Round 4 to Cubs - Bell City wins district title

DELTA, Mo. -- When the bell rang, it was all Bell City.

Playing Oran for the Class 1A, District 2 championship Thursday night, the Cubs of Bell City led wire-to-wire to claim their first district title since 1981.

The trio of Eric Henry, C.J. Hadley and Dominitrix Johnson led the charge as the top-seeded Cubs posted a surprisingly easy 73-49 victory over No. 2 Oran.

The Eagles, who lost a coin flip to the Cubs for the top seed in the district, owned two victories this season over Bell City, which improved to 24-5. Oran, which also lost once to the Cubs, finished its season at 21-7.

"This is very big," said Henry, the Cubs' all-state junior guard. "This is probably the biggest win I've ever had."

Henry was part of a trio that combined to outscore Oran 57-49. Senior center C.J. Hadley finished with 21 points, Johnson, a sophomore point guard, had 19 and Henry 17.

Henry is familiar with Bell City's basketball history since his father, William, played for the Cubs' last district winner.

"We're trying to get further than he did," said Henry, referring to his father's third-place finish at the state tournament. "We're going all the way."

Added senior forward Jason Rampley, "We're not going to be satisfied until we raise that trophy in Columbia. We've got so much heart and determination."

The Cubs also have an abundance of quickness, and they used it overwhelm Oran with full-court pressure throughout the game. Second-year Bell City coach David Heeb says his team normally uses a zone press but opted for a man press against the Eagles and it dictated the tempo. Oran buckled against the pressure, committing 13 turnovers in the first half while getting off just 15 shots.

"Just because we score 80 points a game doesn't mean we don't play good defense," Heeb said. "I thought we proved that tonight."

Heeb said he was happy with most facets of his team's game. "That was pretty close to our 'A' game," he said.

Eagles coach Mitch Wood declined to comment after the game.

Henry pushed Bell City to the lead for good when he scored the game's first basket a minute in. Oran struggled against the Cubs' defense from the start, committing turnovers on five of its first nine possessions.

Despite the turnovers, Oran trailed just 6-4 when Garrett Roslen sank a baseline shot with 3:02 left in the opening period, but Bell City closed with a 7-2 spurt for a 13-6 lead.

The lead grew to double figures when Johnson, held scoreless in the first quarter, heated up 12 with points in the second quarter. At one point he scored on three straight trips down the floor, the latter giving Bell City a 31-16 lead with 1:52 left. The Cubs led 33-19 at halftime.

Oran's first-half troubles were compounded by 6 of 13 free throw shooting.

Bell City pushed its lead to over 20 points as Hadley scored the first seven points of the second half. Oran never threatened, getting only as close as 16 points.

Nathan Seyer led Oran with 19 points.

Delta 50, Oran 41

Delta's girls used the sister tandem of tandem of Sarah and Rebecca Cook to overcome Oran's Maria Eftink to repeat as district champions.

Sarah, a freshman, and Rebecca, a junior, each scored 17 points as Delta (20-6) reached the 20-win plateau for the first time since 1980.

Oran (13-10) led 24-16 in the second quarter, but Delta used a 17-0 run which spanned into the third quarter to go ahead 33-24. Sarah Cook scored 10 of the points in the run.

"In the second half, Sarah Cook got us off to a great start," Delta coach Randall White said.

Eftink scored 17 of her game-high 25 points in the first half, which ended with Oran clinging to a 24-23 lead.

jbreer@semissourian.com

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