What's happenin' (1/2-1/7)

Happy New Year!

It will be a busy first week of 2017 as both the boys and varsity girls will have a full slate of action.

The girls will kick things off on Monday when they open the Delta New Years Tournament as the number 1 seed.  They are 7-0 and will face the number 8 seed Meadow Heights Panthers at 4 pm.  The Panthers are 0-9 this year and the Eagles prevailed 80-36 in a Dec. 15th match up.

They will play again on Wednesday and Thursday.  Game times are yet to be determined.  A tourney bracket is located HERE

The girls will also have a game on Saturday.  It too is varsity only.  Oran will travel to Three Rivers College in Poplar Bluff to face the Twin Rivers Lady Royals as a prelim to the 3R Lady Raiders.  Game time is 11:30 am.  Twin Rivers is currently 4-6.

The boys will also get back on the court.  On Tuesday, the Bernie Mules will come to town.  Bernie is 7-4 this season.  The junior varsity game will tip at 6 pm.  This will be the first game for the younger Eagles, 2-3, since Dec. 13.  The Eagle varsity is 5-5.

On Friday, they will travel to Saxony Lutheran to take on the 10-1 Crusaders.

Wrapping up the Christmas Tournament

The Oran Eagles entered this year's tournament with the number 9 seed.  After the opening round win over Scott City, the Eagles lost their next two contests to the No. 1 seed Charleston Blue Jays 76-74 in overtime and then 61-45 to the No. 4 seed Scott County Central Braves, and finished in the 7th/8th position

Oran ends the 2016 portion of the schedule with a 5-5 record.

Jacob Shoemaker ended up with 66 points during his 3 games, good for 9th place.  Max Priggel finished 12th with 58.

Shoemaker was also named to the All-Tournament team.

Complete tournament coverage is available HERE

Eagles soar over Rams

I have decided to take the easy way out this morning and let you read what Josh Mlot wrote for the Southeast Missourian HERE and see the photos that were taken by Fred Lynch HERE, while just adding a little of my own material.

First of all, it was a great win last night by the Eagles.  It was the second win over Scott City this year.  Earlier Oran had won 69-63 at home.  That matchup was just after the seed meeting for this tournament, so it's really hard to call it an upset.  But...

With the win, the Eagles now have to face tourney favorite Charleston at 4:30 pm this afternoon.

We saw some different player rotations last night due to foul issues.  Wyatt Kinney and Drew Reischman both saw quite a bit of time on the floor together and Luke Barnes got extended minutes for the for the first time this season and played well.

Max Priggel, who led all scorers with 24, was tied with the Rams after the first quarter.  Both had 14.

The Eagles hit 9 treys on the evening.  Priggel had 4, Jacob Shoemaker had 4 and Layne Johnson had the other.

In the only "true" upset of the day, Bell City (#11) used only five players to defeat (#6) Woodland 51-47, which leads to my next and final point.

I find it interesting that the team that finished 5th in the OIT, Bell City, defeated the team that finished 1st in the WIT (Woodland Invitational Tournament), that of course was the Woodland Cardinals who came into the event with a 7-0 mark.  Also, Oran, who placed 4th in its own tournament has defeated the 2nd place team from the WIT (twice), Scott City and the team that won not only the Campbell Invitational but also the Clarkton Holiday Tournament, Risco.

I have included just a few of the pics that I took last night as well.

#GoEagles  #EaglesSoar

What's happenin' (12/26-12/30)

Varsity boys basketball will take center stage this upcoming week as the Eagles will be the No. 9 seed in the seMissourian Christmas Tournament.

Oran will take on the eighth-seeded Scott City Rams at 9 pm on Monday night at the Show Me Center.  The Eagles prevailed in an earlier meeting on December 9th played at Oran 69-63.  The Rams are 4-4 while the Eagles are 4-3.

The tournament will continue through Friday.  Thursday is an off-day.

The bracket is located HERE.

Eagles surpass .500 mark

The Oran varsity boys basketball team picked up a home conference win over visiting Delta this evening 73-32 to improve to 2-1 in the league and 4-3 overall heading into the Christmas break.  There was no junior varsity game.

The Eagles jumped out to a 30-8 first quarter lead and cruised to the 41 point win.

Cole Priggel had a game-high 17 points, while Drew Reischman hit for a career-high 15 off the bench and grabbed a team-high 9 rebounds.  Max Priggel had 13, including 2 treys and Layne Johnson was the fourth Eagle in double-digits with 12. He dished out 5 assists.

Jacob Shoemaker had 8.  The quartet of Luke Barnes, Wyatt Kinney, Peyton McVay and Joey Phillips had 2 apiece.

