Leopold tames Cubs at the line

Leopold ignored its Achilles' heel.

The Wildcats knocked down free throws at key times to hold off Bell City 66-56 in their consolation semifinal Tuesday at the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament.

"We just stepped up with confidence and knocked them down after all the shots in practice," Leopold senior Anthony Seabaugh said. "We've been shooting a lot."

The Wildcats knocked down 5 of their 6 attempts in the third quarter to maintain a narrow lead. It was a vast difference from the last time the Cubs and Wildcats met.

"We've been struggling, shooting about 41 percent from the free-throw line as a team," Leopold coach Shawn Kinder said. "Last time we played Bell City it came down to free throws."

Last time Leopold played Bell City, the Cubs hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to the send it to overtime before winning it. The Wildcats shot 63 percent (15 of 24) from the line in that game. They improved to 69 percent (24 of 35) in Tuesday's game.

"If we wouldn't have hit our free throws, we probably would have gotten real close and gone to overtime again," Leopold senior David Fluchel said. "It's pretty crucial hitting free throws. We stepped up to the line and hit all the important ones."

Bell City led for most of the first half and didn't trail until late in the second quarter. But Leopold's offense heated up in the second half. The Wildcats shot 52 percent (12 of 23) from the field after the intermission.

One of the keys for Leopold was attacking Bell City's 7-footer, Skylor Blackler.

"We had to go at Skylor and maybe try to take our game to him, try to get him in foul trouble early in the game," Kinder said. "I felt like we did that."

Blackler picked up his third personal foul with more than five minutes left in the second quarter. His fourth came just before the end of the third quarter. The Wildcats chose to attack Blackler. Their main weapon was Seabaugh, who scored a game-high 24 points. He kept catching passes before dribbling behind Blackler then throwing up shots. Seabaugh was thankful Blackler landed in foul trouble.

"It's a big difference," Seabaugh said. "He's a pretty big guy. He's pretty good."

Jason Hess nailed a 3-pointer with 35 seconds left in the third quarter to pull the Cubs within 40-38. The Wildcats went on a 6-0 run by converting six straight free throws to pad their lead. But Hess hit two more 3s, the second cutting Bell City's deficit to 48-44.

Leopold used a 7-0 run later in the quarter to extinguish the Cubs' hopes and give the Wildcats the chance to play in the tournament for the fourth time this year.

Leopold 7 18 17 24 -- 66

Bell City 14 12 12 18 -- 56

LEOPOLD (66) -- Kyle Stroder 4, Josh Stoverink 4, David Fluchel 13, Ryan Davis 1, John Bohnsack 9, Lance Seiler 11, Anthony Seabaugh 24. FG 20, FT 24-35, F 15. (3-pointers: Bohnsack 1, Seiler 1. Fouled out: none)

BELL CITY (56) -- Skylor Blackler 12, Jason Hess 15, Leonard Schaefer 2, Jeff Long 17, Jason Miller 4, Terrance Johnson 6. FG 19, FT 11-19, F 22. (3-pointers: Hess 4, J. Long 1, Johnson 2. Fouled out: none)