Beel's 37 leads Woodland boys basketball in Class 3 District 2 win over Kelly

Woodland senior Zach Beel decided to take the reins with his team clinging to a four-point lead at halftime of Saturday's game.

The 6-foot-6 Beel finished with a season-high 37 points in leading the third-seeded Cardinals to an 81-63 win over sixth-seeded Kelly in the opening round of the Class 3 District 2 Boys Basketball Tournament at Scott City High School.

He scored 18 of his team's 22 third-quarter points, as Woodland (20-6) built an 11-point lead heading into the final period.

"We really came together there after halftime and started executing on offense and getting more stops on defense," Beel said. "... I just knew that this could be it, so I did whatever I could do to get the win.

The Cardinals advance to the semifinals to face second-seeded Saxony Lutheran at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Crusaders cruised past No. 7 Clearwater 73-41 earlier in the day.

"We've got to prepare for them just like any other game," Woodland coach Logan Nutt said. "This is what we want. We want to play good teams. We want to play the best teams, and I think it'll be a great challenge for us."

A 3-pointer by Bruester Young gave the Cardinals an 11-3 lead with 3 minutes remaining in the first quarter. Maurice Davis got a steal and converted on the other end as the buzzer sounded, capping a 6-2 run that drew Kelly (10-13) within four points, 13-9, heading into the second quarter.

The Hawks used another 6-2 spurt to draw the first of four ties in the second quarter. Kelly led by as many as four points in the period when Cayden Williams banked in a triple from the left key with 2:14 left until the break.

Beel led the charge in the final 1:42 of the half, scoring eight points during a 10-4 Woodland run. His 3-pointer from the left corner put the Cardinals ahead for good, and Young followed with another at the buzzer, giving Woodland a 34-30 advantage at halftime.

"Kelly came out and reminded us of what district basketball is all about," Nutt said. "It's win or go home. They brought it. They were tough. They were pushing us around a little bit, and it took us a little while to adapt to the style of play. After the second half, we did better executing on offense and looking for big Zach.

"He was a monster. He dominated. He did a great job, but it took us a while to realize that this is districts. Everything's going to be tougher. Everything's going to be more hectic."

Davis knocked down a jumper along the baseline that pulled the Hawks within three with 4:16 to go in the third period, and the Cardinals countered with another big run.

Beel provided 11 points during a 13-5 run in the latter half of the quarter. Woodland carried a 56-45 lead into the final quarter.

Young, a junior, contributed 14 points for the Cardinals, while Long notched 12 points. Woodland finished 19 of 31 (61 percent) at the free-throw line.

Kelly assistant coach Justin McAlister filled in for head coach Ryan Garnett, who was unable to coach the game after being called for two technical fouls in the Hawks' regular-season finale against Bell City.

McAlister said he was proud of his players' effort and how they were able to execute the game plan.

"I thought we matched them punch for punch in the second half. I think the difference was they've got about six inches that we don't have," McAlister said. "I thought [Jacob] McClain -- I don't care what the box score says as far as stats -- did a phenomenal job on Beel. I thought he gave everything he had to give defensively against him. ... Beel was the difference, and we kind of thought that he would be."

Senior Ty Householder finished with 20 points to lead Kelly. Senior Levi Alsup added 14 points, while Williams chipped in 12 points.

The Hawks graduate seven seniors from this year's team, and McAlister believes they'll be greatly missed.

"When I came to Kelly last year as the head baseball coach and assistant basketball coach, [Garnett] and I kind of got together on a vision of trying to turn things around at Kelly in terms of just pride and being competitive," McAlister said. "... The boys bought into that, but it was that senior class that bought into it."

Kelly 9 21 15 18 -- 63

Woodland 13 21 22 25 -- 81

KELLY (63) -- Ty Householder 20, Levi Alsup 14, Cayden Williams 12, Maurice Davis 9, Jacob McClain 6, Conner Ditlinger 2. FG 23, FT 11-16, F 25. (3-pointers: Williams 4, Householder 1, Alsup 1. Fouled out: Householder, McClain.)

WOODLAND (81) -- Zach Beel 37, Bruester Young 14, Jacob Long 12, Cole Schlief 9, Michael McCormick 6, Tyler Womack 3. FG 29, FT 19-31, F 18. (3-pointers: Beel 2, Young 2. Fouled out: None.)