Denver Elfrink, Ben Fox and William Kluesner were on the court but did not score.

Oran was 9 of 16 from the line for 56%.

The will not play again until the final game of the opening night of the seMissourian Christmas Tournament on Monday, December 26th at 9 pm, when they take on Scott City for the second time this season.

Eagles soar to 7-0

The Oran High School girls basketball team picked up a win last night over the visiting Meadow Heights Panthers 80-36.  There was no junior varsity contest.

The Eagles jumped out to a 33-10 first quarter advantage and never looked back.

Coach Ethan Evans, "I thought we played very well offensively. We moved the ball and got some open shots against their zone defense. Our defense and rebounding could have been better especially in the early going. After the 1st quarter, we did a better job."

Leah Cauble once again led the way with a game-high 39 points.  She hit 3 treys and was 6-8 from the line and added 4 assists.  Jessie Long had 14 points, was 2-2 on free throw attempts and grabbed 6 rebounds.

Brianna Stause scored 9 while hitting 1 from beyond the arc.  Kaylee Payne added 7 with a trey and led the team with 8 boards and 5 assists.  Kenzie Graviett, Taylor Lowes and Madison Ramsey had 3 each, the latter two on three-pointers. Katelyn Streeter hit both of her free throws for her 2 points.

Claire Ramsey contributed 4 steals and 3 assists.

Savannah Below, Paige Bradley and Heather Gosche played but did not score.

Oran hit 64.9% from inside the arc (24-37) and 31.8% from beyond (7-22).  They hit 11-20 from the free throw line for 55%.

They are now 7-0 on the year and will not play again until next year when they face this same Panther squad in the opening round of the Delta New Years Tournament on Monday, January 2nd at 4 pm.

***Update:  Since the New Madrid County Central post the blog has learned that the 100 points scored during that contest were the most ever scored by an Oran girls' team.  The mark, previous to year was 96 set during the 1991-92 season.  During the opening round of the Lady Devil Invitational, the Eagles scored 97 and then put up 100 a week later.

The blog would like to thank Mrs. Margaret Blattel for the historical data.

Jayvee boys finish fourth

Oran's junior varsity boys basketball team was seeded fourth entering the 2016 Advance Junior Varsity Tournament and that's where they finished after last night's 52-41 loss to the 3rd-seeded Bloomfield Wildcats.

The Eagles were down by 5 at the half but saw that margin balloon to 20 entering the fourth.  Oran outscored the Wildcats 18-9 during the final quarter,  but it was too little, too late.

Landon Stanberry scored 12 of his game-high 27 points during the final seven minutes.  He hit one three on the night.  Tyson Goodale added 8.  Jakob Findley, Gabe Fox and Avery Mitchem had 2 apiece.  Mitchem's came on 2 of 2 free throw shooting.  Calen Read played but did not score.

The Eagles were 6 of 10 from the line for 60%.

They are now 2-4 on the year and they will not play until the new year, on January 3rd, when the Bernie Mules come to town.

Eagles feel the agony of defeat

The Oran High School boys basketball teams suffered two conference losses last night at home against the East Prairie Eagles.  The JV lost 70-55 and the varsity fell 78-77.

In the opener, it was almost deja vu all over again, as the hometown Eagles lost to East Prairie for the second night in a row by an almost identical score.  On Monday they dropped a 69-55 decision at the Advance Junior Varsity tournament.  And, once again Oran led early but couldn't hold on.

Our Eagles were up 24-19 with 4:33 left before halftime when Landon Stanberry was whistled for his third person foul.  Fifteen seconds later, after he went to the bench, the score was tied at 24.  With 2:30 left Oran was down 6, 30-24.  A 7-1 run, though, got the team back to within 1 at the break, 31-30.

Oran managed a brief lead in the 3rd quarter by scoring the first 4 points out of the locker room. But after that, it was all East Prairie as they led by 5 after three and won the 4th period by 10.

Stanberry, who scored 26 the night before, had a game-high 20.  He hit 2 from beyond the arc.  Tyson Goodale, who was playing on a sprained ankle from the previous night, added 15.

Jakob Findley and Calen Read had 8 apiece, while Avery Mitchem chipped in 4.

Kaiden Massey, Carson Moyers and Tristin Schlosser saw action but did not score.

As a team, they were only 4 of 13 from the line for 31%.  At one point, down the stretch in the final 7 minutes, they missed 4 in a row, 2 of which were front ends of one and ones, and a put back on rebounded miss free throw.

The younger squad is now 1-1 in league play and 2-3 in all games.  They will be back in action on Thursday at Advance when they take on Bloomfield in the third place game at 5 pm.

