Junior High Boys Play Two Opponents
Teams Lose to Quinter and Oakley
This week, the junior high boys basketball teams played two opponents. On Tuesday, November 10th, the team traveled to Quinter to play the Bulldogs. The B team lost to Quinter by a score of 4-29 and the A team lost by eleven points, 26-37. The A team led after one quarter 8-5, but Quinter gained the lead in the second quarter and were up by four at halftime (13-17). The lead remained four after three quarters (19-23), but Quinter extended their lead in the fourth period to win 26-37.
Coach David Morrow had the following comments about the B game in Quinter: "Though the score doesn’t reflect it, we played better than we did the week before against Oberlin. Guys knew the assignments better and were on the same page for this game. The problem was that Quinter was another pretty good basketball team. Had we rebounded better and played better defense, we could have been more competitive. Again, our difficulty in scoring prevented us from making up any ground between us and the Bulldogs."
Scoring in the B team game were: Gaten Cooper, 2 and Shakotah
Blanka, 2.
Coach David Morrow had the following comments on the A team game
with Quinter: "This was a very competitive game throughout.
We shot better in the early part of this game than we did against
Oberlin, which helped us to get a little momentum early. We got a
few steals with some defensive pressure and took the lead at the
end of the first quarter. In many close games like this one, there
is a short stretch of a couple of minutes that often defines the
outcome. In this game, there were a few moments when we allowed
penetration or an easy score, and they proved very difficult to
overcome. Overall these guys are really learning. They are hard
workers and will surprise a few teams this year."
Scoring in the A team game against Quinter were: Mason Schiltz, 11; Wyatt Landenburger, 4; Cade Bracelin, 4; Lane Hoffman, 3; Kyler Zweygardt, 2.
On Thursday, November 12th, the teams competed with Oakley on the home court. St. Francis showed improvement in many areas but came up short on the scoreboard. The B team lost to Oakley by a score of 10-31 and the A team lost 20-35.
Coach Morrow gave the following comments on the Oakley B team
game: "Oakley had a pretty good young basketball team. We knew that
we needed to work hard to rebound better this week and play more
consistent defense. At times we did well at each of those things,
but we weren’t able to have much consistency at either. Toward the
end of the game, we were able to generate some offense by getting
steals and attacking the basket. Jacob Baxter came alive in the
fourth quarter to score our only points from the field.
The most difficult challenge we have on this team is scoring
points. We simply need to relax and shoot more."
Scoring: Jacob Baxter, 8; Gaten Cooper, 1; Derek Queen, 1.
In A team action, the game was close throughout the first half.
The young Indians trailed 6-9 after one quarter and by two (11-13)
at halftime. In the third quarter, the Indians had several
turnovers which led to easy baskets for Oakley. The Indians fell
behind 15-32 by the end of the 3rd quarter and lost the game
20-35.
A team game comments from Coach Morrow: "As was the case last week,
there was a defining stretch in the third quarter that opened up
the contest in favor of our opponent. Oakley had a good, tall team
of players and we had a lot of trouble passing over them.
The first half was very competitive. We defended Oakley well and
were able to move the ball just enough to get some decent shots. In
the third quarter, we allowed them to attack the basket too freely,
giving them some easy buckets. Our defense tightened up again, and
the game evened back out. The damage was done, however, and we
couldn’t catch up."
Scoring: Lane Hoffman, 7; Mason Schiltz, 4; Wyatt Landenburger, 3; Cade Bracelin, 2; Kyler Zweygardt, 2; Jacob Baxter, 2.
