Semoball

Advance holds off Oran; Kelly cruises in OIT semifinals

Oran's Diesel Cato (32) battles Advance's Hunter Tidwell (35) for a rebound in an Oran Invitational semifinal game Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021, at Oran High School. (David Jenkins/Standard Democrat)

ORAN, Mo. — Early on it looked like Advance was going to cruise into the championship game of the Oran Invitational Tournament. Oran had other ideas, forcing the Hornets to hold off the host squad 57-48 in a semifinal game Thursday night.

Advance was primed from the tip, racing out to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter before Oran’s Kolten Payne stopped the bleeding with a put back on an offensive rebound with two minutes left in the frame.

Advance (2-0) forced eight Oran turnovers in the first quarter, helping them gain the early advantage.

“Our defense was just great early on,” said Advance coach Bubba Wheetley. “I think we got a little tired in the second quarter and they made a run. They played very good defense too.”

Trailing 20-5 after one quarter, Oran mounted a comeback. The Eagles cut the lead to 32-24 at the half and then opened the third quarter on a 12-0 run to take a 36-32 lead.

“I’m proud of my kids, the way they battled back,” Oran coach Joe Shoemaker said. “I obviously didn’t have them ready to start the game and that part is on me. I appreciate my players having my back and getting us back in the game.”

With increased defensive pressure, it was Advance who was turning the ball over, finishing the game with 22. The Hornets also struggled from the free throw line, missing all six free throws they shot in the second the quarter and finishing the game 18 of 32.

“We had way too many turnovers and way too many missed free throws,” Wheetley said. “You’ve got to make free throws and you can’t have all these turnovers.”

The game was tied 40-40 with just seconds left in the third quarter when Advance rebounded a missed 3-pointer, pushed the ball up court and got a layup from Jaxon Limbaugh at the buzzer to put the Hornets up 42-40.

A layup from Samuel Shoemaker tied the game at 42-42 in the fourth quarter but Advance answered with a 3-pointer from Hayden Hitt and the Hornets never trailed again.

“A lot of the kids stepped up and made some big shots when we needed them,” Wheetley said. “It was the difference in the game. I thought our defense stepped a little better too in the fourth quarter. We were out on them more. They kept trying to penetrate and we stopped the penetration.”

The shots that had been falling in the middle part of the game started coming up short for Oran as the Eagles were on tired legs after making the big charge at Advance.

“We’re a little short handed right now,” Shoemaker said. “When we get back to full strength, I think that will make a difference. I think our legs were gone a little bit but (Advance) is a well-coached team and did what they needed to do, so hat’s off to them.”

Oran (1-1) was led in scoring by Seth Cauble’s 13 points while Payne added 12 points and eight rebounds.

Hitt led Advance with 24 points while Laird chipped in 10. Jaren Schrader scored 8 points and grabbed 17 rebounds for the Hornets.

Advance will be making their first championship game since 2017 and are seeking their first championship since 2015 when they take on top-seeded Kelly at 8 p.m. Friday.

“It’s gonna be tough,” Wheetley said. “(Kelly’s) bigger than we are. We’re really gonna have to work hard stopping their big kid inside and we’re going to have to have a lot of kids help. We’ve gotta handle the press and if we do that I think we’ll be alright.”

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Advance2012101557

ORAN (48) — Kolten Payne 12, Nick Romas 5, Quentin Senciboy 2, Samuel Shoemaker 9, Riley Schlosser 4, Diesel Cato 3, Seth Cauble 13. FG 16, FT 12-20, F 24. (3-pointers: Cauble 3, Payne 1. Fouled out: none)

ADVANCE (57) — Jaren Schrader 8, Hunter Tidwell 4, Hayden Hitt 24, Hayden Laird 10, Tyler Davis 5, Jack Bailey 2, Jaxon Limbaugh 4. FG 18, FT 18-32, F 21. (3-pointers: Hitt 1, Laird 1, Davis 1. Fouled out: none)

Kelly 69, Scott Central 38

The top-seeded Kelly Hawks towered over the smaller Scott County Central Braves and used that to their advantage in a 69-38 semifinal win in the Oran Invitational Tournament Thursday night.

Kelly pounded the ball inside possession after possession taking an early lead and cruising to the convincing win just days after being challenged by the Oran junior varsity team in an opening round game.

“It was a great check for us on Monday to learn how to play,” said Kelly coach Jeremy Brinkmeyer. “We learned we have to play with defensive intensity and get the ball inside. It’s a pretty simple game when you do it that way.”

Kelly's Joel McClain goes up for a layup against Scott County Central in an Oran Invitational semifinal game Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021, at Oran High School. (David Jenkins/Standard Democrat)

The Kelly defense forced 24 turnovers in the game as the Braves struggled to handle the Hawks’ pressure.

“Our defense did tremendous,” Brinkmeyer said. “It wasn’t just one guy or two guys, it was the whole crew. We really played like a unit tonight. Again, it just comes back down to energy and effort. When you play with that, anything can happen.”

Kelly was led in scoring by Gavin Jansen who finished the game with 30 points and 7 rebounds. Fellow senior Joel McClain ended with 23 points and 10 rebounds as the Hawks outrebounded Scott Central 43-15.

Levi Glueck and Isiah Fitzgerald both finished with 12 points for Scott Central (1-1), who will take on Oran in the third place game Friday at 6:30 p.m.

Kelly (2-0) will be making their third-straight appearance in the championship game but haven’t won the tournament since 1998.

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SCOTT CENTRAL (38) — Gage Foster 4, Kobie Burton 1, Levi Glueck 12, Kaden Sadler 6, Ezekiel Johnson 3, Isiah Fitzgerald 12, FG 15, FT 4-15, F 15. (3-pointers: Fitzgerald 2, Foster 1, Johnson 1. Fouled out: none)

KELLY (69) — Joel McClain 23, Drew Klipfel 2, Ross Peters 5, Dalton Forck 3, Bryce Phelps 6, Gavin Jansen 30. FG 31, FT 6-11, F 14. (3-pointers: Peters 1. Fouled out: none)

Richland 65, Oran JV 53

The Richland Rebels moved in to the consolation championship game with a 65-53 win over the Oran JV Thursday night.

Jaden Pope led Richland (1-2) with 25 while Damon Ivy and Hunter Sanders scored 14 and 12 points.

Nolen Loper had a game-high 27 for Oran.

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Oran JV141691453
RICHLAND (65) — Hunter Sanders 12, Jaden Pope 25, Matt Finch 8, Tucker Hughes 4, Damon Ivy 14, DaShawn Clark 2. FG 26, FT 9-12, F 12. (3-pointers: Ivy 2, Sanders 1, Hughes 1. Fouled out: Finch)

Oran JV (53) — Cooper Senciboy 5, Nolan Looper 27, Brenden Campbell 5, Parker Bryant 4, Elijah Shoemaker 4, Nate Pobst 8. FG 21, FT 5-7, F 14. (3-pointers: Loper 4, Senciboy 1, Campbell 1. Fouled out: none)

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