During the nightcap, Oran led most of the way.  They were up 17-13 after one and thanks to a Max Priggel buzzer-beating three just before halftime, 36-33 at the break.  The lead was 6 after 3, 55-59.

In the fourth, the Eagles were up by as much as 9 and with 3:34 remaining they were up 6, 70-64 but couldn't hold on.

Head coach Joe Shoemaker said, "We shot well below our average from the perimeter and still had a chance to win the game which is positive. We had a lot of sloppy mistakes throughout the game which we have to clean up. I hope we learn from this and improve the next time we have a close game. We had some decisions late in the game and some execution late that we will work on improving in practice for the next time."

Priggel led all scorers with 27, including 2 treys.  Jacob Shoemaker had 21 and Layne Johnson had 15 including 1 three-pointer.

Drew Reischman had 8 points and Cole Priggel added 6, including 4 for 4 from the line in the fourth quarter.

Bradley Brooks and Wyatt Kinney also saw action.

They were a very good 17 of 20 on free throw attempts for 85% but it was enough as they fell to 1-1 in conference play and 3-3 overall.

The varsity will be back in action on Friday when they host Delta at 6 pm.  There will be no jayvee contest and it will be the last game before the seMissourian Christmas Tournament that begins December 26th.

Eagles win in rout

The Oran High School girls basketball teams picked up two lopsided wins last night when they hosted New Madrid County Central.  The junior varsity won 49-19 while the varsity hit the century mark in a 100-13 laugher.

During game one, the hometown Eagles jumped out to an 11-0 lead before New Madrid got on the board with 1:48 remaining in the first period. It was 13-3 after the first seven minutes.  By halftime, it was 28-5 and Oran cruised to the 30 point margin.

Coach Ethan Evans said, "We came out early and hit some shots from the outside and caused them to come out of their zone. The girls used their athletic ability and did a good job of taking it to the hole against their man defense. We need to do a better job rebounding but our defensive effort overall was pretty good."

Katelyn Streeter led the way with 19.  She hit all three of her free shots.  Savannah Below and Madison Ramsey each put in 11.  Ramsey hit 3 treys.  Taylor Lowes scored 6, including a three-pointer.  Heather Gosche chipped in 2.  Paige Bradley played but did not score.

The Eagles were 5 out of 7 on free throws for 71%.

In the nightcap, Oran found themselves in unfamiliar territory - trailing early on the scoreboard.  Apparently, they didn't much care for that position, because after falling behind 4-0, they took the lead 5-4 at the 6:11 mark and never looked back on their way to the 87 point victory.  It is believed that the 100 points scored may be the most ever by an Oran girls basketball team.

After the slow start, the Eagles went on to lead 37-8 after one and 66-9 at the break.  For the second game in a row, Oran's defense tossed a shutout in the 4th quarter.

Coach Evans stated, "I thought this game was our best overall effort that we have had all season. We played well offensively and we played well defensively. The girls also did a nice job of keeping their cool when things heated up in the 2nd half. I am very proud of their effort and intensity."

Leah Cauble poured in 36 points in under 2 1/2 quarters of action.  She hit 2 three's, was 14-17 from the line, had 7 assists and 5 steals.  Jessie Long had 17 points and 5 boards.  Brianna Stause had 11 including 2 from beyond the arc.  Taylor Lowes came off the bench to contribute 10, including 2 treys.

Claire Ramsey also had 2 from distance among her 9 points. Kenzie Graviett and Kaylee Payne each added 6. Graviett led the team in rebounds with 10, while Payne dished out the most assists with 7 and was 6-6 at the free throw line.  Madison Ramsey hit a trifecta for her 3 points and Katelyn Streeter made a field goal for her 2.  Savannah Below, Paige Bradley and Heather Gosche saw varsity action but did not score.

The Eagles were 22-46 from inside the arc for 47.8% and 9-26 from beyond for 34.6% .  From the line, they shot a very good 80.6% on 29 out 36 attempts.

The JV is now 3-0 while the varsity stands at 6-0.

The next girls' action will be at home on Thursday when the Meadow Heights Panthers come to town.  A six pm tip is scheduled and there will be no junior varsity game

JV fall in Advance tourney

The fourth-seed Oran boys junior varsity basketball team took on the top-seeded East Prairie team last night in the quarterfinals of the Advance Junior Varsity Tournament.  The seeds held true and Oran came up on the short, 69-55.

The Eagles looked primed to earn the upset as they led 35-29 at the intermission, but a 23-7 East Prairie third quarter gave the favorites the lead and control.

Landon Stanberry led all scorers with 26.  He hit a trey and was 5 of 6 from the line.  Gabe Fox had 8, he hit both of his free throw attempts.  Tyson Goodale scored 7.  Calen Reed had 4,while Jakob Findley and Tristin Schlosser each added 3.  Schlosser's came on a three-pointer.  Both Avery Mitchem and Carson Moyers chipped in 2 apiece.

