2023 Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament: Oran advances to consolation semifinal with win over Delta

A third-quarter surge proved to be the difference as the Oran Eagles eliminated the Delta Bobcats by a score of 59-44 on Wednesday.

Both the Bobcats and Eagles came out aggressive as the two clubs traded buckets but it was Delta taking a 17-12 lead after the first quarter behind six early points from Isaiah Berry.

“We’ve just not been very consistent,” Oran coach Joe Shoemaker said. “I’ve not done a good job of getting us to consistently play hard and disciplined. We made some adjustments during the game on that part.”

While it was Berry taking over the first quarter for Delta, it was Nolan Loper taking over the second quarter for Oran as the senior drilled three threes in the quarter, as well as 14 points in the half to send the Eagles into halftime with a 33-25 lead.

“He plays hard,” Shoemaker said of Loper. “He’s a little banged up right now but when he plays hard he’s a dangerous kid scoring.”

The eight-point halftime lead for Oran quickly ballooned to as many as 18 in the third quarter for the Eagles.

“We were just more disciplined with the basketball and with our shot selection,” Shoemaker said.

Oran won the third-quarter 15-8 to take a commanding 48-33 lead into the fourth quarter.

The big third quarter was more than enough to allow the Eagles to cruise to the victory over Delta.

Shoemaker felt his team did a good job of playing with the lead for the entirety of the second half.

“We have a couple things to clean up but for the most part we were pretty disciplined and let time and score dictate how we play,” Shoemaker said.

Oran was led by Loper and Elijah Shoemaker who both had 14 points in the win.

Also scoring in double-digits was Cooper Senciboy with 13 points and Carson Kern with 10 points.

“This group is very unselfish,” Shoemaker said. “In order for us to be successful we need to have multiple guys in double figures.”

On the other side for the Bobcats, it was Casey Crowden leading the charge with 13 points in the loss.

Delta (2-6) is back in action at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 2, when the Bobcats host Advance at Delta High School.

Oran (4-6) advances to the consolation semifinals where the Eagles will battle Scott County Central at 12 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 28, at the Show Me Center.