Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament: Oran advances to consolation final with win over Kelly

The ninth-seeded Oran Eagles used a 13-6 third quarter to pull away for a 59-52 win in a consolation semifinal of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament on Monday at the Show Me Center.

Oran (6-4) trailed only twice in the contest but struggled on the glass against a bigger Kelly (3-7) squad.

"I think they played harder than us at times," Oran coach Joe Shoemaker said. "We played sloppy basketball. We didn't execute well. Our fundamentals were lacking today, but we came away with a win. That's what you set out to do."

A 3-pointer by Jacob Priggel capped a 7-4 run to begin the game for Oran, but Kelly responded with an 8-3 spurt and Ty Householder's 3-pointer gave the Hawks their first lead of the game at 12-10 with 2:55 left in the first quarter.

The Eagles quickly regained the lead and held a 16-14 advantage at the end of the period. Oran never trailed in the second quarter, but Kelly evened the game at 29-all at the break.

"They just pounded us in the first half on the boards," Shoemaker said. "A lot of it isn't size. It's just our lack of effort. We want to stand and watch at times, and I told our guys, 'We're not big enough to do that.' We've got to rebound as a team, and we don't always do that."

Kelly's Cayden Williams tries to shoot as Oran's Max Priggel defends during the third quarter of a consolation semifinal in the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament Monday, Dec. 29, 2014 at the Show Me Center. (Fred Lynch)

After Householder knocked down another trey in the opening minutes of the second half, Oran closed the third quarter with an 11-3 run and led 42-35 heading into the final quarter. Senior Hunter Schlosser scored eight of his 17 points for Oran in the period.

Both teams scored 17 points in the fourth quarter, including seven by Priggel, who finished with a game-high 21 points.

Shoemaker said the third-quarter spark was a result of several of his players picking up the pace.

"A couple of our guys just started playing harder," Shoemaker said. "I felt like we got a few loose balls and rebounds and basically just gave a better effort."

Senior Dalton Huffman's 13 points led the Hawks. The junior Householder contributed 11 points, and Cayden Williams had 10 points.

Both teams struggled shooting from the floor. Kelly shot 31 percent (19 of 62), while Oran was 22 of 60 (37 percent) shooting.

Oran will take on 11th-seeded Bell City in the consolation championship at 3 p.m. Tuesday.

"We're going to have to take care of the basketball," Shoemaker said. "That'll be the big thing for us. We've got to make sure we take smart shots, take care of the basketball and rebound. If we do those things, we'll be getting better, and that's our goal."

Kelly 14 15 6 17 -- 52

Oran 16 13 13 17 -- 59

KELLY (52) -- Dalton Huffman 13, Ty Householder 11, Cayden Williams 10, Conner Dittlinger 6, Kade Proctor 4, Jacob McClain 4, Maurice Davis 2, Levi Alsup 2. FG 19-62, FT 8-13, F 19. (3-pointers: Williams 3, Householder 2, Huffman 1. Fouled out: Davis.)

ORAN (59) -- Jacob Priggel 21, Hunter Schlosser 17, Max Priggel 8, Garrison Mangels 7, Eric Westrich 4, Preston Hahn 2. FG 22-60, FT 13-18, F 12. (3-pointers: J. Priggel 1. Fouled out: M. Priggel.)