Oran was 8 for 11 from the charity stripe for 73%.

The are now 2-2 on the year and will be back in action tonight at home, along with the varsity, for a conference match up with those same East Prairie Eagles at 6 pm.

What's happenin' (12/12-12/16)

Lots of basketball this week.  The boys have 2 regular season games.  The girls also play at home twice.  And, the Advance JV tournament continues.

The JV boys start the week 2-1 overall and 1-0 in Scott-Miss play and the varsity is 3-2 and 1-0.

The younger girls 2-0 and 1-0 while the older girls are 5-0 and 1-0.

The action starts Monday.  The Eagles junior varsity squad will take on East Prairie at 5 pm at Advance.  Oran is seeded 4th and East Prairie is the number one seed.

At 6 pm the girls will host New Madrid County Central.  They come in with a record of 5-1.  Last year Oran won 64-35.

On Tuesday, the boys will host conference rival East Prairie.  They are 1-2 and 1-0.  Last season they met twice and East Prairie won both by a total of 4 points.

Nothing scheduled for Wednesday, but the JV will be back in Advance on Thursday.  Depending on Monday's result they will either play at 5 pm following a loss.  A win would propel them into the championship game at 6:30.

Also on Thursday, the varsity girls will host Meadow Heights at 6.  There will be no junior varsity contest.  The Panthers come in 0-4.  The Eagles won last year 79-31.

The boys have another home conference matchup on Friday when they host the Delta Bobcats.  Delta is 2-5 and 0-1.  Last year the Eagles won all 3 meetings.

The Hardware!

The Eagles claim their second straight Lady Devil Invitational championship plaque

Head Coach Ethan Evans looks on as his team claims its reward

The Champs!
front row L-R:  Claire Ramsey, Leah Cauble, Kaylee Payne, Brianna Stause ,Madison Ramsey & Katelyn Streeter
back row:  Head Coach Ethan Evans, Kenzie Graviett, Jessie Long, Paige Bradley, Savannah Below, Heather Gosche,
Taylor Lowes & Assistant Coach Dustin Cauble

All-Tournament Team members
L-R:  Leah Cauble 1st team, Brianna Stause 2nd team & Kaylee Payne 1st team

Eagles advance in tourney

The 4th seeded Oran High School jayvee boys basketball team picked up a 50-34 victory over the 5th seeded host Advance Hornets this afternoon in the opening round of the 2016 Advance JV tournament.

The Eagles stretched a 7-5 first quarter lead to 22-10 at the half and added 4 points to the margin during the second half.

Landon Stanberry led Oran with 14 points before fouling out in the fourth.  Tyson Goodale added 12.  Tristen Schlosser had 9 points.  He hit a trey and was 4 of 6 from the line.  Avery Mitchem had 6, Gabe Fox added 5, while Calen Reed chipped in 4.

Jakob Findley, Kaiden Massey and Carson Moyer saw action.

Oran was 5 of 10 on free throw attempts for 50%.

They are now 2-1 on the year and will return to tournament play on Monday when they face the top-seeded East Prairie Eagles at 5 pm.

Eagles race to tourney title

Last year the Oran High School girls basketball team won the Lady Devil Tournament by 14 points when the 2nd seeded Eagles upset the number 1 seed and host Chaffee, 57-43 to claim their first ever crown.  This year Oran came in as the favorites and they left no doubt they deserved that recognition after thoroughly dismantling the second-seeded Puxico Indians 85-41.  It was Puxico's first ever trip to the finals.

Oran jumped out to a 14-0 lead before the Indians got on the board at the 4:42 mark. After one, it was 19-8.  By half, the lead was out to 24, 49-25.  The Eagles added 8 to the margin in the third quarter, 73-41.  And, to add insult to injury, Puxico ended up with 41 points as Oran tossed a shutout during the final frame, outscoring the Indian 12-0 with the mercy-rule running clock in effect.

Leah Cauble had another monster night as she drained 39 points, hit 4-5 from three, 9 of 11 free throw attempts, had 7 steals and 5 assists.

She ended up not only with the records set earlier in the week, for points in a single game (48) and field goals in a single game (19), but also points for the tournament with 126, eclipsing the old mark of 93 set by Mary Glaus of Delta in 1980 and also by Tangela Turner of Scott County Central in 1985.  Both occurred before the advent of the mercy-rule clock.  Cauble also shattered the mark for most field goals in the tournament that was 40 set by Tonia Harris of SCC set in 1989, also before running clock days.  Cauble ended up with 49.

