Bell City pass Saxony, reach district title game

Defending Class 1 state champion Bell City will play for its fourth straight district title on Thursday after downing Saxony Lutheran 71-55 on Tuesday in the District 2 tournament at Delta.

Bell City jumped to a 24-12 first-quarter lead and had a seven-point halftime advantage.

The Cubs improved to 18-9, while Saxony Lutheran finished its second varsity season 18-8.

D.D. Gillespie led the top-seeded Cubs with 22 points. Jeff Liggins scored 13, Kerry Lasters had 12, and Nick Niemczyk added 10.

For the No. 4 Crusaders, Alex Jauch scored 25 points and Tim Lorenz added 23.

Bell City will take on No. 2 Delta in Thursday's championship game.

Delta defeated No. 6 Oran 80-59 in the other semifinal game.

Aaron Kinder led the No. 2 Bobcats with 21 points. Kevin Bartels had 17, Cody Crowden had 15 and Brent Menz added 12.

Cory Kluesner led a group of 12 Oran scorers with 22 points, while Robert Lange had 12 points, and Chase Seyer had 10.

BELL CITY 71, SAXONY LUTHERAN 55

Saxony 12 23 12 8 -- 55

Bell City 24 18 13 16 -- 71

SAXONY (55) -- Lauren Lueders 2, Trey Maevers 3, Casey Petzoldt 2, Alex Jauch 25, Tim Lorenz 23. FG 21, FT 8-14, F 17 (3-pointers: Maevers 1, Lorenz 1. Fouled out: Jauch, Petzoldt)

BELL CITY (71) -- Nick Niemczyk 10, A.J. Henry 1, D.D. Gillespie 22, Austin Segers 2, Kerry Lasters 12, Blaine Stewart 6, Jeff Liggins 13, Garrett McIntyre 2, Marty Dames 3. FG 26, FT 13-22, F 21 (3-pointers: D.D. Gillespie 2, Lasters 2, Liggins 1. Fouled out: none)

DELTA 80, ORAN 59

Delta 19 29 19 13 -- 80

Oran 8 12 17 22 -- 59

DELTA (80) -- Aaron Kinder 21, Cody Crowden 15, Brent Menz 12, Terrance Below 9, Kevin Bartels 17, A.J. Horn 2, Dustin Anglin 4. FG 29, FT 17-25, F 15 (3-pointers: Kinder 3, Crowden 1, Menz 1. Fouled out: none)

ORAN (59) -- Chase Seyer 10, Clayton Scherer 6, Paul Bucher 2, C. Campbell 3, Steven Mock 6, Jordan Trankler 2, Travis Randolph 2, Devin Moore 1, Chris Asmus 8, Cory Kluesner 22, Robert Lange 12, Hunter Glastetter 2. FG 25, FT 6-12, F 17 (3-pointers: Scherer 2, Campbell 1. Fouled out: none)

Class 1 District 1 Scott County Central 66, Delta C-7 29

Top-seeded Scott County Central had little problems in the semifinals of the Class 1 District 1 tournament at Clarkton.

The Braves led 35-16 at the half and cruised.

Andrew Pullen led all scorers with 19 points for Scott County (18-8). Ray Rodgers added 10 points.

Scott County will play the winner of the Clarkton-Gideon game at 6 p.m. Thursday in the district finals.

Delta 12 4 8 5 -- 29

SCC 15 20 22 9 -- 66

Delta (29) -- Burton 2, Berry 4, Pickens 8, Richardson 6, McGee 6, Dudley 3. FG 15, FT 0-0, F 12 (3-pointers: Dudley 1. Fouled out: none)

SCC (66) -- Andrew Pullen 19, Chris Monroe 4, Jeremy Johnson 3, Avis White 8, Josh Boley 4, Isaac Porter 8, Ray Rodgers 10, Pershard Owens 4, DeAngelo Turner 2, Paul Johnson 4. FG 27, FT 14-21, F 10 (3-pointers: none. Fouled out: none)

Class 2 District 2 Advance 72, South Iron 68

The third-seeded Hornets used a big third quarter to edge past No. 2 South Iron in the semifinals of the Class 2 District 2 tournament at Bloomfield.

Advance will face No. 1 Van Buren at 8 p.m. Thursday.

Tyler Bowman and Daryl Wade led the Hornets with 18 points apiece. Jeremy Limbaugh added 11 points and Drew Sherman had 10.

South Iron 18 21 10 19 -- 68

Advance 24 11 18 19 -- 72

SOUTH IRON (68) -- Kaempfe 12, Dinkins 1, Nichols 2, Middleton 2, Mullery 10, Reed 23, Prater 11, Alcorn 7. FG 26, FT 9-12, F 23 (3-pointers: Reed 5, Kaempfe 2. Fouled out: Mullery)

ADVANCE (72) -- Tyler Bowman 18, Jeremy Limbaugh 11, Daryl Wade 18, Drew Sherman 10, Alex Steil 8, Josh Bailey 2, Dustin Kalinski 5. FG 21, FT 24-31, F 17 (3-pointers: Steil 2, Bowman 2, Wade 1, Limbaugh 1. Fouled out: none)

Class 2 District 3 St. Vincent 62, Valle Catholic 31

St. Vincent outscored Valle Catholic of Ste. Genevieve 40-12 in the first half and cruised to a first-round victory in the Class 2 District 3 tournament at the Perry Park Center in Perryville.

The top-seeded Indians (18-6) will play Friday in the semifinal round against Viburnum, an 85-55 winner against Valley Caledonia.

Danny Rellergert led all scorers with 18 points for St. Vincent. Alex Armbruster added 14, and Jacob DeWilde had 11.

St. Vincent 15 25 20 2 -- 62

Valle 2 10 11 8 -- 31

ST. VINCENT (62) -- Danny Rellergert 18, Alex Arumbruster 14, Jacob DeWilde 11, Eric Clements 5, Waylon Richardet 4, Pat Siegmund 3, Chad Wheeler 3, Luke Guyot 2, Ben Buchheit 2. FG 23, FT 11-14, F 11 (3-pointers: Rellergert 1, Armbruster 1. Fouled out: none)

VALLE (31) -- Ray Stanley 7, Keith Bosler 7, Adam Herman 4, Ryan Dalton 4, Dan Rozier 3, Kyle Bosler 2, Nathan Grass 2. FG 13, FT 4-11, F 13 (3-pointers: Rozier 1. Fouled out: none)

GIRLS BASKETBALL Class 3 District 2 Scott City 51, Clearwater 35

Scott City eased by Clearwater in the first round of the Class 3 District 2 tournament at Greenville High School.

The third-seeded Rams (10-14) will play No. 2 Greenville in the semifinal round on Friday.

Christy Laxton scored a game-high 25 points for Scott City, and Kelly Hicks added 18.

Clearwater 6 5 13 11 -- 35

Scott City 9 10 14 18 -- 51

CLEARWATER (35) -- Eates 2, Keel 3, Thurmann 6, Gammons 6, Seal 7, O'Amiko 11. FG 15, FT 3-10, F 16 (3-pointers: Seal 1, Keel 1. Fouled out: none)

SCOTT CITY (51) -- Jessica Warren 1, Valerie Gibbons 3, Alicia Obermann 4, Kelly Hicks 18, Christy Laxton 25. FG 18, FT 8-14, F 16 (3-pointers: Laxton 3, Hicks 4. Fouled out: none)