Bell City captures Oran tourney title

~ The Cubs scored a 57-52 victory over Twin Rivers by putting three players in double figures.

With 6-foot-10 junior Will Bogan in foul trouble throughout Friday's championship game of the 50th annual Oran Invitational Tournament, No. 2 Bell City was at a bit of a height disadvantage against top-seeded Twin Rivers.

The Royals had three players 6-3 or taller in their lineup, while 6-2 senior Jeff Liggins was often Bell City's tallest player on the floor. Despite any size the Cubs may have been giving up, Bell City dominated the game physically and withstood a fourth-quarter charge to claim the title 57-52.

Bogan, who finished with 31 points including a game-winning putback at the buzzer in the semifinals, fouled out Friday and finished with just two points.

"The Bogan kid was in a lot of foul trouble tonight," first-year Bell City coach Brian Brandtner said. "Tonight, we showed two things: A, we're not a finesse team; and B, we can win without one of our stars on the floor."

Bell City had built a 17-point lead with less than 3 minutes remaining in the third quarter. A run for the Royals cut the lead to 47-36 heading into the final period, as Bogan picked up his fourth foul with about 2 minutes left in the quarter.

"I thought we did an outstanding job against the big kid," Twin Rivers coach Jim Vaughan. "We knew we could get him into foul trouble."

The Cubs came out sharp in the fourth, pushing the lead back to 51-37 early in the quarter. Twin Rivers used three 3-pointers for a 13-0 run to close to within 51-50 with less than 4 minutes remaining.

Nick Niemczyk ended the run with a pair of free throws, and Twin Rivers managed just one field goal the rest of the way. Marty Dames scored the final four points for the Cubs, which claimed their first Oran tournament title since 1980. Twin Rivers, the defending tournament champion, had won five of the past six Oran Tournaments.

"It's just an awesome feeling," Brandtner said. "I think our defense is coming around. We held an awesome player [Michael Lance] to 11 points with three field goals. I can't say enough about the job Jeff Liggins, Marty Dames and Phillip Gross did against him."

Niemczyk led the Cubs with 17 points, including three 3-pointers. Dames added 11 points for the Cubs. Blaine Stewart added 11 points off the bench.

"Blaine's good enough to be a starter," Brandtner said. "Every once in a while you need that sparkplug off the bench."

For Niemczyk, the performance was even more impressive considering he hurt his thumb in the Cubs' opener on Monday.

"Tonight," Brandtner said, "the difference to me was the our ability to hit the big 3s, and he's [Niemczyk] going to be a big part of our offense."

Jimmy Cornell finished with 14 points to lead the Royals, including four 3-pointers. Kade McBroom added 13 points for Twin Rivers, including seven points in the fourth quarter.

"I thought Bell City was a little tougher than we were physically," Vaughan said. "They out-physicalled us in the first half."

BELL CITY 57, TWIN RIVERS 52

Bell City 11 19 17 10 -- 57

Twin Rivers 9 12 15 16 -- 52

BELL CITY (57) -- Nick Niemczyk 17, Marty Dames 11, Blaine Stewart 11, Phillip Gross 2, Will Bogan 2, Jeff Liggins 5, Kerry Wayne Lasters 7, Garrett McIntyre 2. FG 21, FT 11-19, F 20 (3-pointers: Niemczyk 3, Lasters 1. Fouled out: Bogan)

TWIN RIVERS (52) -- Jimmy Cornell 14, Kade McBroom 13, Michael Lance 11, Ryan Adams 4, Dexter Moore 6, Greg Mores 5. FG 17, FT 12-19, F 20 (3-pointers: Cornell 4, McBroom 1, Morse 1. Fouled out: Moore)