GAME 6: Leopold 56, Oran 53

By Toby Carrig ~ Semoball.com

It wasn't as pretty as Leopold would have liked for its first first-round victory at the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament in more than a decade, but it was a win.

Leopold trailed early by 10 points and then went basket-for-basket with 11th-seeded Oran before finally pulling off a 56-53 victory.

"I don't think we played as good as we can, but we'll pick it up. We'll get better," said Leopold senior Dustin Thiele. "Jitters."

Leopold, now 6-0 and the No. 6 seed with a legitimate claim to deserving a higher seed, isn't used to being in this position. The Wildcats won the Woodland Invitational to open the season.

But they haven't had tournament success in a while in this event, and last year came in with few healthy bodies. Thiele wasn't among them.

"This is my first time playing in this," he said.

He scored 14 points in a balanced Leopold attack that included 16 from Larry Nussbaum and 15 from standout Darren VanGennip.

VanGennip came through late in helping Leopold claim the lead for good. He had back-to-back baskets for a 44-41 lead, then scored again later in the period to give Leopold a 49-44 lead. His jumper with 1:03 to go seemed to put Leopold in control 53-46.

But Oran battled back on baskets by Jon Morrow and Kurt Rendleman, and Rendleman's long trey with 22 seconds left made it 54-53.

But Leopold survived with two free throws -- it made just 10 of 24 for the game -- and then a missed 3 by Oran on its final possession.

The Wildcats fell behind 16-6 in the first quarter but were back within one, 27-26, by halftime.

Oran was led by Morrow's 17 points and Rendleman's 16, including three 3s.

Oran next plays Chaffee, which gave third-seeded Jackson a battle in the opening round.

Leopold gets it shot at a big school, Jackson.

"I'm looking forward to it," Thiele said. "I think our defense could improve. I think if we play better on defense, our offense will come along, too.

"We'll hope for the best and see what happens."

ORAN (53) -- Kurt Rendleman 16, Preston Scherer 5, Jake Carter 9, Gabe Kielhofner 4, Zac Chasteen 2, Jon Morrow 17. FG 20, FT 8-8, F 19. (3-pointers: Rendleman 3, Scherer 1, Carter 1. Fouled out: none)

LEOPOLD (56) -- Dustin Thiele 14, Wade Wiseman 1, David Fluchel 8, Darren VanGennip 15, Larry Nussbaum 16, Anthony Seabaugh 2. FG 23, FT 10-24, F 12. (3-pointers: none. Fouled out: none)