Eagles sweep Cubs

The Oran Junior High School boys basketball teams picked up a couple of wins last night on the road at Bell City.  The 7th grade won their two-quarter contest 26-7 while the 8th grade came away with a 43-33 victory, avenging last year's 45-30 loss.

Game 1 saw the Eagles jump out early as they held the Cubs scoreless during the first period as Head Coach Joe Shoemaker emptied his bench.  Oran led 16-0 after one.  The Eagles bench added 10 more points in the second for the 19 point win.

Shoemaker said, "I thought during the half of a 7th grade game everyone played well.  We were able to play all of the 6th graders and I was very proud of their efforts.  They played the entire 2nd quarter and outscored Bell City that quarter 10-7."

Samuel Shoemaker scored 8, Parker Diebold added 6, while Seth Cauble and Camdyn Triblett chipped in 4 apiece.  Kolton Payne had 3 points and Robbie Menz had 1.

Landon Cochran, Nick Romas, Ryan Burke and Connor Gage saw the floor but did not score.

During the night cap, the Cubs scored first but then Oran scored the next 9.  After one, the Eagles were up 9-5.  Oran added a point to their lead at the half, 21-16.

Bell City fought back to tie the game at 28 all after three but a change in defense during the final six minutes and an offensive explosion by Ty Johnson helped propel the Eagles to the win.

Johnson, who two years ago as a 6th grader hit a buzzer beating three point shot for a 20-18 win in that two-quarter 7th grade game, was last night's leading scorer with 23.  Eleven of those points came during the final period.  He hit 1 trey and played through foul trouble.  Both he and Dane Shands, who finished with 8 points, including 2 from beyond the arc, picked up 2 fouls in the first period.  Johnson ended with 4 and Shands 3.

Drew Smith had 4 points and Shoemaker added 2.

Waylon Schaffer played but did not score.

Coach Shoemaker said, "I was also very pleased with the effort and composure of the 8th grade.  We have always battled it out with this group (of Cubs) and this year was no different.  I felt that the boys were able to keep their composure during the second half when we faced some adversity and continued to play hard and came out with a win.  The boys did a good job of making adjustments during the 4th quarter on defense and it showed as we outscored them 15-5 that quarter."

The teams will be back in action this evening at 6 pm for a conference match up at Kelly.  Both Eagle squads are 3-1 overall.  The 7th grade is 1-1 in league play, while the 8th grade is 2-0.