By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

Editor’s Note: This is the first of eight preview stories for all Varsity teams in the 2012 Stoddard County Tournament, released in reverse-order based on tournament seeding.


The Bell City Cubs have struggled in the early part of the 2011-2012 season, but they are showing signs of improvement over their 3-21 record last season.

In their second year with Nate Wills as head coach, the Cubs have already matched their win total from the previous season. The Cubs stand at 3-10 on the season, and are currently winless in SCAA contests.

After a 72-38 loss against the Bernie Mules in December, the Cubs have kept things much closer in their other SCAA match-ups.

The Cubs hosted the Richland Rebels on January 6, and dropped a 64-63 thriller; earlier this week, the Woodland Cardinals handed the Cubs a 79-74 loss.

The Cubs have five seniors on their eight man squad, but have a significant height disadvantage against many teams they face; their tallest player is senior Shane Hughes, who measures up at 6’1”.
“We just keep coming at you. If there's one thing I've noticed about our team it's our resiliency and I'm very proud of them about that,” Wills said of his team. “We aren't very big size-wise, so we like to spread the floor and dribble. We like to penetrate the lane, leaving some shooters on the perimeter.”


The Cubs got the No. 8 seed in the tournament, and will face the No. 1 Dexter Bearcats in the opening round of the tournament on Monday. Wills noted the distinct height advantage of the Bearcats, and noted the emphasis his team has put on preparing for a battle in the paint.

“Dexter is a tough matchup for us size-wise,” Wills commented.  “We've really been putting an emphasis on rebounding and playing good post defense in preparation for the game.”

Bell City’s JV squad picked up the No. 7 seed in their bracket; the young Cubs will face No. 2 Advance in the opening round.

The JV Cubs are set to open the tournament on Tuesday with a 4:00 p.m. tipoff; the Varsity squad opens the tournament on Monday in the 7:30 contest.