Oran boys basketball team edges Chaffee, survives in Christmas Tournament consolation final

At the start of the fourth quarter of Wednesday's consolation championship in the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament, the Chaffee boys basketball team was down one point, positioned right where it wanted to be.

The Red Devils played spoiler in back-to-back upsets to get to Day 4 action, but Oran wasn't ready to let it happen again.

The ninth-seeded Eagles struggled offensively but got the job done by limiting 14th-seeded Chaffee to only four points in the fourth quarter, claiming ninth place with a 38-32 victory at the Show Me Center.

Oran (6-5) finished 15 of 46 (33 percent) from the floor, but coach Joe Shoemaker was happy to see his players use defense to compensate for their shooting woes. He also credited Chaffee for a defensive effort that held the Eagles in check throughout the game.

"You've got to take your hat off to Chaffee. They dictated the tempo a lot," Shoemaker said. "... I give our guys credit. They battled through it, and it didn't seem like there were very many that could get anything positive going, as far as on the offensive end. We just never could get in a rhythm, and a lot of that was because of their defense."

Chaffee (3-8) had its chances in the fourth quarter. Garrison Mangels hit a pair of free throws, and Max Priggel knocked down a 3-pointer from the left corner to put the Eagles ahead 34-28 with 6 minutes, 49 seconds remaining in the game. Alec Bogenpohl drove in for a layup to pull the Red Devils within four points, but they were never able to draw any closer.

Oran struggled from the free-throw line in the final period, shooting 4 of 12 (33 percent), and Chaffee failed to capitalize on a number of scoring chances. Bogenpohl led all scorers with 16 points to go along with six rebounds.

Chaffee's Landon Tenkhoff looks to pass around Oran defense during the second quarter in the consolation championship game of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015 at the Show Me Center. (Glenn Landberg)

Chaffee coach Josh Govreau liked the effort he saw from his players but wanted them to be more aggressive driving to the basket in the fourth quarter, during which his team was outscored 9-4.

"If you would have told me before the game that they were only going to have 38 points, I really would have loved our chances. We just struggled to get the ball in the hole," Govreau said. "We've done a good job of getting to the free-throw line in this tournament. That's why I said we've got to put more of an emphasis on getting there. We had one free throw all game. If we're keeping the game low scoring, we've got to be attacking the basket, getting offensive rebounds and getting to the free-throw line."

The Red Devils finished 14 of 46 (30 percent) from the floor. They hauled in 21 rebounds compared to Oran's 50 boards.

Layne Johnson had a double-double to lead the way for the Eagles. He had a team-high 12 points and 13 rebounds to go along with four assists. Mangels added seven points and 11 boards while Cole Priggel contributed 10 points.

"Offense comes and goes, and there are going to be days you don't hit shots," Shoemaker said. "This is probably one of the few games this year that nobody seemed like they could buy a shot for us, but defense and rebounding should be two staples. And we did those pretty well."

Oran turned a slow start into a 12-5 lead at the end of the first quarter. Chaffee faced its largest deficit of the game, 16-9, when Govreau called a timeout with 3:45 left in the first half, but Bogenpohl and Jordan Wilburn each connected from beyond the arc to pull Chaffee within one point at the 3:01 mark of the second quarter.

The Red Devils trailed 20-17 at halftime, and Govreau was happy with the way his players kept the Eagles from putting together any sort of substantial run.

Oran's Jacob Shoemaker drives past Chaffee's Alec Bogenpohl during the fourth quarter in the consolation championship game of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015 at the Show Me Center. (Glenn Landberg)

"We could've hung our heads right there and let them go on a run, but we kept battling and stuck to our game plan," Govreau said. "We kept playing defense and made them work for stuff."

Chaffee fell behind by as many as five points in the third quarter but managed to tie the game three times in the period. Bogenpohl tied the game at 28-all when he drove from the baseline at the 3:03 mark of the quarter, but Preston Hahn hit a free throw with 1:14 remaining to give Oran a 29-28 advantage heading into the final period. The Eagles never trailed in the game.

Shoemaker said the lack of offense led to some unwanted frustration, which allowed Chaffee to keep the game close in the second half.

"Our kids have got to mature a little bit and let that go and continue to play. We were frustrated with ourselves and with each other simply because we weren't hitting shots we normally hit," Shoemaker said. "We did come out with a nice start, but we did turn the ball over four times early. I thought if we wouldn't have had those four turnovers, we could have had better possessions."

Shoemaker was pleased to see his defense buckle down in the final eight minutes, during which Bogenpohl was held to only two points.

"I thought we did a little better job late," Shoemaker said. "Of course, there at the very end, he took two or three layups. We were trying not to foul, but we did a better job of sticking with him. I noticed at the end of quarters that we had some guys that denied him the ball, which is something we talked about."

After back-to-back upset victories, the Red Devils wrapped up their tournament run with a 10th-place finish, and there weren't many people who expected to see them playing on Day 4, Govreau included.

"They left it all out there on the floor and have grown so much better these last few days," Govreau said. "We weren't thinking we'd be here on Day 4, so that's an accomplishment. Where we're at now, I expected to get to but not this early in the year, considering how young we are. We got on a high in this tournament, so we've got to not go back the other way. We need to keep building and keep getting better."

Oran concluded the tournament with a 3-1 record, and Shoemaker called the accomplishment "a nice feather in the hat."

"We've lost a couple close games early in the year, so it's nice to see the kids come back and battle and not just let down and stop playing defense and rebounding when you're not hitting your shots," Shoemaker said. "It's something I hope we can build on and continue to get better."

Chaffee 5 12 11 4 -- 32

Oran 12 8 9 9 -- 38

CHAFFEE (32) -- Alec Bogenpohl 16, Landon Tenkhoff 8, Jordan Wilburn 3, Austin Copeland 3, Gabe Henson 2. FG 14, FT 1-1, F 12. (3-pointers: Wilburn, Bogenpohl, Copeland. Fouled out: Wilburn.)

ORAN (38) -- Layne Johnson 12, Cole Priggel 10, Max Priggel 8, Garrison Mangels 7, Preston Hahn 1. FG 15, FT 6-16, F 9. (3-pointers: M. Priggel 2. Fouled out: None.)