Oran hoping to bring back first-ever state championship

ORAN -- With last Saturday's thrilling Class 2 quarterfinal win over Winona, the Oran Eagles have entered uncharted waters for a team that came just one game short of the Show-Me Showdown a year prior.

Starting Thursday in Columbia, the Eagles will have the chance to put their names in Oran's record books as they compete for the school's first state title at Mizzou Arena.

"Everybody is excited about the trip," Oran head coach Joe Shoemaker said. "We're looking forward to it."

First up for Oran, who is making their first trip to the Show Me Showdown since 1969, will be a daunting semifinal matchup against the Salisbury Panthers, who enter the Showdown after a 68-34 quarterfinal win over Canton.

The Panthers come in to the tournament after making it all the way to the championship game last year, where they narrowly lost the title to Billings 83-79.

They'll feature much of that same lineup when they come out Thursday looking to make up for last year. This season Salisbury boasts a 28-1 record coming into the semifinals and have only lost a collective five games in the last three years.

"Definitely a rough matchup," Shoemaker said. "Of course every team is good that's made it to state this far. They were in the state championship last year, have plenty of height and three or four kids that can score.

"They're a pretty deep basketball team and also an experienced one so we'll definitely have our work cut out for us."

One of their most lethal weapons will be 6-3 swingman Zach Wyatt, who is currently averaging 13.9 points per game to go along with 5.5 assists and 5.6 rebounds.

He's joined by 6-2 guard Austin Wyatt and 6-5 center Austin Francis.

Austin Wyatt currently averages 15.4 points per game and is a 3-point specialist, having connected on 63 so far this season. Their big man, Francis, is their leading scorer with 16.2 points per game while averaging seven rebounds a game.

While the Panthers have at least a few inches on Oran at most possessions, Shoemaker is optimistic some of their more recent competition will help them overcome the height disadvantage.

"The closest thing I can say is the last couple games we've faced 6-8 centers and Winona was a very big basketball team," Shoemaker said. "Hopefully that will give us a little experience and prepare us for it a little bit."

Oran, who stands at 27-3 this season, will have plenty of weapons to contend with Salisbury's high-powered offense with as many as three Eagles capable of going off for 20-plus points on any given night.

At the heart of Oran's lineup a pair of senior leaders, Kody Moore (6-0) and Alex Heuring (6-4), that have been key in both last season's playoff run and this one.

Moore had 22 points in the Class 2, District 3 championship game to guide the Eagles into the state tournament and had another 13 points against quarterfinal opponent Winona.

Heuring was the leading scorer in the Winona game, with 19 points, and had pitched in 15 points in the Eagles' sectional win over Elsberry.

Junior Seth Ressel (6-0) is equally important to the offense, scoring a team-high 24 points against Elsberry and hitting the game-winner against Winona. He had 14 points in the contest.

Both more and Ressel (6-1) can be lethal from 3-point range while Heuring gets most his points in the paint.

Sophomore Hunter Schlosser has also had a solid postseason, averaging 13.3 points in the last three games.

As most Eagle fans know, Oran earned its way to the Showdown in a 63-61 win over Winona that was won when Ressell hit the deciding shot with 2.3 seconds left on the clock.

One thing Shoemaker hopes his boys are prepared for is the nerves that can come with playing in such a big environment, like Mizzou Arena.

"No matter how much you try you really can't prepare guys for that," Shoemaker said. "Hopefully these guys have had some experience in baseball in the final four last year and some big game scenarios and it will hopefully help us stay relaxed and just play."

He added, "Nerves are definitely a concern, especially going up against a team that played in the state championship last year and have several players back.

"The team that usually relaxes and plays closest to their normal self usually ends up with the better outcome. So that's definitely something to be concerned about."

Oran will take on Salisbury Thursday at 6:40 p.m. and with a win would move on to Saturday's title game against the winner of the Iberia/West Platte semifinal game. Iberia stands at 27-3 on the year while West Platte is undefeated at 29-0.

The championship game will take place Saturday at 3:10 p.m. in Mizzou Arena. If Oran falls they'll face the loser of the other semifinal matchup for third-place Friday at 3:20, also at Mizzou Arena.