Oak Ridge uses late rally to beat Delta at Woodland tournament

~ The Blue Jays reached the semifinals with a 75-71 victory

As the clock ticked under three minutes to go, the Oak Ridge Blue Jays faced a four-point deficit -- their biggest of the game -- and a Delta team with possession of the ball.

Not that they were worried.

"There's no time in this game to panic," Oak Ridge senior Brett Thomas said. "I'm too old to panic. I'm getting too old for this game."

Oak Ridge proceeded to score the game's final eight points on its way to a 75-71 victory in the opening round of the Woodland tournament.

Oak Ridge's Brett Thomas, left, and Kyle Rohde defend Delta's Seth Blattel during the first quarter of their Woodland tournament game Tuesday in Marble Hill, Mo. Oak Ridge won 75-71. (Kristin Eberts)

Thomas, a 17-year-old who is apparently aging at a fast pace, got some much-needed help from freshman Ryan Below on defense.

With Thomas saddled with four fouls and playing cautious defense under the basket, Below blocked a Delta shot from behind with 2 minutes, 23 seconds to start Oak Ridge's rally.

"I said what I was more proud of than the win was the fact that they go on a big spurt there and go up by four with two minutes left and we don't panic," Oak Ridge coach Adam Stoneking said.

Thomas scored inside on the Blue Jays' next possession and then, with a minute left to play, senior Caleb Elam hit a 3-pointer to give Oak Ridge the lead. Junior Jacob Light added three free throws in four attempts to seal the victory.

"That's what you like to see," Stoneking said. "Those are the three guys that have been there. Brett's been there. Jacob's been there. Caleb's been there. So it's nothing new to them. That's what you hope for that first game, for guys like Caleb to not be afraid to take that shot when you're down two. That's what I like to see."

Delta's Frankie Rozmirsky shoots against Oak Ridge during the second quarter of their first-round game Tuesday at the Woodland tournament.

Light, the younger brother of former Oak Ridge standout Garret Light, played the starring role for the Blue Jays on Tuesday night.

"Garret's not here anymore," Light said, acknowledging that his role has changed this season. "I have to step up and score to take some slack off Brett."

He finished with a team-high 20 points and made 12 of his 14 free throw attempts, including eight in a row during a second quarter in which Oak Ridge was outscored 26-12.

"I'm definitely proud of Jacob Light," said Thomas, who finished with 16 points. "He played the best game out of anybody on the floor. He came out hard, pushed the ball, rebounded, scored. He was by far the best player on the court tonight."

Delta was led by senior Chase Crowden, who scored a game-high 29 points and made four 3-pointers.

Zach Reigert added 19 points for the Bobcats, who combined to make nine 3-pointers in the game.

"A lot of tonight they were just knocking down shots," Stoneking said. "I don't know how many 3s they had. I bet it was close to nine or 10. You're not going to win a lot of games when the other team hits nine or 10 threes."

Delta, which trailed by as many as 14 points in the first quarter, grabbed a two-point lead at halftime.

"All goes to them," Thomas said. "They played their hearts out. They shot the ball well, and a lot of teams that play that well will get a victory. We were lucky to come out with it."

Oak Ridge, the No. 3 seed, will face No. 2 Leopold in the semifinal round at 8 p.m. Thursday, while No. 6 Delta will face No. 7 Scott City at 5 p.m. Thursday in a consolation semifinal.

Oak Ridge 75, Delta 71

Delta 12 26 9 24 -- 71

Oak Ridge 24 12 22 17 -- 75

DELTA (71) -- Greg Brawley 13, Zach Reigert 19, Seth Blattel 2, Chase Crowden 29, Austin Lashley 6, Dallas Naramore 2. FG 27, FT 8-14, F 23. (3-pointers: Brawley 2, Reigert 3, Crowden 4. Fouled out: Lashley.)

OAK RIDGE (75) -- Caleb Elam 16, Jacob Light 20, Ryan Below 10, Brett Thomas 16, Kyle Rohde 13. FG 26, FT 20-30, F 18. (3-pointers: Elam 2, Rohde 1. Fouled out: none.)