Ressel's hot hand shoots Oran boys basketball team past St. Vincent

ORAN, Mo. -- The St. Vincent boys basketball team appeared poised to pull off a comeback Friday night.

Seth Ressel had other ideas.

Ressel, Oran's sophomore guard, scored 15 of his career-high 30 points in the fourth quarter to help the host Eagles win 59-50.

Oran improved to 8-5 with its third straight victory, and the Eagles avenged last year's loss at St. Vincent. The Indians fell to 5-7 with their fourth consecutive defeat.

"We played really hard," Ressel said. "They were much bigger than us, but we had more energy."

Oran's Seth Ressel leaps to catch a pass against St. Vincent during the third quarter Friday in Oran, Mo. Oran won 59-50. (Kristin Eberts)

The 5-foot-9 Ressel had plenty of energy. He scored on a variety of outside shots -- he hit five 3-pointers -- and drives to the basket, several after steals.

"I hadn't scored that many since JV last year," Ressel said.

Oran needed most of Ressel's points to hold off St. Vincent, which never led but threatened to go ahead several times.

"He came through big for us," said Oran junior guard Kody Moore, who had a nice game himself with 17 points. "Without him we probably wouldn't have pulled it out."

Ressel saved his best for the late going.

Oran's Seth Ressel puts up a shot over St. Vincent's Trent Elder during the first quarter Friday. Oran won 59-50. (Kristin Eberts)

St. Vincent, which trailed 35-30 after three quarters, pulled to within 37-34 early in the final period.

Ressel then single-handedly ended St. Vincent's comeback hopes by scoring all of Oran's points in about a three-minute span during a 15-4 run that gave the Eagles their biggest lead of the night at 52-38.

"I didn't know that," said a smiling Ressel when told about his 15 straight points. "I was focused on the game."

Ressel started his fourth-quarter outburst with a 3-pointer that made it 40-34. He recorded a steal and layup seconds later.

Ressel's fifth and final 3-pointer of the night, with four minutes left, gave the Eagles a 48-38 lead to match a 19-9 advantage they built in the opening period. His two free throws with three minutes remaining capped his personal flurry.

"Everybody we play has big games against us," said St. Vincent coach Bruce Valleroy, rifling through his score book to reveal other high-scoring performances by opponents of the Indians. "We knew he was a good player. We just didn't guard again.

"We play hard, we just don't play smart all the time. We went a lot of different minutes without scoring. That's been our season so far."

Ressel and Moore combined to score all but 12 of Oran's points. Moore hit both of his 3-pointers in the first half, including one just 11 seconds into the contest that gave the Eagles a lead they would not relinquish.

"Kody hit well early, then he got cold," Oran coach Joe Shoemaker said. "Seth stepped up and hit some big shots. He had a real good night."

Mark Kutz, a 6-5 senior forward, put in 14 points to pace St. Vincent, which scored the final eight points of the first quarter to slice a 19-9 deficit to 19-17.

The Indians also closed the second period strong by scoring four points in the last 3.1 seconds. Senior guard Tim Schumer's 3-pointer at the buzzer sent St. Vincent to the break down 28-23.

Schumer's trey was the Indians' only 3-pointer of the contest compared to seven for Oran.

"We finished the half strong and had some momentum," Valleroy said.

St. Vincent pulled within 30-28 in the third quarter before falling behind 35-30 at the end of the period. The Indians still very much were in the game until Ressel took over.

"I feel like we're improving," Shoemaker said. "We just have to keep working and keep getting better."

St. Vincent 17 6 7 20 -- 50

Oran 19 9 7 24 -- 59

ST. VINCENT (50) -- Tim Schumer 7, Jonathon Petzoldt 2, Trent Elder 4, Stephen Graf 2, Taylor Sauer 6, Dylan Richardet 2, Dylan Hellman 4, Trenton Gremaud 2, Sean Martin 7, Mark Kutz 14. FG 18, FT 13-24, F 18. (3-pointers: Schumer 1. Fouled out: Schumer)

ORAN (59) -- Kody Moore 17, Seth Ressel 30, Alex Heuring 7, Blake Henson 2, Adam Schaefer 3. FG 20, FT 12-17, F 20. (3-pointers: Moore 2, Ressel 5. Fouled out: Henson)

JV -- Oran won 66-57.