Oran boys basketball team downs Advance to defend district crown

GREENVILLE, Mo. -- The Oran Eagles denied the Advance Hornets a three-game sweep of their meetings this season and the Class 2 District 3 title in the process.

A pair of 5-foot-11 guards -- Kody Moore and Seth Ressel -- led the charge for Oran, which defended its district title with a 58-54 victory over the top-seeded Hornets.

It marked the second consecutive year the Eagles defeated the Hornets in the title game.

"We had a lot of blood out for them," said Ressel, who finished with 15 points. "They beat us at our place and their place. And their place was rocking. It went overtime, and we just knew we had to win this game."

Ressel scored six of his points in the fourth quarter when Advance made a desperate charge and nearly came back from a 12-point deficit.

The Eagles took a 46-34 lead into the fourth quarter, but Advance opened the period with an 8-0 run. A turnaround jumper by Trey Wallace capped the spurt and closed the gap to 46-42 with 5 minutes, 16 seconds remaining.

Ressel answered with drives to the basket for layins on Oran's next two possessions to help restore the Eagles' poise.

"He ain't no sophomore," Moore said. "I don't care what anybody says. He ain't a sophomore. He's probably the heart and soul of this team. We probably wouldn't be here without him."

Advance (17-10) did close the gap to two points, 54-52, with 55 seconds left in the game, but Ressel again answered with a drive to the basket for a 56-52 lead with 16 seconds left.

Advance's Ethan Barr, who finished with a game-high 24 points, kept the Hornets' hopes alive when he answered with a basket.

Moore hit one of two free throws to extend the lead to 57-54 with 8 seconds left, and the Eagles celebrated when Lane Below's desperation 3-pointer missed badly at the buzzer.

"Advance really turned up the pressure late," Oran coach Joe Shoemaker said. "I think our guys responded -- took it to the rim and attacked. We played well tonight."

Moore, who had been fighting a shooting slump late in the season, finished with a team-high 18 points, including 13 in the second half.

"The first night of district, I had four points, a season low," Moore said. "I was really down on myself because I wasn't shooting the ball well. But the next day I stayed for about an hour after practice and I just shot, shot, shot with our assistant coach, and he really helped me out a lot. I started to shoot the ball a little bit better in the second round, and tonight I just did what I needed to do."

Moore hit a pair of 3-pointers on the Eagles' first two possessions of the third quarter. Moore also had closed the first half with a 3-pointer to give the Eagles a 28-24 lead at the break.

Moore's two 3-pointers were part of 6-of-8 shooting by Oran in the third quarter, which included two 8-0 runs by the Eagles.

The latter spurt closed out the quarter.

"They've been doing that all year," Advance coach Andrew Halford said about the Eagles' guard play. "It's no secret. We knew what they wanted to do, and they just beat us at it. They do a good job at [getting to the basket]. We struggled defensively."

Advance led 13-12 after the first quarter and held its final lead, 24-23, when Below scored with about two minutes left in the second quarter.

Alex Heuring, who finished with 11 points, put Oran ahead to stay on the Eagles' next possession.

"The opportunity was there," Halford said. "We had plenty of opportunities in the game. They got what they wanted on offense. They got good looks and they put them in the hole."

Below added 11 points for the Hornets.

Oran will face the District 4 winner at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday at Park Hills High Central in Park Hills, Mo.

Oran 12 16 18 12 -- 58

Advance 13 11 10 20 -- 54

ORAN (58) -- Alex Heuring 11, Kody Moore 18, Seth Ressel 15, Adam Schaefer 6, Hunter Schlosser 4. FG 22, FT 11-20, F 11. (3-pointers: Moore 3. Fouled out: none)

ADVANCE (54) -- Ethan Barr 24, Lane Below 11, Tyler Middleton 5, Jacob Spears 2, Trey Wallace 4, Hunter Wilson 8. FG 23, FT 5-8, F 16. (3-pointers: Middleton, Wilson 2. Fouled out: none)