Oran overpowers Saxony Lutheran boys in district action

ORAN, Mo. -- The Oran boys basketball team hit a second-quarter speed bump in its Class 2 District 3 quarterfinal against Saxony Lutheran on Saturday.

Playing on their home floor, the third-seeded Eagles led by as many as 18 points in the first half before watching their lead shrink to 10 points when Saxony Lutheran's Brayton Klaus hit a 3-pointer just before halftime to cap a 14-6 run for the Crusaders.

"Our defense was really bad," Oran senior Gabe Kielhofner said. "We were just letting them have layups after layups."

That trend ended in the second half and Oran eventually forced a running clock in the fourth quarter of its 77-45 victory.

"No genius plan," Oran coach Joe Shoemaker said of his halftime adjustments. "We just tried to play a little bit harder. We didn't play very well, I felt, in the second quarter. We had too many turnovers and weren't smart with the basketball offensively."

His message was simple.

"Play better, stay out of foul trouble," Shoemaker said.

Oran (17-9) opened the third quarter on a 13-3 run and outscored Saxony Lutheran 35-13 in the second half thanks in part to an improved effort.

"Basically I think we played harder," Oran junior Nathan Michelsen said. "We kind of were lazy at the beginning."

The Eagles made other changes.

"We pressured the ball a little bit more and we took care of the ball better," Kielhofner said.

Kielhofner, a senior, scored 20 points, including four 3-pointers.

Saxony Lutheran was forced to double-team 6-foot-4 Oran center Jon Morrow, who finished with 13 points, throughout the game, which left Kielhofner and Michelsen free to score.

"We hurt them inside," Shoemaker said. "They're just not real big and we had a height advantage. We tried to take advantage of it, make them double team us and attack that way."

Oran recorded three offensive rebounds on the same possession twice during the game and ended up with a score on the fourth attempt both times.

When a double team kept the Eagles from passing the ball inside, Oran's guards were able to drive inside before finding a teammate on the perimeter.

"Nathan [Michelsen] does a really good job of that," Kielhofner said. "We pitch to the wide open shooter like me, and I made them."

Michelsen also made his share, scoring a game-high 22 points, but he said the team wasn't all that happy with its performance.

"I think we should have beat them a little bit better because we had a bad second quarter, but we're happy that we at least got through," Michelsen said.

Klaus, a junior, led Saxony Lutheran with 14 points while senior Trevor Mabuce scored 10 in his final game. The Crusaders finished the season 8-16.

Oran advanced to play Oak Ridge in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Eagles lost to Oak Ridge 52-46 on the road earlier this season.

"We'll have to play four quarters or we'll get beat," Shoemaker said. "We'll have to play better and we'll have to stop dribble penetration without fouling or we won't win."

Saxony 16 16 6 7 -- 45

Oran 26 16 23 12 -- 77

SAXONY (45) -- Brayton Klaus 14, Trevor Mabuce 10, Kris Cook 6, Clay Roth 4, Matt Wills 6, Nick LeGrand 1, Gabe Bohnert 2, Ryan Sprandel 2. FG 14, FT 12-17, F 12. (3-pointers: Klaus 1. Fouled out: none)

ORAN (77) -- Preston Scherer 8, Gabe Kielhofner 20, Nathan Michelsen 22, Zac Chasteen 5, Reece Mangels 9, Jon Morrow 13. FG 31, FT 9-13, F 16. (3-pointers: Kielhofner 4, Michelsen 1, Mangels 1. Fouled out: none)