LIVE BLOG: Class 1-3 state semifinals

Posted Thursday, March 9, 2017, at 11:59 AM

FINAL: Adrian 54, Oran 46 (girls)

In a game of runs, the Blackhawks used a 7-0 swing midway through the fourth quarter to secure the victory.

Neither team shot well, but Adrian's 37.3-percent shooting looked downright lights out compared to Oran's shooting struggles — the Eagles finished 18 of 68 (26.5 percent) from the floor as they struggled to get their transition attack in gear.

Oran out-rebounded Adrian 48-42, including 23-13 on the offensive boards, but couldn't turn those second chances into points often enough.

Leah Cauble led Oran with 24 points on 9-of-21 shooting. Jessie Long pulled down 14 rebounds and Kaylee Payne had nine boards.

Adrian was led by a pair of double-doubles from Anna Walley and Lauren shipley, who had 15 points and 13 rebounds and 18 points and 11 boards, respectively.

Oran will face Scotland County — which fell to Skyline in Thursday's nightcap 46-22 — in the Class 2 third-place game Friday at 7:45 p.m.

The Blackhawks will take on Skyline in Saturday's championship game at 8:10 p.m.

FINAL: Oran 64, Sacred Heart 59 (boys)

Oran ended the game on an 8-0 run and will play for a state championship Saturday after a thrilling win over the Gremlins.

The difference in the game late was free throws. Starting at the :33 second mark, Sacred Heart (25-6) missed its final four attempts from the free-throw line while Oran went 6 for 6 from the line. Max Priggel hit four of those free throws for Oran, including two with five seconds left to make it a two-possession game and essentially seal the win. Priggel and Jacob Shoemaker each finished 17 points. Senior Layne Johnson added 14 points and seven rebounds.

Despite Oran's significant height disadvantage – the Eagles don't have a player over 6-foot-1 while the Gremlins had five players 6-4 or taller — Oran won the rebounding battle 34-25.

Sacred Heart's Trenton Lyles finished with a game-high 21 points. Micah Tanguay added 17.

Oran (22-8) started slow and trailed by as many 11 in the first half. At halftime, the Gremlins led 35-30. But Oran started the half on a 8-2 run and took a 38-37 lead when Priggel hit a 3-pointer with 5 minutes, 29 seconds left in the third quarter.

Heading into the fourth quarter, it was tied at 48 apiece and neither team led by more than five in the frame. With 47 seconds left, Sacred Heart was up 59-56 after Lyles hit two free throws. Then, Johnson jumpstarted the game-ending 8-0 run with a contested layup. After two missed Gremlins' free throws, Drew Reischmen hit two from the line to give Oran a 60-59 lead with 26 seconds left.

Sacred Heart again missed two free throws, and on the other end Priggel drained his attempts.

After the Gremlins missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer, Priggle secured the rebound and hit his final two free throws to seal the win.

Oran was 12 of 18 from the free-throw line as Sacred Heart went 9 of 17. Sacred Heart shot 48.9 percent from the field and Oran was 46.8 percent from the floor.

Oran will face Crane at 6:20 p.m. Saturday in the championship. Crane beat Harrisburg 59-51 in the second semifinal Thursday.

HALFTIME: Sacred Heart 35, Oran 30

Phillip has arrived, and Oran boys are trailing at halftime as Sacred Heart shot 59.1 percent in the first half. The Gremlins' leading scorer coming in, Trenton Lyles, has 12 points at the break. Jacob Shoemaker leads the Eagles with 14 points.

Despite Sacred Heart holding a height advantage, Oran is out-rebounding Sacred Heart 13-12 at halftime. Oran is also shooting 46.2 percent from the field compared to Sacred Heart's nearly 60-percent clip. Sacred Heart made 9 of 10 shots in the first quarter and 13 of 22 total in the first half.

Check back for the final score update.

FINAL: Advance 88, North Andrew 78

In a game with 13 lead changes in the first half, Advance did what it does — pull away in the second half. The Hornets held on to a slim halftime lead and then exerted control late when North Andrew lost its leading scorer, Caleb Patterson, to an injury. Patterson left the game with 7:13 left to play, already with 19 points and 14 rebounds.

Advance junior guard Armani Vermillion stole the show with 38 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter.

The Hornets led by just three points after three quarters, but a strong start to the final period help vault them to a victory.

Dawson Mayo had a double-double for Advance, with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

Cardinals point guard Ryan Hughes had 19 points and seven assists.

The Hornets advance to their first state championship game since 1975.

The game will be played Saturday at 11 a.m. at Mizzou Arena against the winner of Glasgow and Walnut Grove.

We've made it to Columbia, Missouri! Well, some of us have.

Phillip's stuck in St. Louis with car issues, but we'll still have updates and coverage from today's semifinals.

Here's the schedule for our three area teams:

12 p.m. — Advance vs. North Andrew (Class 1 boys — Mizzou Arena)

3:20 p.m. — Oran vs. Sacred Heart (Class 2 boys — Hearnes Center)

6:40 p.m. — Oran vs. Adrian (Class 2 girls — Hearnes Center)

The Hornets are currently on the floor warming up, as the first semifinal of the day will be starting shortly.

Follow @semoballjosh on Twitter for updates today.

You can read our state previews for Advance and Oran.