Oran boys basketball team finishes fourth in Class 2

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The Oran boys basketball team knew it would be outsized by the other teams at the Class 2 final four.

As a result the Eagles hoped to make their opponents take outside shots while continuing to shoot well from the outside themselves, something that has been a signature of their season.

I told them "We're coming in with the big guys. We're kind of undersized. We've got to make them hit some shots outside first," Oran coach Joe Shoemaker said. "I thought we closed out fairly well, but their kids made shots."

Iberia's hot shooting start coupled with a frigid Oran shooting performance and some costly late turnovers resulted in a 65-63 loss for the Eagles in the Class 2 third-place game Friday afternoon at Mizzou Arena.

The Rangers, who shot 30 percent from 3-point range as a team this season, were 7 of 9 (77.8 percent) from beyond the arc in the first half Friday.

Iberia sophomore Dustin Bloodgood, a 35 percent shooter, made five of his seven 3-point attempts in the first half and finished with a game-high 20 points

"That was the first game I've ever shot like that, so it felt pretty good," Bloodgood said.

The barrage came a day after Salisbury went 5 of 7 from 3 in the first half of Oran's semifinal loss.

"I don't know," Shoemaker said. "It just seems like we really got struck out there from 3-point land these two games, and it was teams that didn't necessarily shoot it well. [Bloodgood] -- we knew he was a good shooter coming in, and he got some good looks and we didn't close out quite well enough with a hand high. But you give them credit."

Oran held just one lead in the first half of play, when Chance Tenkhoff's free throw gave it a one-point lead with 3 minutes, 33 seconds left in the second quarter. But Iberia never led by more than five points, either.

"Our shots just weren't falling today," Oran senior Alex Heuring said. "We were getting open looks. Their kid was driving through knocking down some layups. We were getting open shots, they just weren't falling for us today, and I think that definitely helped them get out to an early lead because usually our shots fall. It's just the way it is."

That would be a trend for Oran in the game. The Eagles shot just 30.8 percent from the field and were 2 of 21 (9.5 percent) from 3-point range after entering the final four shooting 35 percent as a team.

Oran players receive their fourth-place medals Friday afternoon, March 8, 2013 after falling 65-63 to Iberia in the Class 2 third-place game in Columbia, Mo. (Laura Simon)

"We saw their stats, and we know they shoot well," Iberia coach Steve Scholfield said. "We've tried to run people off the 3-point line all year. We tried to run them into Dexter [Frisbie] in the back, and this is one of the best jobs we've ever done at it, probably the best job this year.

"If you would have told me Kody Moore was going to be 0 for 9 ... I think he's a great shooter. I thought he was shooting over 40 percent, I think the stats said. I think that probably is a big reason why we won tonight."

The Eagles compensated for the cold shooting night by making 21 of 24 free throws.

"I was very happy with our shot selection tonight," Shoemaker said. "They just weren't falling. If I had the secret to that I'd be a little bit richer man and wouldn't be sitting here right now."

Iberia led 36-33 at halftime and continued to lead until Moore's putback at the buzzer gave Oran a one-point lead entering the fourth quarter.

"We've done that a couple times this year, even in the district semifinals," Moore said about playing from behind. "We were down six at half. I feel we've done a good job this year of not panicking when we're behind and still executing and getting the job the done, staying with the game plan. I feel like we didn't do a bad job today either."

Oran took its biggest lead of the night with 3 minutes, 50 seconds left in game when a pair of free throws by Seth Ressel gave the Eagles a five-point cushion.

Bloodgood hit another 3 on his team's next possession to stop what had been a 6-0 Oran run.

With the score tied 63-63, Ressel missed a contested layup with 24 seconds left that resulted in a fight for the ball under the basket. It ended up in the hands of an Iberia player who found teammate Darrien Dickey breaking away from the crowd for an easy layin with 19 seconds to go that gave Iberia a 65-63 lead.

The Eagles turned the ball over on their next possession, but Iberia's Juliano Fabien missed the front end of a 1 and 1.

Oran rebounded the miss and took a timeout with 6.5 seconds remaining, but Seth Ressel's pass to a cutting Kody Moore sailed out of bounds.

"We run a drive offense there," Moore said. "If it's open on the outside, you kick out. It was just kind of a little bit of miscommunication. It wasn't really anybody's fault. It's just one of them things where I cut one way and the pass comes to me."

The Eagles got one last chance when Bloodgood missed the front end of a 1 and 1 situation with 2.3 seconds remaining.

The ball bounced out to Oran sophomore Jacob Priggel, who had 15 points and eight rebounds in the game, near midcourt. He took a dribble before firing a shot from just inside half court.

The shot hit the rim and rattled back and fourth before bouncing out.

"He really stepped up off the bench. ... He played very aggressive offensively and played good defense," Shoemaker said. That's something that we expect him to do. He's done it several times throughout the year.

"That's been one of the things that this group's been so good at. Whoever's playing well got to play more that night, and none of them pouted. They didn't put their heads down, didn't pout. They kept their heads up because it was whatever was best for the team. That says a lot about the character of the young men that we have."

Iberia 17 19 12 17 -- 65

Oran 12 21 16 14 -- 63

IBERIA (65) -- Issac Minnick 5, Fabien Juliano 5, Darrien Dickey 19, Ryan Voss 3, Dexter Frisbie 11, Tyler Slawson 2, Dustin Bloodgood 20. FG 26, FT 4-10, F 20. (3-pointers: Minnick 1, Juliano 1, Voss 1, Bloodgood 6. Fouled out: none)

Oran (63) -- Kody Moore 6, Seth Ressel 15, Chance Tenkhoff 6, Hunter Schlosser 4, Alex Heuring 14, Jacob Priggel 15, Cash Kinney 3. FG 20, FT 21-24, F 18. (3-pointers: Tenkhoff 1, Priggel 1. Fouled out: none)