BCT: Risco passes its way to romp over host 'Cats

Risco High School junior forward Owen Fortner catches a pass from teammate Sammy Smith (background) for a lay-in against Bloomfield on Thursday in the opening round of the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament.

Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

BLOOMFIELD – Amid the blowout victories, the high-scoring offense, and the 30-plus point-scoring outings produced by senior guard Sammy Smith, fans can lose track of just how fundamentally sound the Class 1 No. 4-ranked Risco Tigers varsity boy’s basketball squad really is.

“Passing is something that we put an emphasis on as a team and as a program,” veteran Risco coach Brandon Blankenship said after his team dismantled host Bloomfield on Thursday in the opening round of the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament 51-31.

The Tigers (8-1) pulled away with a dominating second quarter (outscoring the Wildcats 16-2), but it wasn’t necessarily their shot-making that was so impressive, but the unselfish nature of their play.

“The other night against Doniphan,” Blankenship recalled of his team’s recent 82-53 victory, “we had 26 assists on 28 field goals.”

Against the Wildcats (5-3), Risco utilized ball movement and stifling defense to cruise to the win, as it limited Bloomfield to just 10 combined points in the second and third quarters.

“We really need confidence,” second-year Bloomfield coach Ben Sindle said of his team’s offense. “Confidence is the biggest key.”

Sindle explained that he liked several of the looks that his team got against the Tigers, but his players didn’t knock those shots down.

“We have kids who can knock shots down,” Sindle said. “They can make shots, and we saw that click a little bit early on.”

To Sindle’s point, the Wildcats trailed quickly in the game, but senior scoring guard Caleb Upchurch got aggressive and got to the free-throw line for five made free throws in the opening period to keep his team within reach, as Bloomfield trailed just 11-7 early in the second quarter.

Balance proved to be the issue for the Wildcats, as no other player with the exception of Upchurch scored until midway through the third quarter.

While Upchurch had his offensive flow going early, Smith simply allowed the game to come to him and found open teammates until asserting himself in the second quarter.

“We just want guys to make the right play,” Blankenship explained.

That is what Risco did and is why despite scoring nearly 25 points below its average (74.4 points per game), Risco dominated.

Smith finally got on the scoreboard in the second period and scored nine of his team-leading 14 points in that quarter.

Risco got a nice performance from 6-foot-4 junior forward Owen Fortner, who had 11 points, and was the recipient of several Smith assists.

“Owen has really come on this year as a scorer,” Blankenship said.

Tiger senior post Reiley Calvert added seven points in the win, as did senior Clayton Godsey.

Upchurch tallied a team-high 13 points while Wildcat senior guard Law Graser chipped in 11 points.

Bloomfield moves on to play Malden (0-7) today at 2:30 p.m. The Green Wave was doubled up by Dexter 66-33 on Thursday.

Risco will face the Bearcats (4-5) on Friday at 8:30 p.m.