Brianna Stause connected on 4 treys and a field goal for her 14.  She also had 5 assists and 4 steals.

Stause was the only member of this year's squad that was around for the only other recent meeting between these two schools.  That was in this tournament in 2014 when the 5th seeded Indians upset the 4th seeded Eagles in the opening round.

Jessie Long had 10 points, 9 rebounds and 7 steals.  Claire Ramsey added 8 points, including 2 three's, while Kaylee Payne ended up 7 points, 6 boards and 4 assists.  Madison Ramsey hit a trey off the bench for her 3 points and Kenzie Graviett and Katelyn Streeter each tallied a field goal.

Savannah Below, Paige Bradley, Heather Gosche and Taylor Lowes also saw action.

Oran hit 60% of their shots from close range (21-35).  They were 11-27 from long range (40.7%).  From the charity stripe, they were 10-13 for 76.9%.

They are now 5-0 and will be back in action on Monday evening when they host the New Madrid County Central Eagles at 6 pm.

New softball districts released

The Missouri State High School Activities Association recently released the district assignments for the upcoming spring season.  There is still only 1 class for spring softball, but the participation continues to increase.

This year, the Eagles will remain in District 4.  The district has grown from 6 teams to 8.  Woodland, who hosted the postseason tourney last year, has moved to district 5.

Bell City and Zalma are slated to field teams this year and Delta, who co-oped with Advance last year, plans on having a team of their own in 2017.

This year the list looks like this:

Advance
Bell City
Delta
Leopold
Oran
Scott City
Scott County Central
Zalma

For a link, click HERE

Baseball updates

Class and District updates were just released by the Missouri State High School Activities Association.  They have also issued new rules on pitching limits set to begin this spring.

Oran will remain in Class 1, District 2.  Leopold and Oak Ridge have been moved to District 3.  Delta has been moved closer to home, from District 1 to District 2.  C1D2 has gone from 8 teams down to 7 teams, which means the number 1 seed will now have an opening round bye, which becomes a bigger bonus with the new pitching rules (more on that later).

Class 1 District 2 now consists of:

Advance
Bell City
Delta
Oran
Richland
Scott County Central
Zalma

For a link, click HERE

The new pitching mandate removes "innings pitched" as the determining factor and replaces it with "number of pitches thrown" as the key.

This is the is what MSHSAA released:

Eagles open home stand with victories

The Oran High School boys basketball teams opened a three-game home stand against conference and district foe, Scott City, with a come from behind victory, 69-63.  The junior varsity did the same 53-50.

During the prelim, the Eagles found themselves down by 7 at the half, 28-21.  A big third quarter, however, gave Oran a 2 point lead heading into the final frame.  The last 7 minutes saw several lead changes.  Jakob Findley only scored two points on the night but his two gave the Eagles the lead with 1:43 remaining and Oran would hold on for the win.

Coach Joe Shoemaker said, "They will start playing better as they get more game experience. They were able to adjust at halftime and hold Scott City's leading scorer to no points in the second half."

Tyson Goodale led all scorers with 23.  Landon Stanberry had 15 including a trey.

Calen Reed added 7 and he too hit one from beyond the arc.  Gabe Fox scored 4 points.  Avery Mitchem and Findley each chipped in 2.  Tristan Schlosser played but did not score.

The JV was 5 of 12 from the line for 42%.

They are now 1-0 in the Scott-Miss and 1-1 overall.  They will be back in action this afternoon when they open play in the Advance Junior Varsity tournament.  They are the fourth seed and will take on the fifth-seeded hosts at 3:30.

In the nightcap, an early Eagle lead evaporated and the Rams led after 1, 16-14. Oran used a big second quarter to take a 32-27 lead into the locker room at half-time and held on late and managed the six-point win.

Coach Shoemaker said, "When the varsity started correcting their mistakes they played well. It is still early in the year but hopefully we get where we start the game without making those mistakes having to do with rebounding, jumping to block shots, silly fouls and containing the dribble."

For the second straight game, the Eagles had for players in double figures.

Once again Jacob Shoemaker led the way with his 22 points.  He hit 3 three-pointers and was 7 for 8 from the free-throw line, including 6-6 in the final period.  Cole Priggel added 21.  He was 9-11 at the stripe and dished out 4 assists.  Max Priggel had 14 and he it 2 from long range.  Layne Johnson had a double-double with 10 points and 15 rebounds.

Drew Reischman added a field goal.  Wyatt Kinney and Bradley Brooks played.

Oran hit 54% from inside the arc (19-35) and 29% from beyond (5-17).  The were 16-21 on free throws attempts for 76%.

The varsity is now 1-0 in league play and 3-2 overall.

