SCAA: Bixler has Bell City trending in upward direction

BLOOMFIELD – If you sat and watched Bell City’s varsity boy’s basketball game on Tuesday against Woodland, you probably left the historic Bloomfield High School gym, which is where this week’s Stoddard County Athletic Association Tournament is being held, having missed the forests for the trees as you assessed the Cubs.

Yes, second-year coach Luke Bixler’s team lost 105-55 to the Class 3 No. 14-ranked Cardinals, who improved to 11-4 on the season. However, that one defeat wasn’t indicative of how this program is trending.

“We are an extremely young team,” Bixler said. “Last year, we had a lot of freshmen and sophomores. Now, they are a year older, they are playing together, and their bodies have started to mature a little bit more.”

A year ago, the Cubs won their fifth game in a regular-season finale on Feb. 16 at Southland.

This year, Bixler’s boys won their fifth game on Jan. 19 with an impressive 58-51 victory over a very tradition-rich Oran program.

THAT is a world of difference made by Bixler in one year.

“The more time that they put in together,” Bixler explained, “they are learning how to play off of each other. The growth is exciting.”

Bell City still has at least nine games remaining this year and could be more if they get past Dexter (3-13) in tonight’s consolation semifinal at 8:30 p.m.

Of the 55 points that the Cubs scored on Tuesday, 49 were by players who will be back next season, including the 22 points that junior forward Dawson Loomes scored.

“I’m really pleased with their effort,” Bixler said, ‘and their ability to keep playing no matter what the score is. We are just trying to play hard and then just keep playing.”

That fortitude was captured early this season after Bell City got off to a 0-7 start. However, a deep dive into the numbers showed that five of those seven losses were by single digits, including two by one point and an overtime loss against Advance.

“Bell City has a lot of young kids,” Woodland coach Shawn Kinder said following Tuesday’s win. “They play hard, and they are trying to figure some things out. We know about (Bell City’s) sophomore class. We’ve played them since they were in the third grade. We know that they are competitors.”

In the past nine games, Bell City has gone 5-4, and of its remaining eight opponents, only Oak Ridge (8-7) has a current winning record.

In the five seasons prior to Bixler taking over, the Bell City program won just a COMBINED five games.

Against Woodland, junior Baylor Eftink contributed nine points while sophomore guard Juan Hernandez added six free throws.

“We’re going in the direction that I feel like we need to be going,” Bixler said. “But there is still a lot of work to be done.”