Jays cap big day with a victory

~ Oak Ridge climbed into the Class 2 state rankings, then defeated Oran 52-46

OAK RIDGE, Mo. -- The Oak Ridge High School boys basketball team was happy enough simply to have beaten visiting Oran on Tuesday night.

The Blue Jays received even more good news minutes after their hard-fought 52-46 win when they were informed they had cracked the state rankings for what is believed to be the first time in school history.

"I didn't know it," senior guard Garret Light said with a smile. "That's awesome."

Oak Ridge (12-3) was No. 10 in the Class 2 state poll that came out earlier in the day, replacing Oran (11-6) in that spot.

"I'm sure it's the first time ever [to be ranked]," Oak Ridge coach Adam Stoneking said. "It's great for the program and I'm happy for the kids. They've worked hard."

Said junior forward Brett Thomas: "We try not to look at it [the state poll]. You could get beat in the first round of the district tournament and it doesn't mean anything. But it's nice to know people recognize us."

Speaking of the district tournament, Stoneking placed special emphasis on Tuesday's game because of that.

By knocking off another strong Class 2 District 3 tournament entry, Oak Ridge should be in line for a high seed. Bernie, ranked eighth in the state, is probably the current favorite to be seeded first.

"We talked about if we wanted to be one of the top three seeds, we had to win this game," Stoneking said. "Now we could possibly even be as high as number one."

Thomas was a major reason the Blue Jays were able to finally subdue Oran down the stretch of a physical battle that featured 12 lead changes, six ties and no margin greater than seven points.

Thomas scored 15 of his game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter, including a 3-pointer one minute into the period that put the Blue Jays ahead to stay at 37-35.

Another 3-pointer by Thomas with just over five minutes left made it 42-37 for Oak Ridge's biggest lead since 8-2 in the first quarter.

"I knew we were struggling on offense and they were backing up on our drives," Thomas said of his crucial 3-pointers. "I was open, and it felt good."

Finally able to build just a sliver of breathing room, the Blue Jays finished off Oran from the free-throw line by making 8 of 10 in the final 1:16, including 5 of 6 from Thomas.

Oak Ridge hit 12 of 14 free throws in the fourth quarter, with Thomas nailing 7 of 8. The Blue Jays were a sizzling 21 of 25 from the charity stripe in the game (84 percent).

"Free throws were the key," said Light, who added 13 points for the Blue Jays. "We lost a couple of games because of our free-throw shooting, but we picked it up tonight."

Oran was still alive after a basket by junior center Jon Morrow with 45 seconds left made it 48-45, but Thomas hit 3 of 4 free throws and senior center Logan Mangels 1 of 2 for a 52-45 advantage that was the night's biggest.

Mangels contributed nine points for Oak Ridge.

"At the end we made shots and we made free throws," Stoneking said.

Junior forward Nathan Michelsen led Oran with 15 points.

Morrow, one of the area's better inside players, battled foul trouble much of the game and was limited to nine points. He had only three second-half points.

"It took away some of his aggressiveness," Oran coach Joe Shoemaker said of Morrow's foul problems.

Shoemaker, whose squad was outscored from the free-throw line by 13 points -- Oran hit 8 of 14 -- credited Oak Ridge for a strong performance.

"It went back and forth, like I thought it would," Shoemaker said. "We played a well-coached team that hit their free throws in the fourth quarter and took care of the ball."

The bulky Thomas, despite professing to be worn out, said he relished the numerous physical battles that took place.

"I like these kind of games. It was fun," he said. "It was just a hard-fought game. I'm glad we came out on top."

Oran 5 15 13 13 -- 46

Oak Ridge 8 14 10 20 -- 52

ORAN (46) -- Caleb Priggel 3, Preston Scherer 7, Gabe Kielhofner 5, Nathan Michelsen 15, Zac Chasteen 3, Reece Mangels 4, Jon Morrow 9. FG 18, FT 8-14, F 20. (3-pointers: Scherer 1, Michelsen 1. Fouled out: Kielhofner)

OAK RIDGE (52) -- Stephen Bolen 2, Caleb Elam 4, Garret Light 13, Brett Thomas 24, Logan Mangels 9. FG 14, FT 21-25, F 15. (3-pointers: Thomas 3. Fouled out: Light, Mangels)

JV -- Oak Ridge 42, Oran 34