Bell City boys basketball team downs Oak Ridge in first round of district tournament

BELL CITY, Mo. -- Defense proved to be the key in the Bell City boys' basketball win Monday night.

The Cubs shot 28 percent in the first half but used a 10-1 spurt to separate themselves from Oak Ridge and carry a nine-point lead into halftime.

Bell City hung on for a 69-47 win over the Blue Jays in the first round of the Class 1 District 2 Tournament at Bell City High School.

"It's always good to have more energy than no energy," Bell City coach CJ Hadley said. "I feel like we were always on the same page. I'm always worried that we either have good help defense or we don't guard well, but tonight we had good help defense and guarded the ball well, too."

The Cubs fell behind by four points in the first quarter before Kolten Siebert hit a 3-pointer to spark an 11-4 spurt for Bell City (12-14), which held a 17-14 lead heading into the second frame.

Despite missing only one shot in the opening period, Oak Ridge (3-20) committed nine turnovers and struggled to keep up with the Cubs' pace. The Blue Jays finished with 27 turnovers.

"They play one of the most fundamentally sound man-to-man defenses that we've seen this year, and they get down and guard you," Oak Ridge coach Adam Stoneking said. "They don't reach a lot, and they play good help defense. ... They switched to a zone that gave us some issues at the end of the first half."

Oak Ridge tied the game twice in the second period before Bell City pulled away for a 30-21 lead at the break. The Cubs held the Blue Jays to 2-of-11 (18 percent) shooting from the floor in the second quarter, during which Bell City sophomore Cole Nichols contributed 11 of his game-high 23 points.

"We took a turning point," Hadley said about the second quarter. "We started playing. We started getting buckets. We started cutting, and we started getting things that we wanted. We kind of slowed down and took a little piece of energy from it. We started playing together."

Junior Nate Finney scored eight of his 21 points for Bell City in the third quarter as the Cubs pushed their lead to 52-35 heading into the final period.

Hadley was pleased with the way his team was able to make adjustments.

"My kids listen to me, and I respect them for that. ... I was just proud of them," Hadley said. "It's always good to play again."

Junior Nathan Bolin netted a team-high 17 points on 8-of-11 (73 percent) shooting from the field for Oak Ridge.

"He's really come on strong for us late this season," Stoneking said about Bolin. "He's really starting to score the ball a little bit more. When you get three fouls in the second quarter, it's kind of hard to play through that. ... He still played smart and played aggressive, and that's what you want your kids to do."

Senior Joseph Grieme contributed 12 points for the Blue Jays, who shot 17 of 40 (43 percent) from the floor.

"I was proud of the effort," Stoneking said. "I was really proud of our seniors. They worked hard throughout the whole season."

Siebert added 12 points for Bell City, which will face second-seeded Advance in a semifinal at 7:45 p.m. today.

"I respect Advance. Advance is a good team, and we're also a good team," Hadley said. "We're going to need all of our players. We're not a good enough team where one or two of our players can carry us. All five of our players, including the bench, have to play well. It's going to be a tough challenge, and I'm ready for it."

Oak Ridge 14 7 14 12 -- 47

Bell City 17 13 22 17 -- 69

OAK RIDGE (47) -- Nathan Bolin 17, Joseph Grieme 12, Steven Masterson 7, Jacob Seabaugh 5, Clayton Maintz 4, Kyle Keller 2. FG 17-40, FT 10-19, F 16. (3-pointers: Bolin 1, Seabaugh 1, Grieme 1. Fouled out: None.)

BELL CITY (69) -- Cole Nichols 23, Nate Finney 21, Kolten Siebert 12, Austin Hicks 5, Bobby Wright 5, Peyton Maddox 2, Tyler Evans 1. FG 26-74, FT 7-15, F 21. (3-pointers: Siebert 4, Finney 2, Nichols 2, Hicks 1, Wright 1. Fouled out: None.)

Oran 68, The Fulton School 19

Jacob Priggel scored a game-high 20 points to lead No. 1 Oran to a first-round win over No. 8 The Fulton School at St. Albans.

Oran (18-8) knocked down its first six field goals and raced out to a 26-4 lead by the end of the first quarter.

Hunter Schlosser added 15 points for Oran, and Thomas Trankler contributed 14 points. Oran will face fifth-seeded Richland in a semifinal at 6:30 p.m. today. Richland knocked off No. 4 Risco in a 43-40 decision to conclude Monday's action.

Liu Bowen scored nine points to pace The Fulton School at St. Albans (16-9).

Fulton School 4 5 7 3 -- 19

Oran 26 11 24 7 -- 68

THE FULTON SCHOOL AT ST. ALBANS (19) -- Liu Bowen 9, Paul Hofstetter 4, Brendan Shine 4, Jack Rawlins 2. FG 8, FT 3-5, F 14. (3-pointers: None. Fouled out: None.)

ORAN (68) -- Jacob Priggel 20, Hunter Schlosser 15, Thomas Trankler 14, Max Priggel 8, Layne Johnson 4, Jason Bennett 4, Cole Priggel 3. FG 25, FT 8-11, F 13. (3-pointers: J. Priggel 4, M. Priggel 2, Schlosser 2, Trankler 1. Fouled out: None.)

Advance 78, Delta 16

Brian Whitson and Austin Ladd each scored 10 points as the second-seeded Hornets came away with an opening-round victory over No. 7 Delta.

Advance (14-10) jumped out to a 21-4 lead at the end of the first quarter and extended its lead to 46-10 at the break.

Delta (0-20) was led by nine points from Destin Carroll.

Delta 4 6 4 2 -- 16

Advance 21 25 21 11 -- 78

DELTA (16) -- Destin Carroll 9, Charlie Ledbetter 5, Jeremy Perry 2. FG 5, FT 5-9, F 13. (3-pointers: Ledbetter 1. Fouled out: Garrett Miller.)

ADVANCE (78) -- Brian Whitson 10, Austin Ladd 10, Preston Wuebker 8, Dalton Wilson 8, Brandon Sokolowski 8, CJ Seger 7, Grant Woodfin 7, Armani Vermillion 6, Brendan Crader 6, Dawson Mayo 3, Luke Shelby 2. FG 31, FT 11-16, F 7. (3-pointers: Seger 2, Whitson 1, Woodfin 1, Crader 1. Fouled out: None.)