Richland, Bell City win district openers

ESSEX — The Richland Rebels and the Bell City Cubs were among the four teams that advanced to the second round of the Class 1 District 2 boys basketball playoffs on Monday.

Top-seeded Richland made quick work of the eighth-seeded Zalma Bulldogs with a 106-26 victory. The Rebels led 36-5 after the first quarter and 55-19 at halftime. The outscored Zalma in the second half by a margin of 51-7.

Tucker Hughes led the Rebels with a game-high 25 points. Teammate Gary Tilley also scored 21 points, and eight other Richland players contributed on the scoreboard.

Zalma’s top scorer was Colby Borders, with 17 points.

Richland squares off with Scott County Central in the semifinals on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, third-seeded Bell City walked off with a 79-48 win over Oak Ridge on Monday to also advance to the semifinals, where they will face the No. 2 seeded Delta Bobcats.

Bell City only led by two points at 30-28 at halftime, but the Cubs ran away with the game in the second half, outscoring Oak Ridge 25-9 in the third quarter and 24-11 in the fourth.

The Cubs’ leading scorer was Kale Richardson with a game-high 21 points, with teammate Juan Hernandez contributing 17.

Delta had an easy time against the seventh-seeded Marquand-Zion Tigers with a 102-54 win to advance to play Bell City. The Bobcats led 62-31 at the half and coasted in the second half for the victory.

Delta’s leading scorer was Ryan Jeffries with a game-high 34 points. Bryce Cox scored 19 points and Isaiah Berry scored 18 to also contribute to the Bobcats’ win.

Hayden Wolfe led the Tigers with 18 points.

In the only upset of the quarterfinals, the fifth-seeded Scott County Central Braves edged the fourth-seeded Leopold Wildcats 39-36. The game was tied at 10 after the first quarter, but an 8-4 second quarter edge put Leopold up 18-14 at the half.

Both teams scored 12 points in the third quarter, but the Braves outscored Leopold 13-6 in the fourth, paced by nine points from Cortavian Banks, who led all scorers with 26 points.

Leopold’s top scorer was Riley Engelen with 19 points.

Scott County Central now moves on to challenge top-seeded Richland at 6 p.m. on Wednesday in the early game. Delta vs. Bell City is scheduled to tip off at 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday.