Oak Ridge blows by Scott City to open 2023

SCOTT CITY - Following a busy week of hoops at the 2022 Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament, Oak Ridge and Scott City met once again on Tuesday night at Scott City High School.

The Blue Jays knocked off the Rams just six days ago at the Show Me Center, and tonight was no different as Oak Ridge coasted to a 62-30 win.

“I thought we came out and played hard,” Blue Jays coach Cody Bova said. “At the Christmas tournament, we played well and we just wanted to keep that momentum going and we did that tonight.”

After a slow offensive first quarter that saw Oak Ridge lead 14-6, the Blue Jays won the second quarter 21-11 to take a 35-17 lead into the locker room at halftime.

“I thought we played really well on defense,” Bova said. “We talked about keeping guys in front of us and good things will happen and we did a great job of that, especially in the second half.”

Ty Wilson led the way with 17 points in the win for Oak Ridge. Konnor Hobeck followed up Wilson’s 17 with 16 of his own, while Camren Volz had 13 points.

“(Ty and Konnor) and Cam are both rolling right now,” Bova said. “They did a good job of finding Ty early in the first half as he was getting going and then we did a good job of finding Konnor in the second half to knock some shots down.”

Bova knew tonight’s matchup with Scott City would be tough after the two teams played six days ago.

“Last year we beat them at the Christmas tournament and then they came and beat us at our place,” Bova said. “I told them we had to make sure that we stayed focused.”

Luke Umfleet paced the Rams with 9 points in the loss. Colin Blaylock, Jackson Gloth and Jaylen Rulo each had 4 points to join in on the scoring.

Scott City (2-9) looks to snap a three-game losing streak at 7:30 p.m. on Friday when the Rams host Chaffee.

Oak Ridge (10-3) resumes play at 7:30 p.m. on Friday when the Blue Jays take on Scott County Central at Oak Ridge High School.

“We just have to keep playing team basketball and playing hard on defense,” Bova said. “Everybody right now is fitting their role and that’s big for us. They’re being unselfish with the basketball and that’s what we need.”