Thomas scores 47 points as Oak Ridge reaches district final

ORAN, Mo. -- Brett Thomas' right arm spent most of Tuesday night hanging in the air.

Thomas, Oak Ridge's sturdy junior forward, is known for leaving his arm in the air after putting up a shot. He lets it hang there if he makes the shot.

After connecting for 47 points, his arm got a workout.

"As an assistant coach or head coach, I've never seen a kid shoot like that," Oak Ridge coach Adam Stoneking said.

Thomas led the Blue Jays past Oran 70-62 in their semifinal and into the Class 2 District 3 championship game.

"This is what you live and breathe basketball for for three or fours months at a time," Thomas said. "People ask why do you put in all the effort. It's for that feeling right there. You're on top of the world and there's nothing better than it."

Thomas said the act of leaving his arm in the air after a shot started a while ago when he was struggling with his shot.

"I went through a stage there where I had a really bad time following through," he said. "Now it's just kind of muscle memory. I stick that arm up and it goes in, you just like to get that follow through down."

He admits he tries to hide it a little when he misses, which rarely happened Tuesday.

"I try to modest up a little bit and just kind of sneak it down into my right pocket and head on back down the court," he said.

Thomas connected from all over the floor. He made eight 3-pointers and went 5 of 8 from the free-throw line. He hit layups, mid-range jumpers and everything in between. He even spun and threw up a 3-pointer from near mid court that hit the backboard and went in as the buzzer sounded to end the first half.

"I've seen some great performances and that will rank among the top of them," Oran coach Joe Shoemaker said. "I don't know if that was the best I've seen, but it ranks up there. He got going early with some open shots and he made some tough ones there at the end."

Thomas, who surpassed the 1,000-point mark in his career earlier this season, got off to a hot start. He scored 12 points in the first quarter and never cooled off.

"That first shot went in and then I drove and got another easy bucket," Thomas said. "Then after that they all just started coming together in strands and I never really let up."

Oak Ridge senior Garret Light said he was nervous at first that the Blue Jays were leaning so heavily on Thomas. But that changed in the second half.

"Once he kept hitting them, in about the third quarter, I was like, they're not going to stop him," Light said. "I kept giving him the ball and let him knock it down. Tonight he was on fire. You've got to let him keep shooting until he can't hit anymore."

Stoneking said Thomas spent a lot of time in the preseason working on his shot. That preparation paid off Tuesday.

"When I came to Oak Ridge last year, I could see early on that he had potential," Stoneking said. "He had the good muscle memory but he didn't have a shot. He didn't have any arch in it. It's something we've been working on. I know he took before the season started, he was taking about 1,000 shots a day on the gun. He hated me for it, but I don't think he hates me for it now."

Oak Ridge (22-4) needed Thomas at his best during Tuesday's game because Oran stuck with the Blue Jays throughout. The Eagles (17-10) only trailed by four entering the fourth quarter, thanks in part to hitting 3 of their 4 shots from 3-point range in the third quarter.

But Oak Ridge started the final quarter on a 12-3 run to gain some separation.

"We missed some easy shots and I told the kids we just didn't get quite enough done," Shoemaker said. "You have a kid who's having the game of his life, you've got to hit your easy shots. We missed some."

Oran did close its deficit to six on a 3-pointer by Kody Moore with 33 seconds left, but Oak Ridge hit two free throws and the Eagles didn't score again.

Thomas scored 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting after halftime.

"You've just got to get a hand in his face," Oran junior Jon Morrow said. "If he makes the shot, you've just got to say good job and keep on playing."

The Blue Jays now turn their attention to Bernie, the top seed in the district. Thomas said he's a superstitious person, so he'll wear his same game socks, give his necklace to the same person and eat the same thing as Tuesday in preparation for Thursday's game in the hopes that he can repeat his performance from the semifinals.

"I'm going to eat two ham and cheese sandwiches before I come and drink a glass of milk and be on my way," Thomas said. "Hopefully we can bring it back against Bernie. They're a very, very solid team."

Oran 15 18 17 12 -- 62

Oak Ridge 17 18 19 16 -- 70

ORAN (62) -- Preston Scherer 10, Gabe Kielhofner 9, Kody Moore 3, Nathan Michelsen 17, Reece Mangels 9, Jon Morrow 16. FG 24, FT 5-7, F 20. (3-pointers: Scherer 2, Kielhofner 2, Moore 1, Michelsen 4. Fouled out: none)

OAK RIDGE (70) -- Stephen Bolen 1, Caleb Elam 8, Lucas Rohde 3, Jacob Light 1, Garret Light 8, Brett Thomas 47, Logan Mangels 2. FG 24, FT 11-21, F 15. (3-pointers: Elam 2, Rohde 1, Thomas 8. Fouled out: none)