After Thursday night at Gideon High School, they can add one more to that streak.

The Braves rolled against the Gideon Bulldogs to win their fifth-straight district championship, 88-56.

"I thought the kids came out and played real strong," Braves head coach Ronnie Cookson said. "I knew we was going to have to, playing Gideon on their home court. I figured ' they would be really set to go from the other night's game."

Gideon defeated the Clarkton Reindeer in a very emotional rivalry game on Tuesday night, 77-64, to advance to the district championship.

Scott Central (25-2) struck first to take and early 2-0 lead to start the game. Then, a 3-pointer by Jordan Boone put the Bulldogs ahead by one, only to be countered soon after by 6-foot-2 senior, Caleb Johnson. Johnson grabbed one of his 10 rebounds under the Braves basket and put it back in to give his team the lead again. The put-back by Johnson, who finished with 18 points, sparked an 11-1 run that Gideon could not overcome.

Scott Central was up by the score of 26-15 at the end of the first quarter.

"I think we played pretty good," Johnson said. "We forced a couple turnovers and went to the boards hard."

The Braves forced 22 turnovers and outrebounded Gideon 27-16.

"He played real big," Cookson said of Johnson. "They all did. (Otto) Porter didn't really have his game, he didn't have the game he should have had. But, maybe he's saving it for another night."

The 6-foot-5 freshmen committed two early fouls, limiting his minutes in the first half, to finish with four points, four steals and two rebounds.

Scott Central went up by 26 points at halftime, and increased their lead even further in the third quarter, outscoring the Bulldogs 30-16 to make it a 79-39 game.

Drew Thomas led Scott County Central in scoring on Thursday night (Josh Mills/Standard Democrat) [Click to enlarge]

Drew Thomas led all scorers with 26 points. Thomas pulled down seven rebounds and was 3-5 from the 3-point line. Bobby Hatchett seemed to be everywhere on the court, recording 13 assists, eight steals and 13 points. D.D. Gillespie finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.

"Gideon has a fine ball club," Cookson said. "They showed that the other night. We had to do some things to try and take them out. We had to put somebody on Boone. We played good defense on him, I thought. He's a heck of a ball player."

Boone finished with 25 points in his final game of his high school career. Boone also went 4-7 from behind the arc and was a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line.

"I thought our kids really came out and met the challenge," said Cookson. "I just hope that they can keep meeting the challenge on the way up."

The way up leads to the sectional game at Poplar Bluff. Scott Central will, again for the fifth time in a row, face the Bell City Cubs. The Cubs defeated Lesterville in the District 2 championship, 88-57.