The two team will host East Prairie on Tuesday and Delta on Friday before a break leading into the Christmas tournament when they play this same Scott City team again on Dec 26th at 9 pm.

Oran, who finished 4th in their invitational, has now defeated Risco, who won the Campbell Invitational and Scott City, who finished 2nd in the Woodland Invitational.

Eagles soar into finals

The Oran High School girls basketball team advanced to the championship game of the Lady Devils Invitational with a convincing win over host Chaffee last night 81-46.

The first-seeded Eagles once again jumped out early, scoring the first nine points, before the Devils netted a bucket at the 5:09 mark.  Oran led after 1, 29-13 and at the half it was 50-27.  The Eagles continued to pull away, outscoring Chaffee 23-12 in the third, before the turbo-clock 8-7 margin in the fourth.

After the game, Coach Ethan Evans said, "I was very pleased with the start we got off to last night. Anytime you play on the road it is necessary to get off to a quick start and take the crowd out of it. Our defense and rebounding was pretty good against a taller Chaffee team. I felt like we played our pace and made them play our game."

Leah Cauble has had a record-breaking tournament performance thus far.

During Monday's win over Scott City, Cauble made 19 field goals, breaking the old record of 18 held by Tonia Harris of Scott County Central set on Dec. 6 1989 and Rebecca Below of Delta that occurred on Dec 9, 2002.

Last night she broke the single game scoring record by pouring in 48 points to break Below's record of 42 that was set in 2002.  This is also believed to be an Oran High School record for not only girls but also boys.

With one game remaining, she is on the verge of breaking the mark for total points which stands at 93.  She has 87.  Also, the record for total field goals is in danger of falling.  The current number to reach is 40 and Cauble has 36.

Besides the points, which included 4 treys and 10-11 free throw shooting, she added 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 8 steals.

Kaylee Payne also scored in double-digits. She dropped in 12 with one field goal coming from beyond the arc and hit 5 of 6 free throw attempts.  She grabbed 6 boards, dished out 3 assists and snatched 3 steals.

Brianna Stause had 8 points with 2 three-pointers and 4 steals.  Claire Ramsey added 6 points, while Jessie Long had 4 and snared 6 rebounds.  Kenzie Graviett rounded out the scoring with 3.

Heather Gosche, Taylor Lowes, Madison Ramsey and Katelyn Streeter also saw action.

The Eagles hit 53.7% of their shots inside the arc (22-41) and 31.8% from beyond (7-22).  From the charity stripe they shot a very good 16-19 for  84.2%.

Oran (4-0) will take on the winner of tonight's Puxico vs Delta match up in Saturday's 4 pm championship.

Last year, Oran came in as the 2 seed and upset the  #1 seed Red Devils 57-43, to claim their first ever tournament crown.  In 2013 they fell to Woodland in their first ever title appearance 44-38.

Eagles split at Risco

It was the opening of the regular season for the Oran High School boys basketball teams last night as they traveled down to Risco.  The junior varsity lost 29-24 in 2 quarters.  The varsity won by a final score of 74-62.

In game one, the Eagles led 13-12 after the first period but were outscored 17-11 during the last, resulting in the 5 point defeat.

Coach Joe Shoemaker said, "It was our first game and it showed.  We'll get better, we just need more reps."

Oran only had 2 players score.  Tyson Goodale led the way with 15.  Landon Stanberry had 9, including a trey.

Gabe Fox, Avery Mitchem, Calen Read, Jakob Findley, Kaden Massey, Carson Moyers and Tristen Schlosser all saw action.

During the nightcap, as has frequently been the case, the Eagles started slow and found themselves in an early hole.

Last night, Oran missed their first 3 shots and committed an offensive foul before Max Priggel hit a mid-range jumper to make the score 6-2 at the 5 minute mark of the opening quarter. Fouls would continue to be an issue for the Eagles.  They would have 4 team fouls by the time the clock read 4:30.

With 2 minutes remaining, Layne Johnson took a pass from Priggel and scored to tie the game at 8.  Oran took the lead for the first time at 1:25, when Priggel drained a 3 from the left side.  With about a minute left and the score 11-10, The Eagles were able to ratchet up the defense and force a couple of turnovers. Jacob Shoemaker hit a pair of three-point baskets and a layup off of a steal to score 8 quick points and make it 19-10 after one.

Oran scored the first 4 points in the second to stretch the lead to 13, but then the Eagles went cold and Risco grabbed the momentum and with 4:22 before half the lead was down to 4, 25-21 when Coach Shoemaker called time out.

After the break, the teams exchanged turnovers, before Johnson hit a baseline jumper to make it 27-21.  Cole Priggel converted an old fashion three-point play at the 1:55 mark to push it back to a 9 point lead.  But once again the Tiger would storm back, outscoring Oran 8-3 heading into intermission.  It was 33-29.

