Oran defeats St. Vincent 64-54

ORAN -- Oran senior Cody Romas admitted that his teammate Kody Campbell struggled offensively against St. Vincent for much of Friday night.

But Romas added that Campbell, who averages a little more than 20 points per game, picked up his shooting and intensity when it mattered most.

"Campbell is a real good offensive player usually," Romas said. "Tonight he had kind of an off night, but he stepped it up. He did a lot of little things right."

With his team down one point entering the fourth quarter, Campbell led the Eagles on a 17-6 run in the first 5 minutes, 41 seconds of the period, scoring seven points and making two nifty assists.

From there, Oran went on to a 64-54 win.

Campbell, who was guarded most of the night by Aaron Dzik, was held to four points in the first quarter and zero points in the third period, but was able to find his stride when his team needed him, and finished with 18 points. Romas added 19 points, with seven coming in the fourth quarter.

"They were really tough defensively," Campbell said of St. Vincent, which ran a man-to-man defense. "They just kind or wore me down. But at the end of the game or whatever, when the game's close and the game is on the line, you just forget about being tired. I guess tonight we just pulled through."

Oran led 12-9 after the first quarter, and 30-28 at halftime, thanks to one of Campbell's hot streaks.

Campbell poured in three straight baskets to close the half, including a 3-pointer.

"We were kind of struggling offensively, and I just knew we needed a basket," Campbell said of the second quarter. "I knew our other main scorer, Cody Romas, was on the bench in foul trouble. I just knew I needed to take it upon myself to create something off the dribble."

The game remained close throughout the third quarter, with Campbell held scoreless.

With St. Vincent leading 42-41 entering the fourth, Campbell scored a jumper to put his team ahead 43-42.

He then grabbed a rebound off a missed shot by the Indians and threw a lead pass down the court to Cody W. Dirnberger, who went in for a layup for a 45-42 lead.

Campbell kept making the right decisions with the basketball as he found Romas open on the 3-point line. Romas' basket gave the Eagles a commanding 56-46 advantage.

"He made a couple of really good assists," Romas said. "That 3-pointer I nailed over here, it was because he gave it to me. I was not even expecting it. It was just there and got it to me."

Justin L'Hote led the Indians with 17 points. He said Campbell and Romas played well down the stretch,

"They stepped up and made shots when they needed to," L'Hote said. "They just did what they needed to, to help their team win."

St. Vincent 9 19 14 12 -- 54

Oran 12 18 11 23 -- 64

St. Vincent (54) -- Justin L'Hote 17, Aaron Dzik 5, Josh Rollet 12, Matt Abbott 2, Kyle Rollet 9, Shawn Renner 9. FG 21, FT 9-15, F 21 (3-pointers: Renner 3. Fouled out: none)

Oran (64) -- Klayton Kyle 2, Cody W. Dirnberger 2, Kurt Rendleman 11, Cody Romas 19, Tyler Beardslee 6, Kody Campbell 18, Jake Kluesner 4, Lance Dannenmueller 2. FG 21, FT 18-23, F 15 (3-pointers: Romas 1, Campbell 1. Fouled out: none)