Malden boys basketball defeats Oran in Oran Invitational Tournament semifinals

Oran's Wyatt Kinney grabs an offensive rebound against Malden in the semifinals of the Oran Invitational Tournament Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016, in Oran, Mo.

ORAN, Mo. -- Oran struggled to hit shots. Malden did not.

Behind an offense that couldn't find its rhythm and an opposing defense making it tougher, the fourth-seeded Eagles fell behind early and never recovered during a 64-48 loss to top-seeded Malden during the semifinals of the Oran Invitational Tournament at Oran High School on Thursday.

"I think we missed some shots we normally hit," Oran coach Joe Shoemaker said. "[Malden's] defense is very good. They're very quick and rotated well. They didn't give us many open looks."

Malden took advantage of open 3-pointers to build its lead in the first half. They hit six threes in the second quarter alone to help build their margin. The Green Wave (2-0) finished with seven.

"It always helps when you knock down some early outside shots," Malden coach Andrew Halford said.

Dushawn Butler and Chience Booker combined for five of Malden's six 3-pointers in the second quarter. Butler, who finished with a team-high 14 points, hit three while Booker added two.

Oran (1-1) fell behind by as many as 23 during the second quarter but a quick 7-0 run to end the first half pulled the Eagles to within 15.

Holding the Eagles under 50 was a feat in itself for Malden's defense after the way the Eagles began the tournament. Oran was just two days removed for hanging 75 on Bell City during their first round game on Tuesday.

"We were communicating well," Halford said. "That's key for us. If we don't have communication, we tend to leave guys open and they have good shooters. If we have a breakdown, that's an area they can take advantage of."

The Eagles couldn't make up any more ground in the second half trailing by as much as 20 in the fourth quarter.

"We didn't respond like I would have liked to," Shoemaker said. "We struggled to keep the ball in front of us tonight and to their credit they knocked them down."

Oran was led by Cole Priggel's 15 points. Max Priggel added 13 while Layne Johnson added 10.

Behind Butler, Broddric Annesser scored 13 points and Malcom McBride added 11 points for the Green Wave.

Malden (2-0) will face Scott County Central, who were 91-75 winners over top-seeded Advance in the other semifinal, in the tournament championship tonight at 8 p.m. It's Malden's first tournament championship appearance since 2006 when they beat the Braves 91-83.

Oran will take on Advance in the third-place game at 6:30 p.m.

ORAN (48) -- Ben Fox 1, Max Priggel 13, Layne Johnson 10, Jacob Shoemaker 8, Cole Priggel 15, Wyatt Kinney 1. FG 17 FT 9-15 F 15. (3-pointers: M. Priggel 1, Johnson 2, Shoemaker 2. Fouled out: Shoemaker, C. Priggel.)

MALDEN (64) -- Dushawn Butler 14, Tyler Ison 8, Jamilyn Criglar 8, Malcom McBride 11, Tray Stevenson 2, Chience Booker 8, Broddric Annesser 13. FG 25 FT 7-11 F 17. (3-pointers: Butler 4, McBride 1, Booker 2. Fouled out: none.)