Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament: Oran claims consolation title over Bell City

After leading by as many as eight points in the first half, ninth-seeded Oran saw that lead slip to just two points at halftime.

The Eagles turned to senior Jacob Priggel, who scored 18 of his game-high 26 points in the second half and led Oran to a 58-51 win over No. 11 Bell City in the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament consolation championship Tuesday at the Show Me Center.

"He was in the right spots to hit some shots and we were thankful for that," Oran coach Joe Shoemaker said about Priggel. "I thought our shooting percentage next to the rim was real poor, but he made some plays for us there at the end, which is what you expect your senior leaders to do."

Oran jumped out to a 13-5 lead to open the game, but an 8-4 run by Bell City to close out the half quickly trimmed the lead to 17-13.

The Cubs got within one point at 21-20 with 4 minutes, 7 seconds remaining in the half, thanks in part to two Oran turnovers, which the Cubs converted into four straight points.

Oran scored the next seven points, but the Cubs answered with six in the final 2:19 and went into the break trailing 28-26.

Shoemaker said the Eagles got too comfortable with their lead and allowed the Cubs to get back in the game.

"One thing is, we quit playing as hard as we were," Shoemaker said. "We were lucky enough to get some open shots early and move the ball, and we quit doing the things that made us successful there for awhile. They started playing harder than we were."

Bell City coach CJ Hadley said his team did not look ready to play at the start of the game, which led to the bad start.

Bell City's Bobby Wright passes by Oran's Jacob Priggel in the second quarter Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2014 during the consolation championship of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament at the Show Me Center. (Glenn Landberg)

"I felt like we shouldn't have let them jump out to an early lead like that," Hadley said. "I kind of think some of our guys were like, 'Oh, it's Oran,' or something like that and then they find out we didn't end up playing well. We just got a little anxious. We haven't matched up with them yet this year, that's the first time playing them this year. We just felt like we should've had a good start. The message was we've got to come out here and play our game. I said, 'Now that you guys got all the ants or whatever, the jitters, out of your pocket, it's time to come out and play.'"

Bell City started the third quarter with a 7-4 run and after a 3 from Bobby Wright with 2:53 to play in the third, the Cubs took their first lead of the game at 33-32.

Priggel answered with two points at the other end to tie it and give Oran a 34-33 lead with 1:06 remaining, but Wright's second 3 of the game as time expired in the third tied the game again at 36.

Oran missed eight shots in the paint in the third quarter and was outscored by the Cubs 13-8.

"There were a lot of things going wrong down there," Shoemaker said. "Not finishing, not using the backboard correctly like they should have been, and Hunter [Schlosser] shot particularly poor for us tonight."

Bell City had a chance to take its second lead of the game, but a quick turnover and two made free throws by Schlosser started a 14-7 run for Oran.

Hadley said the Cubs struggled to get their offense going in the fourth, which led to six turnovers and just 15 points to Oran's 22.

"We didn't communicate a lot," Hadley said about how his team played in the fourth quarter. "We stopped rebounding. It was just the little things. I told them in the beginning. I said, 'Our team, we're small. We can't sit there and take plays off. We've got to have every loose ball and every rebound.' I feel like we should have let them to one shot and that was it, and instead they got a couple more."

Oran's Garrison Mangels and Bell City's Brandon Abner work for a rebound in the fourth quarter Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2014 during the consolation championship of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament at the Show Me Center. (Glenn Landberg)

Cole Nichols led Bell City with 14 points, while Bobby Wright added nine.

Max Priggel scored 15 points for Oran and Hunter Schlosser had nine.

Despite the win, Shoemaker said the Eagles still have a long way to go this season.

"I know we got some wins and this one to finish it out, but we're not playing like we're capable of yet," Shoemaker said. "Late in the game we had three or four trips in a row with turnovers and then we come down and foul. That's just not very intelligent basketball, but we'll keep working at it in practice and get there."

Bell City 13 13 10 15 -- 51

Oran 17 11 8 22 -- 58

BELL CITY (51) -- Cole Nichols 14, Bobby Wright 9, Koltren Siebert 8, Nate Finney 6, Austin Hicks 5, Peyton Maddox 5. FG 17, FT 10-17, F 18. (3-pointers: Wright 3, Nichols 2, Siebert 1, Hicks 1. Fouled out:Nate Finney.)

ORAN (58) -- Jacob Priggel 26, Max Priggel 15, Hunter Schlosser 9, Garrison Mangels 6. FG 22, FT 11-16, F 16. (3-pointers: Max Priggel 3. Fouled out: none.)