Scott County Central boys basketball beats Scott City on last-second Farr putback to win Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament consolation championship

Scott Central's Edward Farr (11) drives past Scott City's Camden Conner (3) for a shot.

Aaron Palmer ~ Special to the Southeast Missourian

Edward Farr thought the shot was going in, but he still made sure to get in position to rebound the ball.

So when Garry Wilkerson's 3-pointer didn't even graze the rim, Farr was there to corral the ball and put it through the hoop as time expired.

Farr's last-second putback was the game-winning bucket as tenth-seeded Scott County Central defeated No. 8 Scott City 69-67 to win the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament consolation championship on Saturday afternoon at the Show Me Center.

Scott City's Eli Berry (1) goes up for a shot.

Aaron Palmer ~ Special to the Southeast Missourian

"When I saw [the shot], I was like I'm going to go get it," Farr said. "It was short, so I grabbed it and went up with it."

Farr's game-winner was his second offensive putback off a missed SCC 3-pointer in the final minute. His first gave the Braves (6-6) a 65-63 lead. Scott City's Eli Berry, who had 22 points, was whistled for a loose-ball foul seconds later, a call Rams coach Mark Dannenmueller disagreed with.

Wilkerson knocked down the ensuing two free throws for a 67-63 lead with 30 seconds left.

The Braves gave the Rams (8-3) a lifeline by committing a foul seconds later. Following two Spencer Stratman free throws, SCC threw the ball away.

Camden Conner then tied the game with 13 seconds remaining on a mid-range jumper.

Coming out of a timeout, Wilkerson air balled a step-back 3. Farr was right there to grab the ball in front of the basket and lofted a shot that touched nothing but the bottom of the net.

"I practice on it with people face-guarding me like that," Farr said. "I practice on them shots."

Farr finished with a game-high 22 points plus seven rebounds. Landon Glueck added 17 points, and Kioki Johnson had 13.

Wilkerson was the distributor with seven assists to go along with eight points.

"We didn't completely panic at the end," SCC coach Matt Cline said. "We did everything we could. Pretty poor shot selection there at the very end. … Ed bailed us out twice."

Johnson opened the scoring with a bucket inside. Conner, who had 14 points, responded with a basket.

It was like that all game with neither team leading by more than 10 points.

With 5:37 remaining, the score was knotted at 53. Each time, one time appeared to pull away, the other had the answer.

Farr's last-second basket ensured that time Scott City didn't have time to respond.

"We just aren't tough enough," Dannenmueller said. "Offensive rebounds and not getting back on defense. Things we talked about and talked about and never registered. It's just frustrating. Disappointing. We feel like we slept-walked the entire first half."

Ethan Pennington had 14 points and eight rebounds for the Rams off the bench.

After falling to Oak Ridge in the consolation championship last year, SCC will take home some hardware this time around. It's not the plaque, the Braves wanted or that the storied program is accustomed to winning.

But it's something.

"It was good," Farr said. "I wanted to win it all for real, but it was good. I'll take what I can get."

SCOTT COUNTY CENTRAL (69) — Landon Estes 3, Kioki Johnson 13, Edward Farr 22, Keshawn Sanders 3, Garry Wilkerson 8, Landon Glueck 17, Dalton Blissett 3. FG 28, FT 6-11, F 16. (3-pointers: Estes, Glueck 5, Blissett. Fouled out: None.)

SCOTT CITY (67) —Eli Berry 22, Camden Conner 14, Spencer Stratman 10, Joe Panagos 5, Ethan Pennington 14. FG 29, FT 8-10, F 11. (3-pointers: Berry. Fouled out: None.)