Oran's Langdon Scheeter displays all-around game in Eagle rout of Meadow Heights

Oran junior guard Langdon Scheeter (22) handles the ball during the Eagles' 70-34 win over Meadow Heights on Friday in Oran.

Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian

ORAN — As the Oran boy’s basketball squad was building its 38-18 lead Friday over Meadow Heights, Eagle junior guard Langdon Scheeter was contributing in a number of ways to his team’s success.

The rail-thin 5-foot-10 athlete was battling on the glass, despite his physique, he was running the Oran offense effectively, he was jumping passing lanes and generally wreaking havoc defensively on the Panther guards, and oh, by the way, he was also scoring in bunches. However, that wasn’t what caught his coach’s eye.

“One of the things he did,” veteran Eagle coach Joe Shoemaker said following his team’s 70-34 romp, “was he drew two charges.”

Oran (11-2) worked as hard defensively as it did offensively, as it raced out to an early 12-7 first-quarter lead and never looked back.

With the loss of the strong and athletic Todd Priggel (foot injury) until possibly District play, the Eagles aren’t going to physically overwhelm any team on their schedule. That is precisely why Shoemaker liked what he saw from Scheeter on the defensive end of the court.

“That means a lot to us because we are not very big right now,” Shoemaker explained of Scheeter’s charges. “We have to play with our bodies and be able to sacrifice it.”

The charges were nice to get from the Meadow Heights’ drivers, but the Eagle defenders continually trapped the Panther ball-handlers, jumped lanes, and forced turnovers, as well.

“We need to be stronger with the basketball,” Panther coach Corey Brownsberger said. “With a team like Oran, as hard as they play for coach Shoemaker, you can not be lackadaisical with the basketball. There were too many times tonight where we didn’t come to meet a pass and they get a run-out or a steal.”

Scheeter led the Eagles with 23 points, 13 of which came before halftime. He demonstrated an ability to score on multiple levels, including a mid-range game, which is a bit rare these days but was really effective.

“We’re not big enough sometimes to get to the rim,” Shoemaker said, “so you have to pull up mid-range and take the open shot. It is something we’ve worked on with all of (the players) and he’s really done well with it.

“If you are 5-8 or 5-9, it is better to shoot an open 10-footer than shoot over somebody who is 6-2.”

Following halftime, Eagle senior Tyson Goodale grabbed a rebound, made a steal, and scored his team’s initial six points to stretch the Oran margin to 46-18.

Ty Johnson added a steal and run-out for a bucket, which forced another Meadow Heights timeout to be called at the 5:41 mark.

And then Scheeter took a pass from Johnson for a bucket and Oran led by 30.

The game capped a long week for the Panthers (4-7), who lost to an equally havoc-creating team in Delta 96-58 on Tuesday.

“We are really young at a lot of positions,” Brownsberger said. “This is part of the learning process. This week has been a little rough for us, as we’ve played two of the best teams in Southeast Missouri. If we take some of those learning experiences from this week and build on it, it can make us better in the long run.”

Goodale added 15 in the victory, while Panther senior Wyatt Lincoln scored a team-high 10 points.

Meadow Heights hosts Bloomfield Monday at 7:30 p.m., while Oran hosts Kelly on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

Scoring

Oran - 12 26 20 12 - 70

Meadow Heights - 7 11 11 5 - 34

Oran (70) - Diesel Cato 3, Dane Shands 9, Cooper Priggel 6, Samuel Shoemaker 3, Langdon Scheeter 23, Ty Johnson 0, Tyson Goodale 15, Kaiden Massey 4, Nicholas Romas 2, Cameron Westrich 5. FG 28, FTs 10-13, 3-pointers (Shands, Priggel 2, Goodale).

Meadow Heights (34) - Jacob Barks 8, Josh Acord 1, Chase Conrad 4, Tristen Mayfield 9, Wyatt Lincoln 10, Kolby Wilfong 2. FG 15, FTYs 2-4, 3-pointers (Mayfield, Lincoln).