Sainty Teams Win Three of Four
St. Francis teams won three of the four basketball games played in McDonald on Tuesday, February 17th, against the Cheylin Cougars. There was no JV girls game.
The C-Team boys game was won by St. Francis in a close contest. The final score was St. Francis 50 - Cheylin 47. In junior varsity boys action, Cheylin played well and jumped out to a 15 point half time lead (18-33) and went on to win 47-58.
The Lady Indians varsity team hustled hard and led throughout the game. St. Francis led 13-10 after one quarter and 31-24 at half time. The Lady Indians increased the lead to 9 points with a little more than five minutes remaining in the third quarter, but Cheylin cut the lead to five points (37-32) at the quarter's close. The score stood at 40-36 with just over five minutes remaining in the game when the Lady Indians turned up the defense. The Lady Indians outscored the Lady Cougars 11-1 in the closing minutes to win 51-37.
Elizabeth Gienger led the Lady Indians in scoring with 13 points; Jami Pevler added 10. Cheylin was led by Tia Sager (14) and Naomi Reeh (12).
The boys game was an exciting game with the Indians leading after one quarter and at game's end and Cheylin controlling the middle two quarters. The game was closer than the final score indicates. St. Francis led 14-13 after one quarter of play but trailed 26-33 at half time. The Indians cut the deficit to three points in the third, but Cheylin retained a six point lead (38-44) at the third quarter break. The Indians tied the game with 5:00 minutes to go at 47 all and then took the lead (49-47) on a basket by Drew Zweygardt with 4:40 remaining. Trent Kinen connected on a three to advance the lead to 60-55 with about 2 minutes remaining. Cheylin would not score again. Trailing, Cheylin was forced to foul, and the Indians sealed the win with five Trent Raile free throws and two free throws by Trent K. The Indians won 67-55.
The difference in the game came at the line where St. Francis, due to aggressive dribble penetration, was able to get numerous attempts. St. Francis was 19-27 from the line while Cheylin was 5 of 6. Both teams had balanced scoring as numerous players added to the final outcome. St. Francis was led in scoring by Trent Kinen (19), Trent Raile (18), Matt Raile (12), and Sam Sowers (8). Cheylin was led by Chris Walden (12), Churchwell (11), White (11), and Keltz (8).
