Strong start by Oran keeps Kelly at bay

Kelly's Maurice Davis (24) tries to dribble past Oran's Blake Overfield (11) Wednesday at Kelly High School. Oran won the game 67-51. (Brent Shipman photo)

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BENTON -- A couple strong runs in the first quarter proved to be the difference Wednesday night as visiting Oran never trailed, but couldn't seem to be able to pull away from host Kelly.

Led by Hunter Schlosser's 18 points, the Eagles held off a second half push by the Hawks for a 67-51 final that gives Oran it's sixth win in seven games.

"I didn't think we had enough intensity tonight," Eagles' head coach Joe Shoemaker said. "We'd pull out to a little bit of a lead and just get kind of lackluster with our effort. We just weren't doing the fundamentals of basketballs and let Kelly back in it. Give (Kelly) credit, they quit fighting and they battled hard to the end."

Holding an early four-point lead over the Hawks, 14-10, with 2:38 left in the first quarter, Oran called a timeout that led to their best stretch of the night.

Oran's Thomas Trankler (21) attempts a layup against Kelly Wednesday at Kelly High School. (Brent Shipman photo)

Out of the break, the Eagles (10-5) scored eight-straight points to close out the quarter which led to a 14-2 run with 6:12 left in the half. That streak gave Oran its biggest lead of the night, 26-12, before the Hawks (4-10) rebounded slightly to close within 12 points at the half.

Oran once again pulled away by 14 points in the opening minute of the second half, but a 6-0 rally by the Hawks midway through the third quarter forced the Eagles to burn a timeout. The run set Kelly within seven points, 41-34.

Using the break to once again regroup, Oran responded with an 8-2 run and the Hawks were never able to close any closer than nine points the rest of the contest.

"We had streaks," Kelly head coach Ryan Garnett said. "We tried to feed the post and thought we could take advantage of that opportunity. Having guys that can recognize situations and how to execute in certain times will certainly benefit us and we're learning."

Kelly's Ty Householder (10) attempts a shot against Oran Wednesday at Kelly High School. (Brent Shipman photo)

Behind Schlosser, Jacob Priggel added 16 points to the Eagles' cause and Thomas Trankler pitched in another 10 points. Garrison Mangels was the fourth Oran player in double digits with 10 points.

For Kelly, Jake McClain finished with a team-high 16 points while Maurice Davis and Ty Householder contributed 10 points each.

"We were a couple missed shots and a couple turnovers away from taking the lead," Garnett said. "With us, historically, when things don't go our way we get jittery. We have to learn to play through that. We put some pressure on them early that created some turnovers and we literally gave it right back to them.

"I think when that happened three or four times, plus missing a couple outside shots we kind of got deflated and had to work to overcome it."

Next up, both teams hit the road Friday with Oran playing St. Vincent and Kelly facing Chaffee.

ORAN (67) -- Thomas Trankler 15, Jacob Priggel 16, Hunter Schlosser 18, Jason Bennett 8, Garrison Mangels 10. FG 25, FT 13-19, F 15. (3-pointers: Trankler 2, Schlosser 1, Mangels 1. Fouled out: none.)

KELLY (51) -- Maurice Davis 10, Ty Householder 10, Dalton Huffman 1, Cayden Williams 8, Levi Alsup 2, Jake McClain 16, Conner Dittlinger 4. FG 20, FT 7-14, F 17. (3-pointers: Householder 1, Williams 2. Fouled out: none.)