2023 Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament: Roller coaster contest sees Bell City eliminate Leopold

A game that featured five ties and 11 lead changes swung in favor of the Bell City Cubs as they downed the Leopold Wildcats 48-45 on Wednesday.

The win advances the Cubs to day three of the tournament for the first time since 2016.

“I’m extremely proud of this group,” Bell City coach Luke Bixler said. “They’ve been battle-tested all year long and we’ve been in a lot of close games so to finally come out on top of one after what feels like forever is great.”

An inspiring start defensively allowed the Cubs to jump out to a 7-2 lead that would eventually be a 15-12 lead after the first quarter for Bell City.

“That’s something we’ve really been focusing on,” Bixler said of his defense. “It was a full team effort today and I’m proud of all the guys that contributed.”

Leading the first quarter charge for the Cubs was Kale Richardson who had seven of the 15 first quarter points.

Bell City led by as many as seven in the second quarter but it was Leopold’s turn to be relentless as they closed the first half on a 6-0 run to trail 25-24 entering the locker room at halftime.

“We just needed to stay the course,” Bixler said. “Basketball is a game of runs.”

Perhaps the biggest challenge Bell City faced in the first half was the fact that both Kale Richardson and Dawson Loomes picked up three fouls before the halfway mark of the second quarter.

The second half began with both teams trading buckets before the Wildcats took a 30-27 lead early in the third quarter.

A Bell City three would tie the game at 30 and the Cubs would eventually go on to take a 38-35 lead into the fourth quarter.

“Against a zone you tend to see a lot of three-point shots going up,” Bixler said. “I’m glad we were able to hit some.”

The back-and-forth affair continued into the fourth quarter as the Wildcats opened the frame on a 6-0 run to claim a 41-38 lead with just over four minutes remaining in regulation.

Bell City responded with a 6-0 run of its own to take a 44-41 lead that the Cubs wouldn’t relinquish down the stretch to eliminate the Wildcats.

“We have a very tough group,” Bixler said. “These guys want to win so bad. We’re trying to establish a winning culture and we have the right guys in the locker room to do that.”

The Cubs were led by Brandon Hudson and Kale Richardson who both poured in 14 points in the win for Bell City.

On the opposing end, Leopold was led by Preston Campbell who tallied 15 points in the loss.

Leopold (4-6) is back in action at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 5, when the Wildcats travel to take on Gideon.

Bell City (1-7) advances to the consolation semifinal to take on the winner of Advance and Chaffee at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 28, at the Show Me Center.

“Again we have to show that resiliency,” Bixler said. “We need to make sure we keep it up on the defensive end as well.”