Perfect LaPlata confronts Bell City

~ The Cubs will attempt to make their second straight appearance in the state championship game.

The sting of second place is not quick to go away.

For the Bell City boys basketball team, the moment the buzzer sounded on last year's 74-61 championship loss to Jefferson, thoughts turned to next year.

"It was immediately after," Bell City coach Brian Brandtner said. "Immediately following the game, that's what we talked about in the locker room. Now we have the opportunity to do what we've talked about for a year."

Bell City (27-4) will face LaPlata at 4:30 p.m. today in a Class 1 semifinal at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.

"Right after the loss, we were devastated," Cubs junior Nick Niemczyk said. "We had to take some time off to think about it, but then right away we started working hard to get back there."

The Cubs enter the game as underdogs according to the state poll. LaPlata is ranked No. 2 in Class 1, and Bell City is ranked No. 3.

For the second straight year the Cubs will have a chance to ruin someone's perfect season in the final four. The Cubs came up short against Jefferson in last year's championship but will try again when they face the Bulldogs (29-0), who are making their first final four appearance since 1959.

Jefferson (29-1) will face Wheatland (25-5) in the other semifinal today. The Eagles have defeated Bell City at the final four each of the past two years, including the semifinals in 2005.

"We think about it every day," senior Will Bogan said of last year's championship. "Our first day of practice, we thought about them all day -- Jefferson. We're still thinking about Jefferson, but we're just focused on LaPlata.

"LaPlata said they're going to run us into the ground, so we'll try to show them who is the better team."

Both teams come into the game with a head of steam. Bell City started its season 4-4 but is riding a 23-game winning streak. The Cubs' last loss came on Dec. 16 against Scott County Central.

"We started out the season a little slow," Brandtner said. "We really missed our leadership. But once we found our identity, we have been hard to beat."

Bell City's winning streak began at the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament. As the fifth seed, the Cubs used upset wins over Scott County Central, which it had lost to twice already; No. 1 Charleston, which plays today in the Class 3 final; and No. 3 Jackson to bring home the title. It was the Cubs' first Christmas Tournament title and the first for a small school since Advance in 2000.

"We beat some good teams to win the Christmas Tournament and things started to click," said junior forward Marty Dames.

Added Bogan: "I think people that were doubting us, saying at the Christmas Tournament we shouldn't have beaten Charleston or Scott County Central was going to beat us [in the sectional]. That helped boost our confidence. We were trying to take that and use that against them."

Five of the 23 straight victims for Bell City were district winners, not including its quarterfinal opponent. The Cubs beat Puxico (Class 2), South Iron (Class 2), Charleston (Class 3), Jackson (Class 5) and Scott County Central (Class 1).

LaPlata, located just south of Kirksville in northeastern Missouri, defeated Class 2 district-winner Putnam County in the regular season, but posted 18 of its victories against just seven teams.

"You won't probably find a better 1A schedule in the state than we play," Brandtner said. "That doesn't guarantee victories, but that does prepare us."

Final four experience

Only one player among Bell City's top six players has not previously played in the final four. Sophomore point guard Melvin Johnson made the trip last year but did not see any action. Senior guard Austin Segers was not with the team last year but played as a sophomore.

Senior center Will Bogan comes in as the top scorer among the final four teams with an average of 22.3 points per game. At 6-foot-10, Bogan is also the tallest player. He averages 14.7 rebounds a game.

Like most schools Bell City has faced this season, LaPlata will have a hard time matching up with Bogan. The Bulldogs have three players listed at 6-2 or taller, with their tallest player listed at 6-4.

In order to get by LaPlata and bring home the program's third state title, the Cubs will need better production from second-leading scorer Nick Niemczyk. Niemczyk, a 6-2 junior guard, averages 19 points a game.

After scoring in double digits in both final four games as a freshman, Niemczyk struggled in Columbia last year after a strong sophomore season. In the two final four games, Niemczyk shot a combined 3-for-32 from the field, including just 1-for-15 from 3-point range. Niemczyk scored 15 points in the two games and shot 1-for-18 from the field in the championship game.

"I think about what I did last year and I know I've got to try to do a better job, and hopefully we can bring home a state championship," Niemczyk said.

Brandtner does not expect his top shooter to struggle again, but he feels confident the team's defense can overcome any poor individual performances.

"He's such a good player, what happened last year, the chances of that happening again are slim," Brandtner said. "Just like last year, if it comes down to a last-second shot, then we would get him the ball.

"Luckily, our defense has been so good [this season] we can have off nights. We'll bring our defense every game. Anything we get on top of that is icing on the cake."

The Bulldogs do much of their scoring from the outside, led by twins David and Matt Fouch, the sons of veteran coach David Fouch (313 wins in 22 years at LaPlata).

Senior guard David Fouch averages 17.9 points a game, and Matt Fouch averages 16.8 points a game. The 5-10 brothers have combined for 136 3-pointers, and LaPlata has two other players with 50 or more 3's.

LaPlata does not get to the free throw line much, though, with just 335 attempts. Bell City has attempted more than 600 free throws and has made more than LaPlata has attempted.

"They play extremely hard," Brandtner said. "They really get after you, and they want to make it a running game. They think they can wear us out. They do shoot a lot of 3's, and they can hit them from anywhere.

"That being said, we're going to go up there and give them everything we've got. We're going up there focused and we'll see how things come out."

Jefferson has cruised through its regular season again -- losing only to Maryville by one point -- and enters the final four ranked No. 1 in the state poll. The Eagles have played in just three games decided by 10 points or less, and in their 29 wins have an average margin of 35.9 points, including 21 wins by 30 or more points.

Jefferson did not return much of its main rotation from last year, though. The Eagles lost four starters, and of the eight players who saw extensive action in last year's championship game, only two return. Doug Archer, a 6-foot-7 senior, leads Jefferson in scoring at 14.4 points a game.

Wheatland has three players averaging in double figures, led by Josh Carriger at 16.6 points a game. The Mules are making their first final four appearance.