A state championship two years ago served as motivation for last season's team.

It turns out a loss in the regional round of the playoffs might serve as motivation, too.

Bell City returns a pair of starters from a 24-6 team that saw its season end with a loss to Clarkton in the Class 1 regional playoff game. But this season's Cubs are loaded with new weapons --height, strength and another dose of quickness.

"We have the potential to be better this year," coach David Heeb said. "Last year we had a great group, but I think we flattened out a little bit in the middle of the year. It's hard to replace guys like Eric Henry and Kenyon Wright, but we have all the pieces that just have to fall in place now."

Replacing Henry, last year's Southeast Missourian player of the year, will be a chore, but Heeb said there's talent waiting to step up. First, there's Dominitrix Johnson, a 6-foot senior who averaged 22 points -- second to Henry -- and eight assists a game last season. He's joined by Randy Conn, who started about two-thirds of the team's games and averaged five points a game.

Add to that a mix of key substitutes and a key transfer. Tyler Victor is a 6-5 senior who joined the team in January and added 15 pounds of muscle in the offseason. He gives Bell City a rare inside threat.

"We'll be bigger, that's for sure," Heeb said. "We've never had a kid as big and strong as Tyler. Then we've got Randy, who's bulked up, and Jeffrey Liggons is a big player inside. We didn't have personnel like that before."

A.J. Henry, a 6-foot-1 junior and a key player on last season's 13-12 junior varsity team, faces possible surgery on his knee and won't be ready to play until at least late December. He joined the varsity for a stretch of games in January; the Cubs averaged 103 points with him in the lineup.

No matter who starts, Heeb hopes they keep the memory of last season's early playoff exit in mind.

"Our goal is to win the state tournament every year, no matter who graduates," Heeb said. "They don't want to end this season like they ended it last year."