Balanced Oran boys basketball blitzes Bell City in Oran Invitational quarterfinal

ORAN, Mo. -- On its home floor, in the tournament to which it provides its name, the Oran boys basketball team took care of business Tuesday night.

The Eagles used big first and third quarters to maintain firm control in a 68-39 opening-round -- and season-opening -- win over Bell City in the 2015 Oran Invitational at Oran High School, ensuring a chalk semifinal round with each of the top four seeds moving on in the winner's bracket.

Oran, the four seed, will face Scott County Central (1), while Malden (2) and Advance (3) will duel in Thursday's semifinals.

In the final quarterfinal matchup of the tournament, the hosts ran out to a 17-3 lead to begin the game, and then opened the second half on a 12-0 run. Bell City, the fifth seed, had closed the deficit to seven points late in the second quarter, but the game was never closer than that.

All five Oran (1-0) starters scored in double digits, led by Cole Priggel's 16. Layne Johnson added 14, Jacob Shoemaker had 12 and Max Priggel and Garrison Mangels each had 10. Johnson added four assists and six rebounds while Cole Priggel also had six boards.

"I think we've got very balanced scoring and the thing with this group is we've got different guys that can lead us," Oran coach Joe Shoemaker said. "They do a pretty good job of playing unselfish with each other, recognizing who's hot and taking advantage of it. Of course it's early, but this group isn't worried about who's scoring, and that's nice.

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com Bell City's Cole Nichols recovers a loose ball as Oran's Jacob Shoemaker, left, and Max Priggel look on during the third quarter of a first-round game in the Oran Invitational Tournament on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015 in Oran, Missouri.

"We got off to a good start at the beginning and we got off to a good start in the second half. But we're a little bit out of shape still. We've got some work to get in shape and some things to clean up. But the kids played hard and for the most part they played together, so that was good to see."

Bell City (0-1) was paced by 15 points from Cole Nichols. Peyton Maddox added eight points and seven rebounds. Down a man, the already depth-depleted Cubs had only six players to put on the floor.

"We've got to play through being tired -- I felt like we got tired out there," Bell City coach CJ Hadley said. "[Oran] worked the ball real good, and that's what I've explained to our kids -- because our numbers are small, you've got to work the ball and use our energy on defense. We took a lot of quick shots, and that made us run and get back on defense a lot. I feel like we played defense more than we played offense."

Bell City certainly was on its heels in the early going. The Eagles punished the Cubs for early turnovers and kept the pace high. By the time Max Priggel dropped the ball in on the fast break at 2:03 of the first quarter, Oran was already up 22-5.

"I always tell my players the first five minutes are the most important time of the game, and we just rushed everything," Hadley said. "They put a press on us and we just went 100. We didn't slow down or take our time, we were just in a rush."

Nichols hit back-to-back buckets -- including a 3 -- to staunch the bleeding, and the teams went to the second period with the hosts leading 24-10.

The Cubs were able to claw their way back into it in the second quarter, as Nichols hit another 3 and Maddox got three the hard way to cut into the deficit. With 2:35 remaining in the half Taylor Jackson hit a jump shot to pull his side within seven, 28-21.

"Bell City played hard and disciplined and were down a man so they only had six players," coach Shoemaker said. "Those guys played their butts off tonight."

Oran's Jacob Shoemaker passes the ball around Bell City's Kolten Siebert during the third quarter of a first-round game in the Oran Invitational Tournament on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015 in Oran, Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

Oran grabbed momentum back before halftime by going on a 6-0 run into the locker room, with Preston Hahn stealing the ball and getting it to Max Priggel for a layup at the buzzer and a 31-14 Eagle lead midway through the game.

Any hopes Bell City had of cutting into the deficit again were dashed quickly once the game resumed, as Oran picked up the pace again and pushed out on a 12-0 run that included six points in transition, with Cole Priggel dominating the quarter with 10 points in the frame.

Maddox stopped the swing with a jumper at 3:26 of the period, but a 20-point lead was a comfortable one for the Eagles.

"The first game is always good because you can see where you're at, what you can work on and what you can adjust," Hadley said. "I tell the kids, 'Keep your head up. It's just the first day of the season and we've got a full season to get it fixed.' I feel like we'll take care of it and be better next time."

Bell City will play in a consolation semifinal against Chaffee at 5 p.m. Thursday. Following that game, Oran will face top seed Scott County Central in the first winner's semifinal. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

Malden will play Advance in the second winner's semifinal at 8 p.m.

Oran 68, Bell City 39

Bell City 10 11 10 8 -- 39

Oran 24 10 21 13 -- 68

Bell City (39) -- Kolten Siebert 6, Brandon Abner 2, Cole Nichols 15, Peyton Maddox 8, Bobby Wright 4, Taylor Jackson 4. FG 14-47, FT 8-11, F 12. (3-pointers: Nichols 3. Fouled out: none.)

Oran (68) -- Cole Pirggel 16, Jacob Shoemaker 12, Max Priggel 10, Layne Johnson 14, Garrison Mangels 10, Preston Hahn 6. FG 29-52, FT 6-9, F 16. (3-pointers: Shoemaker 2, Johnson 2. Fouled out: none.)

Kelly 76, Richland 58

Isai Campos sank a game-high 14 points as the sixth-seeded Hawks defeated seventh-seeded Rebels in a fouling-plagued consolation semifinal.

The Hawks led 34-22 at halftime in a game that saw a total of 57 fouls committed.

Maurice Davis added 12 points and Ty Householder tossed in 10 for Kelly (1-1).

Josh Thornton had 13 points and Brandon Partenberry added 12 points for Richland (0-2) .

Kelly will face the winner of Thursday's 5 p.m. consolation semifinal between fifth-seeded Bell City (0-1) and eighth-seeded Chaffee (0-2) for the consolation title at 5 p.m. Friday.

Richland 10 12 15 21 -- 58

Kelly 15 19 16 26 -- 76

RICHLAND (ESSEX) (58) -- Riley Glass 6, Devin Stoker 8, Brandon Partenberry 12, Preston Tilley 9, Josh Thornton 13, Josh Shidler 8, Clayton Harriel 2. FG 15, FT 16-29, F 30 (3-pointers: Partenberry 2, Tilley, Shidler. Fouled out: Austin Elledge, Glass, Shidler.)

KELLY (76) -- Quintin Lara 3, Kade Proctor 6, Ty Householder 10, Levi Alsup 7, Jacob McClain 7, Maurice Davis 12, Skylar Lemons 9, Isai Campos 14, Conner Dittlinger 8. FG 15, FT 28-47, F 27 (3-pointers: Lemons 3, Lara, Householder, Campos. Fouled out: Davis.)