Scott County takes Sweet Sixteen title

• No. 1 Scott County is the 2007 state champion after beating No. 2 Ballard 56-50. The Cardinals outscored Ballard 11-1 over the last 4:57 to take the title.
• Bud Mackey (shown at right celebrating in the final seconds) was named the tournament MVP after scoring 20 of his 22 points in the second half, 11 in the last quarter to rally the Cards from a 47-40 deficit. Matt Walls added 12 for Scott County. Cam Hundley (shown below celebrating) had 9 points, including 7 of 9 on free throws after he hit 13 of 13 in the semifinals.
• Johonne Hamilton led Ballard with 13 points.
• This is Scott County’s second state title. It also won it all in 1998. The Cards made it to the 1999 finals but lost to Ballard 71-47, so this is long-overdue revenge.
• Billy Hicks becomes the first coach to win two titles since Stan Hardin led Fairdale to back-to-back championships in 1990 and ‘91.
• Ballard was looking to win a state title for the fourth decade in a row. It won the championship in 1977, ‘88 and ‘99. The Bruins had a 26-game win streak snapped tonight.
• Ballard missed a 3-pointer. Scott County’s Cam Hundley rebounded and was fouled. He’ll be at the line for 2 with 6 seconds left. It looks like the Cards are champs.
• Ballard will have the ball out of a timeout, trailing 54-50. Matt Walls hit 1 of 2 free throws to give Scott County its 4-point edge.
• Matt Walls hit 1 free throw to put Scott County up 55-50 with 48 seconds left.
• Scott County has taken control — it leads 53-50 with 1:19 left and will have the ball out of a timeout. Bud Mackey is sparkling down the stretch. He has 11 points in the fourth quarter, 9 in the last 4 minutes to rally his Cards.
• Scott County is alive and kicking. The Cards’ Bud Mackey has scored seven consecutive points to give his team a 51-50 lead with 2:48 left.
• Ballard holds a 49-44 edge with 4:34 to go. Scott County has the ball.
• Going into the fourth quarter Ballard leads 45-40. Bud Mackey has come alive for Scott County, with 7 points in the third quarter to give him a team-high 11. Johonne Hamilton has 12 points and 5 rebounds and 3 steals.
• Ballard is on top 40-34 with 2 minutes left in the third quarter. David Stanley has hit two threes this half to give the Bruins a boost. Nine different players have scored for Ballard.
• HALFTIME SCORE: Ballard 27, Scott County 24. Not a pretty half of hoops. There were 20 fouls and neither team shot well. Ballard’s defense gave it a slight edge. It has forced 13 turnovers and coverted them into 12 points. Johonne Hamilton’s 10 points lead the Bruins. Cam Hundley’s 7 points lead Scott County. Matt Walls has 6 points and 4 rebounds.
• Timeout with 2:58 left in the half and Ballard is on top 25-22. Johonne Hamilton has 10 points to lead the Bruins. Scott County has 7 turnovers in this quarter and 12 for the game.
• Ballard’s defense has Scott County reeling. Johonne Hamilton capped a 11-0 run with back-to-back steals and layups to give the Bruins a 21-16 lead with 5:09 left in the half.
• It was a whistle-stop first quarter — 15 fouls have already been called. Scott County leads 16-12. Cam Hundley, who hit 13 of 13 free throws this morning, is 4-for-5 from the line and has 6 points for the Cards. Johonne Hamilton has 4 points for Ballard, which is 4-for-15 from the field.
• Ballard leads 9-8 on Wesley Cox’s three with 2:50 left in the first quarter. Scott County’s Bud Mackey and Jordan Lee are on the bench with two fouls apiece. Neither team is shooting well, which is expected in the early going of a hyped-up game. The Bruins and Cards are a combined 6-for-23.
• Scott County leads 6-4, but Bud Mackey has already gone to the bench with his 2nd foul less than 4 minutes into the game.
• We’ve begun. Ballard got the opening tip, missed two shots then got called for traveling. But Johonne Hamilton got a steal and scored on a putback for the first score of the night.
• Pre-game introductions are almost over. A wild guess at the crowd — maybe 16,000 or more.
• We’re about 30 minutes away from the 8:13 tip-off to the 90th Sweet Sixteen championship. The pre-game festivities are a spectacle, with spotlight beams skipping across the arena, music blaring, and video highlights from this week’s games flashing on the jumbo-trons. Ballard Coach Chris Renner, who has been through this twice before, said this afternoon that he told his players “the energy, enthusiasm and excitement in the gym tonight will be unbelievable” and that they should enjoy it. And in the pre-game show, “When the spotlight shines on that championship trophy, it’s really special,” Renner said.