Bell City turns back Hayti 70-63

Nick Niemczyk continued a stellar season by dropping 34 points on senior night to guide Bell City past Hayti, 70-63, in boys basketball.

Phillip Gross netted 20 points for the Cubs (21-2), who were ranked No. 3 in the latest Missouri Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association state poll.

Hayti 13 13 14 23 -- 63

Bell City 15 21 14 20 -- 70

Hayti (63) -- Simmons 4, A. Jones 4, Luster 2, Gilmer 13, S. Jones 8, Gooden 6, Vaughn 9, Covington 11, Cooper 6. FG 24, FT 12-16, F 18 (3-pointers: Gilmer 2, Covington. Fouled out: none)

Bell City (70) -- Ethan Watkins 5, Nick Niemczyk 34, Melvin Johnson 2, Phillip Gross 20, Marty Dames 6, John Paul Arnold 3. FG 23, FT 19-27, F 14 (3-pointers: Watkins, Niemczyk 4. Fouled out: none)

JV -- Hayti won 54-45.

Eagle Ridge 62, Liberty Christian 59 OT

Third-seeded Eagle Ridge knocked off second-seeded Liberty Christian to open the round-robin 2A state tournament in Joplin.

Stephen Cohen led the Eagles with 20 points. Ben Douglass added 15, and Daniel Cohen netted 12.

Eagle Ridge will take on top-seeded New Salem today.

Eagle Ridge 5 14 15 19 9 -- 62

Liberty 9 7 8 29 6 -- 59

Eagle Ridge (62) -- Ben Douglass 15, Daniel Cohen 12, Josh Wiseman 7, Sam Davis 2, Stephen Cohen 20, Josh Carbaugh 6. FG 21, FT 16-31, F 16 (3-pointers: Douglass. Fouled out: none)

Liberty Christian (59) -- Brad Cassebaum 13, Dustyn Miller 15, Jake Keller 2, Josh Telfer 4, Luke Wishman 25. FG 19, FT 12-19, F 25 (3-pointers: Wishman 3. Fouled out: Cassebaum, Keller.)

GIRLS BASKETBALLPerryville 51, Central 27

Ava Johnson netted 19 points to the Pirates to victory.

Alyssa Bauwens aided Perryville (18-5) with 15 points.

Wendi Zickfield led the Tigers with seven points.

Central 4 6 7 10 -- 27

Perryville 11 12 13 15 -- 51

Cape Central (27) -- Sadie Pittman 6, Tierra Walker 2, Chelsea Pannier 2, Breia Twiggs 2, Taylor Kirn 4, Sarah Uptmor 4, Wendi Zickfield 7. FG 11, FT 5-8, F 15 (3-pointers: none. Fouled out: none)

Perryville (51) -- Alicia Kueker 9, Ava Johnson 19, Kendra Schilli 3, Alyssa Bauwens 15, Makenzie Schirmer 4, Emily Hanquist 1. FG 18, FT 12-19, F 8 (3-pointers: Kueker, Johnson, Bauwens. Fouled out: none)

JV -- Perryville won 40-35.

St. Vincent 74, Oran 48

The Indians had four players in double figures as they rolled past the host Eagles.

Courtney Besand led St. Vincent (15-6) with 15 points. Lacey Siegmund and Brooke Brown each dropped 12 points, while Kelsey Cissell added 10 for the victors.

Cheyenne King netted 16 points to lead Oran.

St. Vincent 20 23 19 12 -- 74

Oran 13 6 11 18 -- 48

St. Vincent (74) -- Lacey Siegmund 12, Kelsey Cissell 10, Courtney Besand 15, Lindsey Wehmeyer 8, Brooke Brown 12, Elizabeth Rozier 6, Valeria Finger 2, Jessica Welker 9. FG 29, FT 12-22, F 7 (3-pointers: Welker 2. Fouled out: none)

Oran (48) -- Cheyenne King 16, Callie Kielhofner 7, Ellen Sikes 2, Abbey Anderson 2, Kirstie Mangles 9, Natalee Glastetter 2, Rachel Moore 8, Kristin Roberts 2. FG 22, FT 1-3, F 17 (3-pointers: Moore 2, Mangles. Fouled out: none)

JV -- Oran won 40-35.

New Salem 57, COS 8

It wasn't pretty from the start.

New Salem crushed Christ Our Savior with a well-balanced attack.

Kelsey Barlow led the Eagles with 20 points, while Celsey Cook added 15 points.

New Salem held COS to a bucket in the first quarter and another in the second, then pitched the shutout in the third quarter.

COS 2 2 0 4 -- 8

New Salem 24 8 21 4 -- 57

COS (8) -- Olivia May 4, Lydia Decloux 4. FG 4, FT 0-0, F 5 (3-pointers: none. Fouled out: none)

New Salem (57) -- Laura Poole 10, Kelsey Barlow 20, Haley Moyers 4, Martha Poole 6, Celsey Cook 15, Leah Jones 2. FG 24, FT 0-3, F 3 (3-pointers: Barlow 2, Cook. Fouled out: none)

-- From staff reports