The Eagles came out hot in the 2nd half, scoring the first 9 point and stretching the lead to 13, 42-29, capped by a Max Priggel three, just over 2 minutes in.  After a Risco time out, they scored their first points of the quarter with 5 minutes remaining.

Oran would stretch the margin to 14, their largest of the night, 51-37 with a minute and a half left in the quarter.  It was 51-39 heading into the final period.

The lead was 9, 56-47, with 6:15 remaining when Oran took a time out. Risco continued to chip away and it was 58-50 with 5 minutes left.  It was 58-52 with 4 minutes on the clock and the Eagles were in desperate foul trouble.  Max Priggel, Drew Reischman and Johnson all had 4 fouls.

Once again, Oran was able to use it's defense to fuel it's offense as Shoemaker and Max Priggel both made layups to push the lead back to 10.

From that point on it came down to free throws.  The Eagles hit theirs and the Tigers didn't.  Oran was 9 of 10 with the game on the line, while the hosts missed 9 out of 10 at one point during the frame.

"I thought we played well at times," said Coach Shoemaker, "We really need to improve our rebounding.  Risco is a tough place to play and they have a good team.  It was very nice to come away with the win."

Jacob Shoemaker led all scorers with 26,  Max Priggel hit for 21.  Both hit 2 from beyond the arc.  Cole Priggel had 13 and was 5-5 from the line.  Layne Johnson also reached double-digits with 10.  He hit all 3 of his free throws.  Drew Reischman chipped in 4 points.

Wyatt Kinney and Bradley Brooks played, but neither scored.

Oran finished the night 14 of 18 from the charity stripe for 78%.

The Eagles, now 2-2, will next be in action on Friday when they host conference rival Scott City at 6 pm.

Eagles advance in Chaffee tournament

The Oran girls basketball team opened the 2016 Lady Devil Invitational last night with an easy 97-25 romp over Scott City.

The Eagles, the tourney's number 1 seed, scored first and  raced out to a 12-0 lead before the Rams, seeded 8th, hit a free throw 3:35 into the game.  By that time, there was little doubt on the final outcome.

Oran led 24-5 after one and 53-11 at the intermission, on their way to the 72 point victory.

Coach Ethan Evans said, "I thought offensive wise we played really well. Almost everyone got in the scoring column so that was nice. We had some lapses on defense that we need to clean up going forward in this tournament."

Leah Cauble had a double-double, with 39 points and 11 rebounds. She also had 4 assists and 4 steals.  Kaylee Payne and Brianna Stause also reached double-digit scoring with 11 and 10, respectively.  Payne had a trey and added 4 steals.  Stause hit 2 from beyond the arc to go along with 3 steals.

Jessie Long and Madison Ramsey both had 8 points.  Ramsey hit 2 from long range. Kenzie Graviett added 6, while Katelyn Streeter scored 5. Claire Ramsey chipped in 4 points and added 3 assists and 3 steals.  Savannah Below, Heather Gosche and Taylor Lowes had 2 points apiece. Paige Bradley played but did not score.

The Eagles shot 65.5% from 2-point range (38-58), thanks in large part to the numerous turnovers that led to lay ups forced the press.  From long range, they were 6 of 22 for 27.3%.  They were perfect from the line, 3 of 3.

Oran is now 3-0 on the year and will face host Chaffee on Wednesday at 8 pm in the semifinal round.  The 4th seeded Devils defeated the 5th seeded Kelly Hawks last night, 59-46.

What's happenin' (12/5-12/9)

Next week will be week full of basketball action. Thursday will be the only empty day on the calendar.  The games on Tuesday and Friday start at 6 pm.

The varsity girls will participate in the Lady Devils Invitational at Chaffee starting Monday.  The Eagles, the number 1 seed, will face Scott City, seeded 8th, at 5 pm.  Oran is 2-0 to start the year, while Scott City is 0-3.  Last year these two team met three times with the Eagles winning all three.  Scott City finished the 2015-16 season 1-20.

The bracket is HERE.

The high school boys will open the regular season Tuesday as they travel to Risco.  The varsity is 1-2 after it's fourth place finish in the OIT.  The Tigers are 4-0 and have a game scheduled on Monday.  Risco won the Campbell Invitational.  It will be the first game for the junior varsity.  Last year Oran won at home 61-52.  The Tigers, a district opponent the previous two years, finished last season 10-17.

On Wednesday, the girls will be back in action.  If they win on Monday, they will play at 8 pm.  Should they lose, game time would be 6:30 pm.  Their opponent will be either Chaffee (4 seed) or Kelly (5 seed).

