Bogan shot at buzzer defeats Malden

ORAN -- Bell City rode the broad shoulders of junior center Will Bogan to the final of the Oran Invitational Tournament.

With the score tied at 51, Bogan hit a putback layup at the buzzer for a 53-51 Bell City victory in Thursday's semifinal.

The 6-foot-10, 300-pound Bogan proved he will be a force to be reckoned with as he recorded a double-double of 31 points and 16 rebounds in a dominating performance.

"He's just getting better and better," said Bell City coach Brian Brandtner. "He's a handful already and I hope, by the end of the year, he'll be even better."

Scrappy Malden, although missing one starter and three top reserves out for disciplinary reasons, forced the game to the wire with only eight players.

Bell City's Will Bogan tries to score against Malden's Quentin Franks.

"All eight of those kids have big hearts," said first-year Malden coach Robert Ison. "The kids played hard, gave it all they had."

A slow start forced Malden into an early hole. At the 2:36 mark of the opening quarter, Bell City, behind eight points from Bogan, led 12-1. The Cubs led 16-8 as the quarter ended.

Said Ison, "I called timeout and told them to hang in there. Keep fighting, fighting and it would come."

The Green Wave outscored the Cubs 15-11 in the second quarter to cut the gap to 27-23 at the half.

Malden, the third seed, continued to whittle into the lead in the third period as 5-9 point guard Alonzo Louis rang up 10 of his team-high 20 points to narrow the margin to one at 38-37.

"He's extremely quick and a leader on the floor," said Ison.

Bell City lost its lead for the first time at 42-40. With Malden up 44-40, Bogan hit a breakaway dunk with 5:00 to go to pull within two, then hit a 3-

point play to retake the lead at 45-44.

Two Quentin Gorden free throws pushed Malden ahead 46-45 before a Bogan jumper reclaimed the lead for Bell City at 47-46.

Bogan picked up his fourth foul at 1:59. Quentin Franks, converted both foul shots to again send the Green Wave up at 48-47.

"We wanted to get him (Bogan) in foul trouble and get him out of there," Ison said.

Unfortunately, for Malden, that plan didn't materialize.

Two successive buckets by Bogan lifted the Cubs to a 51-48 advantage, but the Green Wave's Gorden knocked down a clutch 3-pointer to tie with 16 seconds remaining.

Then, after a missed shot on Bell City's next possession, Bogan, who had all 15 of Bell City's fourth-quarter points, grabbed the rebound for the game-

winning shot.

"It wasn't the prettiest of victories but we'll take it," said Brandtner. "Malden deserves a lot of credit. They're well coached and athletic. I feel pretty happy to come away with a win."

Describing his team's effort as "choppy," Brandtner, in his first year at Bell City, added, "We're not real smooth yet. This is the first time we've played a zone defense this year and it showed and we didn't have a lot of fluidity in our offense.

"It's a whole new system, but I think we're coming along, little by little."

Bell City's Jeff Liggins chipped in with seven points, Blaine Stewart added six, including two 3's, and Phillip Gross had five.

The Cubs were only 2-of-9 from the charity stripe with Bogan going 1-for-7.

Behind Louis' 20 points, Gorden scored 11 with three 3s. The Green Wave was 10-of-19 from the line.

Bell City, the second seed, meets defending champion Twin Rivers, seeking its sixth Oran Invitational championship in seven years, today at 8 p.m.

No. 1-seed Twin Rivers overcame a scare from No. 4 Advance to earn a final berth at the Oran Invitational.

Twin Rivers led 32-25 at the half, then 53-44 going into the final quarter when Advance made its run.

The Hornets pulled to within 66-64 with about a minute left. Two missed free throws by Twin Rivers with 41 seconds to go kept the outcome in doubt.

Advance missed a 3-pointer from the right corner with 18 seconds remaining, then immediately fouled. Twin Rivers' Jimmy Cornell sank one of two foul shots to extend the lead to 67-64. Following an Advance turnover with eight seconds left, Michael Lance, the Royals' scoring leader with 29 points -- 18 in the second half -- hit one of two free throws for a 68-64 advantage.

Advance's Alex Steil, the Hornets' top scorer with 21, closed out the scoring with a putback at the buzzer. Jeremy Limbaugh scored 17 and Daryl Wade added 11 for the Hornets.

For Twin Rivers, Ryan Adams tallied 14, Jordan Fowler had 11 and Kade McBroom 10.

Advance went 15-of-20 from the free-throw line, while Twin Rivers hit 16-

of-34.

Advance faces Malden in the third-place game today at 6:30 p.m.

The Kelly Hawks had trouble shaking the Richland Rebels but held on to advance to the consolation final.

Kelly led 31-21 at halftime, then saw the lead dwindle to 40-37 as the third quarter expired.

The Hawks saved their best scoring quarter for last with 21 points to hold off the Rebels.

Four Hawks finished in double figures, led by Spencer Ayers with 15. Tyler Thurman had 11 and Jordan Felter and Brandon Ayers had 10 apiece.

Tommy Harlan paced Richland with 18 points, including three treys. Cameron Whittaker had 16 and Matt Rich added 10.

Kelly and Scott County Central vie for the consolation championship today at 5 p.m.