Fast start propels Oak Ridge boys basketball past Scott County Central and into Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament quarterfinals

Oak Ridge's David Layton (24) drives to the basket while being guarded by Scott Central's Edward Farr (11) and Landon Estes (3) during the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2018, at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau.

Kassi Jackson ~ Southeast Missourian

Oak Ridge boys basketball jumped out to a 14-point lead in the first quarter and never let up, besting Scott County Central 80-50 behind 36 points from David Layton.

Scott County Central kept things interesting in the first half, outscoring the Oak Ridge 22-19 in the second quarter, but could not keep up with the high-scoring Blue Jays for the remainder of the game.

The Braves (3-6) were led by Keshawn Sanders with 15 points in the contest. Edward Farr joined him as the only other double-digit scorer, finishing with 11 points.

Oak Ridge’s attack was centered through Layton, but Tanner Schamburg netted 20 points to aid the Blue Jays in the win.

“I honestly believe this was our best defensive effort of the year so far, and we worked on that. Three fourths of our practices the last six days have been working on this defense to shut down that offense,” Oak Ridge coach Chris Trimmer said.  “All the work that [the kids] did for the past six days paid off.”

Oak Ridge (6-2) advances to face Charleston in the quarterfinals at 6 p.m. tonight.

Scott Central (50) — Landon Glueck 5, Kioki Johnson 2, Garry Wilkerson 9, Landon Estes 5, Keshawn Sanders 15, Edward Farr 11, Porter 3. FG 22, FT 3-13, F 11. (3-pointers: Glueck, Wilkerson, Porter. Fouled out: none)

Oak Ridge (80) — Brent Seyer 4, Drew Glueck 6, Bryce Hahs 3, David Layton 36, Zach LeGrand 8, Tanner Schamburg 20, Garrett Seabaugh 3. FG 32, FT 7-15. F 8 (3-pointers: Schamburg 3, Seabaugh, LeGrand, Layton 3, Hahs. Fouled out: none.)