Top seeds advance in season-opening Oran basketball tournament

ORAN, Mo. -- The Oran High School boys basketball team didn't think it played all that well.

Oran still had little trouble winning its season opener in its own tournament.

The third-seeded Eagles routed sixth-seeded Richland 75-49 as the 56th annual Oran Invitational got underway.

"Any win is good," Oran junior guard Kody Moore said. "You could definitely tell it was the first game of the season. We were a little rusty."

Joining the Eagles as first-round winners Monday night were second-seeded Advance and top-seeded Scott County Central.

Oran's Seth Ressel takes a shot against Richland's Marcus Grayson during the third quarter in the opening round of the Oran Invitational Monday, Nov. 28, 2011 in Oran, Mo. (Fred Lynch)

Advance pulled away in the second half to dispose of seventh-seeded Kelly 76-54, and SCC rolled past the eighth-seeded Oran JV squad 83-35.

The opening round concludes today when fourth-seeded Malden plays fifth-seeded Bell City at 6 p.m.

Oran lost eight key seniors and much of its size from last year's club that won the program's first district title since 1999.

The Eagles have reloaded with a small, quick lineup that forced numerous turnovers and created a bundle of fast-break baskets against Richland, which features 6-foot-11 junior center Richard Forshee.

"Quickness and defense, that's what's going to determine our wins and losses," Moore said.

Oran's Blake Carlyle goes up for a shot against Richland's Marcus Grayson during the first-round game Monday at the Oran Invitational in Oran, Mo. More photos from the game can be viewed online at semoball.com. (Fred Lynch)

Moore, Oran's lone returning starter, scored 21 points. He drained five 3-pointers.

Seth Ressel helped the Eagles start fast with 14 first-quarter points, six coming on a pair of 3-pointers. The sophomore guard finished with 22 points in his first significant varsity action.

"He works hard. He stays in the gym a lot," Oran coach Joe Shoemaker said.

Ressel played a few minutes on the varsity as a freshman last year, but now he's prepared to take on a much bigger role.

"I was ready to get out and play, but I need to quit fouling," said Ressel, who fouled out.

Oran scored the game's first seven points, but Richland trailed just 22-16 late in the opening period.

Oran closed the quarter with a 7-2 run to lead 29-18. The Eagles built a 47-26 second-period advantage before entering the intermission ahead 49-33.

The Eagles blew things open in the third quarter, outscoring Richland 20-6 to lead 69-39. Much of the final period was played with a running clock that is used when a team leads by at least 30 points.

"It was sloppy, but the kids played hard," Shoemaker said. "I think you could tell we had a lot of inexperienced players out there."

Senior forward Blake Henson added 10 points for the Eagles, who will play Advance in Thursday's semifinals. Oran beat the Hornets in last year's Class 2 District 3 final.

Advance 76, Kelly 54

Ethan Barr, a strong 6-foot-4 junior center, and sophomore guard Lane Below provided an impressive one-two punch for the Hornets as they won their season opener.

Barr scored 25 points and controlled the boards, while Layne added 24 points. Senior guard Hunter Wilson contributed 10 points.

"He's a big high school kid," Advance coach Andrew Halford said of Barr, the Hornets' only returning starter. "He can give a lot of people trouble."

Kelly, also in its season opener, gave Advance plenty of trouble in the first half. The Hawks fell behind 8-0 but battled back to within 18-16 after one quarter.

The Hawks took their only lead at 24-23. Barr's layup midway through the second period put Advance back on top for good, 25-24, but the Hornets led just 34-30 at the break.

"Lots of first-game jitters," Halford said. "I give a lot of credit to Kelly. We got up at the beginning of the game, but they were ready to battle back."

Advance scored the first 10 points of the third quarter to lead 44-30, and the Hornets were not threatened again.

"Nerves were kind of holding us back a little bit," Barr said about the opening half. "We kept turning the ball over, and we fouled too much. We settled down in the second half."

Juniors Jeff Gates and Brent Forck paced Kelly with 17 and 13 points, respectively.

SCC 83, Oran JV 35

The three-time defending tournament champion Braves, who have also won the past three Class 1 state titles, posted their first win after opening the season with two losses at the Riverbend Classic.

SCC, which built a 57-19 halftime lead, was led by senior Dominique Porter's 20 points. Porter is the Braves' only returning starter.

Sophomore Larandis Banks added 17 points for the Braves and senior LaMarcus Steward scored 10.

Oran's JV was paced by freshmen Hunter Schlosser with 11 points and Jacob Priggel with 10.

The Braves will face either Malden or Bell City in Thursday's semifinals.

Scott County Central 83, Oran JV 35

Oran JV 8 11 12 4 -- 35

SCC 31 26 10 16 -- 83

ORAN JV (35) -- Cash Kinney 2, Chance Tenkhoff 3, Jacob Priggel 10, Hunter Schlosser 11, Bear Hicks 3, Dustin Gebhardt 6. FG 15, FT 2-7, F 6. (3-pointers: Schlosser 1, Gebhardt 2. Fouled out: none)

SCC (83) -- Dominique Porter 20, LaMarcus Steward 10, Antonio Johnson 7, Steven Minner 2, Nathan Holland 5, Chris Brown 5, Jaylen Porter 6, Tyler Masters 7, Kamryn Johnson 2, Dustin Johnson 2, Larandis Banks 17. FG 36, FT 4-9, F 13. (3-pointers: D. Porter 2, Steward 1, Brown 1, Banks 3. Fouled out: none)

Advance 76, Kelly 54

Kelly 16 14 11 13 -- 54

Advance 18 16 21 21 -- 76

KELLY (54) -- Ian Householder 7, Austin Waddlington 2, Aaron Grainger 3, Dustin Schwartz 2, Brent Forck 13, Jeff Gates 17, Gabe Felter 5, Gaven Ray 5. FG 21, FT 9-16, F 12. (3-pointers: Householder 1, Grainger 1, Gates 1. Fouled out: none)

ADVANCE (76) -- Jacob Spears 4, Hunter Wilson 10, Aaron Veale 2, Ethan Barr 25, Tyler Middleton 4, Trey Wallace 7, Lane Below 24. FG 34, FT 4-9, F 21. (3-pointers: Wilson 2, Below 2. Fouled out: none)

Oran 75, Richland 49

Richland 18 15 6 10 -- 49

Oran 29 20 20 6 -- 75

RICHLAND (49) -- Jesse Barnes 7, Nick Daniels 9, Richard Forshee 9, Adam Lane 7, Tyler Maddox 7, Marcus Grayson 10. FG 18, FT 11-20, F 10. (3-pointers: Grayson 2. Fouled out: none)

ORAN (75) -- Blake Carlyle 9, Dalton Elfrink 3, Blake Henson 10, Adam Schaefer 8, Kody Moore 21, Alex Heuring 4, Seth Ressel 22. FG 33, FT 4-7, F 18. (3-pointers: Moore 5, Ressel 2. Fouled out: Ressel)