Fast forward to Friday and it's the boys again.  Oran will host Scott City in the conference opener for both squads.  The Rams are currently 2-1 after finishing 2nd in the Woodland Invitational Tournament.  They play at Herculaneum on Tuesday.  They were 15-11 last year and won the only matchup on a buzzer beater, 51-50.  Scott City and the Eagles are now in the same district for boys as well as girls basketball.

The junior varsity boys will participate in the Advance JV tourney that starts on Saturday.  A bracket has not yet been released.

Also on Saturday, the finals of the Lady Devil Invitational will be held.  If Oran is in the championship game, they will play at 4 pm, the third place game is at 2:30 and the consolation final is at 1 pm.

OIT awards

The Eagles had 2 basketball players named to the All-tournament team and 3 cheerleaders were named to the All-tournament cheer squad.

Jacob Shoemaker (L) and Max Priggel were named to the
All-tournament team of the 2016 Oran Invitational.

(from left to right)  Sydney Kern, Brenna Hahn & Megan Tenkhoff
were named to the All-tournament cheer squad of the 2016 Oran Invitational.

Eagles lose to Hornets

The Oran High School boys basketball team finished the 61st OIT with a fourth place finish after losing last night to the Advance Hornets 62-48.

Like so many of the games previously during the event, the underdog started out on top but ended up on the short end of the stick.  This was the case during this matchup too.  Unfortunately, this time it was the Eagles that were the underdogs.

Oran jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead.  The Hornets would not score until a free throw at 4:22 mark to make it 7-1. The game was knotted at 11 after the first quarter.

The Eagles would go cold to start the 2nd period and Advance would score 8 straight before Oran made it 19-13 with 4:28 left before the half.  The Hornets then went on a mini-run to push the lead to 10, 24-14 with 2:51 before intermission.  Oran stormed back, scoring 7 straight and trailed 24-21 at the :50 mark, but Advance closed with 4 points of their own and led 28-21.

The Eagles trailed by 8 after the third 40-32.

During the final eight minutes, Oran slowly chipped away at the lead.  With 2:20 remaining the Eagles trailed by only 1, 49-48.  Advance, however, scored the next 13 points, to claim the third place trophy.

Max Priggel scored 19, including 2 treys, to lead Oran, now 1-2.  Jacob Shoemaker added 11.  Cole Priggel had 7.  Layne Johnson hit a trey and ended up with 5, while Drew Reischman had 4 and Wyatt Kinney hit on his 2 free throw attempts to account for his points.  Bradley Brooks played but did not score.

The Eagles were 5 of 11 from the charity stripe for 45%.

The regular season will begin on Tuesday.  Oran will travel to Risco to take on the Tigers at 6 pm.

Eagles swamped by Green Wave

The Oran High School boys basketball team knew they had a tough task in front of them last night as they took on top-seeded Malden in the semi-final round of the 61st Annual Oran Invitational Tournament.  The Eagles didn't make it any easier on themselves when they missed six shots and had a turnover during their first seven possessions.  When Cole Priggel finally got a short jumper to fall with 4:20 remaining in the opening period, they were fortunate to only be down 6-2.

The Green Wave held Oran to only 5 first quarter points and led 10-5 after one.

Malden was up 33-11 with a minute remaining until halftime before the Eagles went on a quick 7 point spurt, capped by a Max Priggel three-pointer, cut margin to 15 to keep Oran's hopes alive.

During that first half, Malden hit 7 treys and was 4 of 5 from the line.

They stretched their lead to over 20 during the third quarter, but again a late flurry helped the Eagles trim the deficit back to 20.  By that time, however,  it was all but over.  Oran dropped the game by a final score of 64-48.

Three Eagles scored in double figures.  Cole Priggel led a balanced scoring attack with 15 before fouling out late.  Max Priggel had 13, while Layne Johnson added 10, including 2 treys.

Jacob Shoemaker also hit 2 three's and was 2 for 2 from the free throw stripe for his 8 points.  He too fouled out in the fourth.  Wyatt Kinney and Ben Fox both sank a free throw apiece for their tallies.

Luke Barnes, Bradley Brooks and Drew Reischman played but did not score.

Oran was 9 of 15 on free throw attempts for 60%.

The 4th-seeded Eagles, now 1-1 on the season, will take the number two seeded Advance Hornets tonight at 6:30 pm in search of the third place trophy.  Advance was upset last night by the third-seed Scott County Central Braves, 91-75.

The Braves will face the Green Wave in the tournament championship game following Oran's.  It is scheduled for an 8 pm tip-off.

The first game of the evening will start at 5 pm. It is the consolation championship game featuring #5 Bell City and #7 Chaffee.

What the professionals have to say:  Game story