Christmas tournament: Oran wears down Delta

It took a while in Monday's rematch, but Oran ultimately posted a similar result to the first time it played Delta this season.

The sixth-seeded Eagles broke open a tight game late in the first half and rolled to a 62-31 win over the 11th-seeded Bobcats in the opening round of the 66th annual Southeast Missourian Christmas tournament.

Oran routed Delta by 30 points when the teams met Dec. 17.

The Eagles (7-1) advanced to today's 7:30 p.m. quarterfinal game against third-seeded Jackson. The Bobcats (4-4) face 14th-seeded Scott City in a noon consolation quarterfinal.

"We had a very slow start. We came out kind of stagnant," Oran coach Joe Shoemaker said. "But you just try to win that first one and get out. We'll have to play a whole lot better [against Jackson]."

Delta held early leads of 2-0 and 4-2 before entering the second quarter trailing just 14-10. And that was despite the Bobcats making only 1 of 8 free throws.

"We didn't come out too hot. We weren't as competitive as we should have been," Oran senior center Jon Morrow said. "We just realized they're still in this ballgame. We needed to turn it up."

The Bobcats still were within four points at 20-16 midway through the second period when the roof began to cave in.

Oran scored the final 10 points of the half -- six by senior guard Tyler Heuring and four by senior guard Preston Scherer -- to lead 30-16.

"We just didn't come out ready," Oran senior forward Reece Mangels said. "At halftime we realized they're in this game. Coach got on us at halftime. We usually play a lot better when he does that."

The Eagles broke open things with a 27-8 third-quarter advantage to go up 57-24.

Oran then scored the first five points of the final period to complete a staggering 42-8 run that made it 62-24.

The entire fourth quarter was played with a running clock that is used when there is at least a 30-point lead.

"We shared the ball a lot better in the second half," Shoemaker said.

Morrow and Heuring led Oran with 14 points apiece. Mangels added 13 points.

Mangels pulled down 12 rebounds for a double-double, while Morrow just missed a double-double with nine rebounds to go with five blocked shots.

The 6-foot-5 Morrow and 6-4 Mangels dominated inside during the second half after the smaller Bobcats, who have no player taller than 6-2, held their own on the interior during the opening two quarters.

Junior forward Austin Lashley paced Delta with 10 points. The Bobcats wound up hitting just 7 of 23 free throws (30 percent).

"I think we played for about a quarter and a half then we got away from what we were doing, like being patient with the ball," Delta coach Justin Simpher said. "I didn't feel like we ran our halfcourt offense well the second half."

Delta 10 6 8 7 -- 31

Oran 14 16 27 5 -- 62

DELTA (31) -- Greg Brawley 3, Brandon Horman 3, Zach Riegert 4, Chase Crowden 4, Austin Lashley 10, Frankie Rozmirsky 1, Dallas Naramore 6. FG 11, FT 7-23, F 7. (3-pointers: Horman 1, Crowden 1. Fouled out: none)

ORAN (62) -- Caleb Priggel 2, Nathan Michelsen 7, Preston Scherer 9, Kody Moore 3, Tyler Heuring 14, Reece Mangels 13, Jon Morrow 14. FG 28, FT 2-4, F 17. (3-pointers: Michelsen 1, Scherer 1, Moore 1, Mangels 1. Fouled out: none)