Oran boys basketball gets early jump on Bell City, reaches district final

ESSEX, Mo. -- Oran knew what the Bell City boys basketball team was capable of. That lesson was learned back on Feb. 5, when the Cubs rallied furiously to knock off the Eagles at the buzzer. Oran wasn't going to let it happen again.

The Eagles shot the lights out of the gym in the first half, then made sure not to suffer a repeat collapse, remaining in control to down Bell City 85-66 in a Class 1 District 2 semifinal Tuesday night at Richland High School.

The victory pits Oran (15-13) against Advance in the district final for a sixth straight season.

But Tuesday night was all about not repeating the same mistakes.

"One of the things we talked about is that we had a lead that night and let it slip," Oran coach Joe Shoemaker said. "Bell City just never gave up. They just continued to battle. I told our kids, 'We know they're not going to give up. They're too well coached and too good of kids. We can't allow them to start [a comeback].'

"[Our players] always wanted it. Â… After the way the last one ended, they were prepared tonight."

Bell City (14-11), however, could never be prepared for the way the Eagles were going to shoot the basketball coming out of the gate.

Both sides turned the opening minutes into a 3-point shooting contest -- making the first six baskets long-range field goals -- but it was Oran that was able to maintain that momentum, scoring 28 points in the first quarter and 46 in the first half, in large part due to 9-of-12 (75 percent) shooting from outside the arc.

The first basket of the game from inside the arc actually turned into a three-point play, thanks to a foul.

After Kolten Siebert kept the Cubs within a basket with a 3 of his own at 5:27 of the first, slicing the Eagles' edge to 9-6, Oran went on a 17-0 run that pushed its lead to 20 points, 26-6, at 1:43 of the first quarter.

That 20-point differential essentially held for the entire game.

"We knew it was going to be tough," Bell City coach C.J. Hadley said. "They beat us twice and we beat them once on a buzzer beater. [But] I didn't expect Oran to shoot the way they shot. They shot the lights out.

"It's tough, but I tell our fellas all the time, you've still got to find a way to do some things. We were checking shots and they were hitting [shots] in our face and it's hard to adjust, but our kids never gave up. They stayed playing hard and played to the final buzzer, but we made adjustments and they're still hitting it."

Oran finished the night 32 of 53 (60.4 percent) from the floor. It was 0 of 5 from 3-point range in the second half, instead getting more looks in transition or off the dribble. The Eagles attempted 20 of their 23 free throws after halftime.

"They came out in a zone and we had a couple of our shooters come out hot and start feeling good about themselves," Shoemaker said. "We have the capability to do that, but the problem is we can't do it consistently enough.

"At halftime we talked about not turning the ball over, defending and rebounding. Those three things and staying smart. I knew we weren't going to come out hot like that [in the second half] -- it's unlikely that you're going to. So we knew we had to defend and rebound to win the ball game."

Bell City was 23 of 66 (34.8 percent) from the field, and actually shot better from outside the arc (12 of 28, 42.9 percent) than it did from inside it (11 of 38, 29 percent).

Oran's Layne Johnson led all scorers with 28 points, while Max Priggel scored 22 and Jacob Shoemaker added 17.

In his final game in a Cubs uniform, senior Siebert led his squad with 23 points, draining seven 3s. Cole Nichols pitched in 19 points for Bell City.

"I know we got better," Hadley said of his team's now-completed season. "We only had seven guys, but they're hard-nosed and they have my respect. Â… They taught me a good lesson about how to be creative with things when you only have seven people and can't scrimmage full court.

"Those seven kids are good kids and I wouldn't trade them for nothing. It was a thrilling season for us and I'm real proud of them."

The Eagles will play at least one more game, as they face the Hornets (23-5) at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

"We're looking forward to trying to match up with Advance -- they're a great, great team. That was a goal of ours," coach Shoemaker said.

Bell City 12 16 14 24 -- 66

Oran 28 18 17 22 -- 85

BELL CITY (66) -- Taylor Jackson 3, Kolten Siebert 23, Cole Nichols 19, Peyton Maddox 2, Bobby Wright 13, Brandon Abner 2, Logan Yates 4. FG 23-66, FT 8-16, F 19. (3-pointers: Siebert 7, Nichols 3, Jackson, Wright. Fouled out: None.)

ORAN (85) -- Cole Priggel 13, Jacob Shoemaker 17, Max Priggel 22, Layne Johnson 28, Garrison Mangels 4, Blake Schlitt 1. FG 32-53, FT 12-23, F 16. (3-pointers: Shoemaker 4, Johnson 3, M. Priggel 2. Fouled out: None.)