Bell City hoops seeking to pick up the pace offensively in 2024-25

Bell City High School junior guard Juan Hernandez handles the ball against Puxico High School during a recent scrimmage at Delta High School.

Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

DELTA – The Bell City High School varsity boy’s basketball squad was much improved last winter for several reasons, including a much-improved offense.

The Cubs averaged over 52 points per game, which was the most productive that the program had been since 2017.

Third-year Cubs coach Luke Bixler watched his team compete recently in a series of organized scrimmages at Delta High School, and he believes his next team will have the ability to build upon last year’s achievements.

“I would like to get the ball out in transition and get some easy transition buckets,” Bixler said of this coming season. “We’ve got some guys who have been in the gym this summer and have been putting up some shots, so we’ll try to get the three-ball going, but then also utilize our ‘bigs’ inside.”

Bell City returns seven players from its 2023-24 varsity roster, which won more games (eight) than the program had in the two previous seasons combined (seven).

“We’ll have Dawson Loomis,” Bixler said of his returnees, “and we’ll have Jake Asher, who will score. Baylor Eftink will score.”

Eftink and Loomes are seniors this coming season while Asher will be a junior. One of the “bigs” that Bixler was referring to is 6-foot-2 junior Kale Richardson.

“Kale will be a help on the inside with scoring,” Bixler said. “We also have some role players (from last year), who have put some time in this summer, and they can put the ball in the hole.”

Junior-to-be Juan Hernandez did a lot of the ball-handling for the Cubs in the scrimmages, and he will also be a player to watch as he develops.

“Logan Pikey (a junior) is one who can shoot from the outside,” Bixler continued, “and Juan Hernandez. So, we have several different options and guys, who we feel that we can go to.”

The Cubs’ season ended in a one-point loss to a 14-win Leopold team, that Bell City had actually beaten earlier in the season. Bixler’s boys won eight of their final 18 games following a 0-7 start, which demonstrated the program’s growth.

“We have nine juniors and four seniors coming back,” Bixler said.