Handing Bourbon a 95-26 setback in which Tiger senior Hank Stratman surpassed 1,000 points for his Belle High School (BHS) basketball career, Jeff Schultz’s Belle Tigers earned a third shot at Fatima’s Comets last Thursday night in the semifinals of the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) Class 3, District 8 Boys Basketball Tournament at Laquey High School.

Trailing 19-9 after one quarter and 36-25 at halftime, Belle was outscored 23-10 in the third quarter before seeing their historic season end at 23-5 following a 73-60 loss to Fatima.

Fatima’s season came to an end Saturday in the district championship game at Laquey following a 67-66 loss to Dixon’s Bulldogs.

Dixon took on Centralia’s Panthers last night (Tuesday) in MSHSAA Class 3 Sectional basketball action at Linn High School.

Hank Willis kept the Tigers in the game after one quarter against Fatima scoring six of Belle’s nine points.

Garrett Gehlert picked up the scoring slack in the second quarter netting 11 of Belle’s 16 points keeping them near single digits trailing 36-25 at halftime.

Held scoreless in the first half, Stratman scored his first five points of the game in the third quarter accounting for half of Belle’s points to open the second half.

In spite of a 25-14 edge in the fourth quarter, Belle’s first 20-win season in over two decades came to an end.

Gehlert led the Tigers with 22 points followed by Stratman in double digits scoring all 11 of his points in the second half.

Willis finished with eight points while Luke Rohrer canned a pair of fourth-quarter 3-pointers giving him six points for the game.

Chase Trainor and Kooper Elrod both chipped in four points apiece while Kelhen Struemph hit a second-quarter 3-pointer for three points.

Avery Craigmiles rounded out the Tiger scoring against Fatima with two points on a fourth-quarter bucket.

Tigers vs. Bourbon

Ending their regular season with a 61-51 road win over Fatima’s Comets in Westphalia, Schultz’s Belle Tigers opened district play last Tuesday night against Bourbon’s Warhawks looking for a third meeting with Fatima.

Racing out to a 33-3 first-quarter lead, Stratman led the Tigers with 12 points over the first eight minutes which included him surpassing 1,000 points for his career.

Pushing their lead to 50-13 at halftime, Belle went on to post a 95-26 victory over the Warhawks behind 20 points, seven assists, six assists and five rebounds from Gehlert.

Struemph added 16 points, six assists and two rebounds while Stratman scored all 13 of his points in the first half.

Brayden Barzee and Willis both scored eight points apiece Cooper Guinn chipped in seven points.

Rohrer added all five of his points in the fourth quarter while also grabbing six rebounds and dishing out four assists.

Kooper Elrod added four first-quarter points to go with a team-high seven rebounds.

Rounding out the Tiger scoring against Bourbon with two points each was the trio of Tucker Harris, Kaegan Kinsey and Trainor.