Game 1, Oran won big. Game 2, Oran won by a narrow margin. Game 3, Oran squandered an 18 point third-quarter lead and lost on, well lets just say, a controversial shot.
So, when the Eagles, the 2 seed, led by 18 starting the third-quarter in game 4, Oran fans were not over-confident. Then, when the Cubs, the 3 seed, scored 6 straight to open the period and the lead was down to 12, stomach acids started to bubble. But, this time, Oran maintained their composure and did not let the advantage erode. The Eagles picked up an 85-66 win to advance to the district championship game on Thursday night at 7:30 pm.
The game started with nothing but 3's. Oran was up 15-6 with less than 4 minutes gone. All the points coming in triples (if you include a Cole Priggel "and one"). The Eagles were up 28-12 after the first and had that 18 point margin at the half 46-28.
After the brief hiccup early in the third, Oran maintained a comfortable advantage the rest of the way.
The Eagles hit 9 three's on the evening, all coming in the first half.
Sophomore, Layne Johnson was the game's top scorer. He poured in a total of 28. He hit 3 in a row from beyond the arc during the 2nd quarter. He converted several on smooth mid-range jump shots and scored on aggressive drives to the hoop. Also, he dished out 5 assists.
Junior, Max Priggel totalled 22. He had 2 treys (including the game opener) and he too, had 5 assists.
Freshman, Jacob Shoemaker tallied 17. He knocked down 4, including 3 in a row during the first period, from beyond the arc and had 8 rebounds and 7 assists.
Sophomore, Cole Priggel added 13, mostly by slicing and dicing through the defense to get to the basket.
Seniors, Garrison Mangels and Blake Schlitt chipped in 4 and 1, respectively. They both grabbed 9 rebounds.
Preston Hahn, Luke Barnes, Wyatt Kinney, Denver Elfrink, Ben Fox and Drew Reischman logged minutes but did not score.
Oran hit 12 of 23 from the line for 52%. They also hit 52% from beyond the arc.
The Eagles improved their record to 15-13.
This morning, Eagle Head Coach Joe Shoemaker told the blog, "I thought the boys came out really focused. We were able to get into a great shooting rhythm early. I felt they played very unselfish throughout the game. Garrison, Blake and Preston really did a great job on rebounding and doing some of the little things that don't always get recognized in the stat book. Now the challenge is to be prepared for a great team like Advance."
They will face the number one seed Advance Hornets in a district championship match-up for the 6th straight year. Oran won the first 3, but the Hornets have claimed the last 2. In all likelihood, the streak will end at 6, however, as the Eagles are expected to move up to class 2 next season.
It will be an all Oran affair on Thursday, as the girls will look to claim their 3rd straight district title at 6 pm. They will be facing the Giants of St. Paul Lutheran located in Farmington for the second consecutive year.
What the professionals have to say: seMissourian
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