Saxony boys handle upset-minded Puxico

The seedings held true during the opening round of the Class 2 District 3 boys basketball tournament Saturday at Chaffee.

Puxico came closest to pulling the upset, taking a two-point lead into the fourth quarter against No. 3 seed Saxony Lutheran.

But the Crusaders rallied for 28 points over the final eight minutes to pull out the 67-55 win.

"We got in early foul trouble a little bit," Saxony coach Sam Sides said. "I thought we got a little bit apprehensive. The fourth quarter, we finally got it inside."

Bret Steffens poured in 29 points, while Bryant Steffens added 20, including five 3-pointers. Bret Steffens went 11 of 14 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter alone.

Saxony went 24 of 35 (69 percent) from the free-throw line in the game.

"We got down about four," Sides said. "We battled back and hit some big shots."

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com Oak Ridge's Garret Light drives past Meadow Heights' Tyler Welker in the first quarter of their first-round Class 2 District 3 game Saturday at Chaffee.

The Crusaders (21-3) will face No. 2 seed Bernie, which knocked off Oran 69-33, on Tuesday.

The Eagles never threatened as they fell behind by 27 points entering halftime. Nathan Michelsen led Oran with 13 points.

Top-seeded Advance had little trouble getting past No. 8 seed Chaffee. The Hornets (21-6) opened a 17-point lead entering halftime and cruised to the 67-33 win from there.

David VanGennip scored 16 points, while Luke Steil added 12 in the win.

Taimen Taylor led the Red Devils (6-17) with 14 points.

The Hornets will face Meadow Heights (16-9), which took care of Oak Ridge 76-58.

The Panthers bombed 11 3-pointers, including four apiece from Derrick Wilfong and Zac Hotop. Both players finished with 16 points.

"We do have eight seniors," Panthers coach Tom Brown said. "It is crunch time for them and they know when it's over, it's over. They're playing like they don't want it to end."

Meadow Heights is shooting 56 percent on 3-pointers over its last five games. It was 11 of 16 (69 percent) from long range against the Blue Jays.

Junior Garret Light led Oak Ridge (14-11) with 26 points.

@z_agate_no tab_no indnt_bld ld:Advance 67, Chaffee 33

@z_agate_HSbasketball_linescore:Chaffee 9 4 16 4 — 33

Advance 18 12 19 18 — 67

@z_agate_no tab_no indnt_bld ld:CHAFFEE (33) — Trenton Horman 10, Taimen Taylor 14, Nathan Cicardi 3, Jason Cicardi 1, Mike Rutherford 5. FG 14, FT 1-5, F 12. (3-pointers: Rutherford 1, Taylor 1, N. Cicardi 1. Fouled out: None)

ADVANCE (67) — Luke Steil 12, Grant Gray 8, Dylan Dunivan 4, David VanGennip 16, Cody VanGennip 7, Blake Seabaugh 2, Andy Below 3, Jacob Bond 11, Darren VanGennip 4. FG 29, FT 4-9, F 10. (3-pointers: Gray 2, David VanGennip 2, Below 1. Fouled out: None)

———

@z_agate_no tab_no indnt_bld ld:Saxony Lutheran 67, Puxico 55

@z_agate_HSbasketball_linescore:Puxico 9 16 16 14 — 55

Saxony 18 8 13 28 — 67

@z_agate_no tab_no indnt_bld ld:PUXICO (55) — Wood 1, Guilliams 7, Russom 17, Smith 11, Stewart 14, Phillips 5. FG 23, FT 5-11, F 24. (3-pointers: Guilliams 1, Russom 1, Smith 1, Stewart 1. Fouled out: Wood, Stewart)

SAXONY LUTHERAN (67) — Trevor Mabuce 3, Kris Cook 2, Chris Roth 7, Shawn Hadler 2, Bret Steffens 29, Bryant Steffens 20, Garrett Fritsche 4. FG 19, FT 24-35, F 14. (3-pointers: Bryant Steffens 5. Fouled out: None)

———

@z_agate_no tab_no indnt_bld ld:Bernie 69, Oran 33

@z_agate_HSbasketball_linescore:Oran 13 5 8 7 — 33

Bernie 20 25 17 7 — 69

@z_agate_no tab_no indnt_bld ld:ORAN (33) — Kurt Rendleman 4, Preston Scherer 5, Jake Carter 3, Gabe Kielhofner 2, Nathan Michelsen 13, Zac Chasteen 2, Jon Morrow 4. FG 12, FT 7-14, F 14. (3-pointers: Carter 1, Michelsen 1. Fouled out: None)

BERNIE (69) — Jake Welch 10, Quinten Stevens 9, Jake Owens 10, Nason Lane 2, Zach Curry 2, Daniel Becking 10, Jake Smith 4, Jordan McGowan 17, Sammy Walker 1, Jeremy Walker 4. FG 23, FT 17-20, F 10. (3-pointers: Stevens 1, Owens 2, McGowan 3. Fouled out: None)

———

@z_agate_no tab_no indnt_bld ld:Meadow Heights 76, Oak Ridge 58

@z_agate_HSbasketball_linescore:Oak Ridge 10 15 21 12 — 58

Meadow Hgts 27 19 16 14 — 76

@z_agate_no tab_no indnt_bld ld:MEADOW HEIGHTS (76) — Dustin Hubler 9, Josef Brown 5, Derrick Wilfong 16, Tyler Brune 2, Luke Nitsch 6, Ethan Mayfield 10, Zac Hotop 16, Josh Keller 1, Tyler Welker 11. FG 30, FT 5-7, F 21. (3-pointers: Brown 1, Wilfong 4, Hotop 4, Welker 2. Fouled out: None)

OAK RIDGE (58) — Caleb Elam 3, Garret Light 26, Brett Thomas 9, Ethan Sachs 4, Logan Mangels 7, Stephen Wright 9. FG 16, FT 22-29, F 8. (3-pointers: Elam 1, Thomas 2, Mangels 1. Fouled out: None)

GIRLS BASKETBALL Scott City 51, East Prairie 50

The Rams pulled out a thriller in the first round of the Class 3 District 1 tournament at Charleston.

Stacey Heisserer hit two free throws with 2.6 seconds left for the winning margin.

Stephanie Essner led the fifth-seeded Rams (10-13) with 18 points. She added six rebounds and five assists.

Katie Hogan had 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Heisserer added 11 points.

Scott City will play top-seeded Kelly in Tuesday's semifinals.

@z_agate_HSbasketball_linescore:East Prairie 12 8 14 16 — 50

Scott City 11 17 10 13 — 51

@z_agate_no tab_no indnt_bld ld:EAST PRAIRIE (50) — Mandy Knupp 12, Decinda Little 2, Lydia Cartwright 6, Megan Hedges 2, Grace Swann 4, Jennifer Nicholson 16, Whitley Rundels 8. FG 22, FT 5-8, F 19. (3-pointers: Knupp 1. Fouled out: None)

SCOTT CITY (51) — Stacey Heisserer 11, Stephanie Essner 18, Tiffany Merritt 3, Katie Hogan 12, Melanie Lacy 6, Ashley Brant 1. FG 18, FT 12-21, F 15. (3-pointers: Essner 1, Hogan 2. Fouled out: None)

— From staff reports