Chaffee Red Devils rebound with a strong shooting performance to secure third place at Oran Invitational

The Chaffee Red Devils responded from their first loss of the season with a 48-37 win over Westwood Baptist Academy to win third place in the Oran Invitational Tournament on Friday, Dec. 6, in Oran.

The Red Devils improved to 2-1 on the season with the help of their outside shooting. Chaffee made six three-point shots to secure the win. Nolan Fowler was named Player of the Game by the tournament’s streaming partners for his double-digit scoring performance.

The Red Devils opened the game on an 11-0 run with three baskets beyond the arc to give them a 16-4 lead at the end of the first quarter.

WBA responded with a 10-3 run to start the second quarter, catching up with Chaffee and cutting the deficit to 25-21 entering halftime. A pair of three-pointers from Easton Fowler gave the Red Devils the advantage in the first half.

WBA worked its way through the early part of the second half to pull within a single point with a minute to go in the third quarter, but a three-pointer by Devin Best in the final seconds ended the period with a 39-35 Red Devils lead.

Best’s second-half surge continued in the fourth quarter with another three-pointer to keep Chaffee ahead 42-37 with 3:12 left in the game. Best previously led the Red Devils with a career-high 16 points in a 69-64 win over Scott County Central to open the tournament and the season.

The Red Devils let the free throws flow in the game’s final minutes to leave the gym with the third-place trophy.

Chaffee’s road journey continues, as the Red Devils will next travel to East Prairie on Tuesday, Dec. 10. They will then face Bloomfield (Dec. 13) and St. Vincent (Dec. 17) on the road before finally hosting a game of their own, a Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament tuneup against Scott County Central on Dec. 20.