OIT: Bell City 'earns their stuff' in upset W over top-seed Rebels

Richland (Essex) senior forward Eric Williams tries to score through the defense of Bell City defenders Logan Pikey (left) and Kale Richardson on Friday in the championship game of the Oran Invitational Tournament at Oran High School.

Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

ORAN – The Bell City High School varsity boys basketball squad was, in one way, the most dangerous type of team that No. 1-seed Richland could have faced in Friday’s championship game of the Oran Invitational Tournament.

The No. 3-seed Cubs coaches and players knew the Rebels were heavily favored, which gave Bell City the freedom to play without fear. Bell City did that and improved to 3-0 with a stunning (to some) 58-47 methodical victory over the favored Rebels to win the program’s first OIT title in nearly two decades.

“I know the work our guys have put in over the summer,” Bell City junior guard Jake Asher said following the win. “We work in practice, all of the drills, we put in 100 percent. The extra motivation from the outside sources is bulletin board material.

“We’re not just some easy team to go through. We work hard and we earn our stuff.”

The Cubs used a man-to-man defense, which clogged up the Rebel offense and kept Bell City in the game.

“They played man-to-man and we decided that we weren’t going to move at all,” Richland coach Matt Cline said. “We didn’t cut with any purpose. We wouldn’t screen (and) we wouldn’t screen away.

“Give credit to (Bell City coach Luke Bixler). He does a nice job, and they played well.”

The Rebels (2-2) jumped on the Cubs quickly for an 8-2 lead, but Bell City battled back to take a 20-14 lead minutes before halftime.

Cline had called a timeout during that stretch midway through the second quarter and Richland (Essex) began to play to its potential, as it outscored the Cubs 11-5 over the final minutes to tie the game at 25 entering the break on an offensive rebound and turnaround jumper by senior forward Tucker Hughes.

That Rebel mojo continued into the third quarter, as they stretched their lead to 30-25 on a steal and lay-in by junior guard Hayden Conner. That basket capped a 16-5 run by Richland.

“We needed to do what got us there,” Bixler said of surviving that stretch, “which was our defense. We needed to stay patient on defense and stay disciplined on defense.”

How good was the Bell City defense?

Talented Rebel senior forward Eric Williams, who has hurt opposing teams for four seasons at the varsity level, didn’t score a point.

“I knew that our defense was good enough to get us through (that stretch),” Bixler continued.

Bell City answered with a 6-2 run, as it began to make a concerted effort to get “country strong” junior center Kale Richardson the ball on the blocks.

Richardson used his strength and maneuverability to score repeatedly against the length of Hughes, as he finished with 11 points, all but two coming after halftime.

“We stayed locked in for four quarters,” Bixler said.

That was something his team didn’t do in a semifinal win over Chaffee on Thursday.

The Red Devils climbed back into the game to avoid a blowout loss to the Cubs over the final eight minutes, and Bixler made a point of emphasis to his team that wasn’t going to be tolerated against Richland.

“We knew that we really didn’t have nothing to lose,” Bixler said. “We were able to go out there and just play hard.”

Richland trailed 49-47 with 2:35 remaining and was wreaking havoc on the Bell City guards with a length-of-the-court pressure defense.

Asher, who had ended the third quarter with an “and one,” hit a mid-range jumper to put his team ahead 51-47, followed by a Rebel turnover, and from that point forward, free throws played a role for both teams.

Bell City hit 10 of 12 free throws in the final period while Richland got to the free throw line just five times and hit just two.

Cub junior point guard Juan Hernandez led his team with 16 points while Asher, senior forwards Dawson Loomes, and Baylor Eftink also tallied eight points.

Conner scored 11 points for the Rebels while junior forward Gary Tilley had a team-leading 15 points. Hughes added 10 points and senior point guard Hunter Sanders chipped in nine points for Richland.

The two teams will meet again on Friday in Essex at 7:30 p.m.

The Rebels will visit Gideon on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. while the Cubs will visit Advance (0-2) on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.