Boys Win in Sagebrush Second Round; Girls Lose
Boys to Play for Championship
The St. Francis boys won their second pool game in the Sagebrush Classic against Cheylin on Thursday evening, December 10th. They will now play for championship on Saturday night, December 12th, at 8:00 PM. The Lady Indians lost their second game in the tournament to Stratton, CO, and will now play for fifth place on Saturday at 4:30 PM.
In girls action, the Lady Indians struggled with turnovers and poor shooting and lost to Stratton, Colorado by a score of 29-50. The Lady Indians trailed 5-10 after one quarter. In the second quarter, the Lady Indians committed too many turnovers and had trouble connecting with the shots they attempted and fell behind 6-22 by half time.
In the third period, the Lady Eagles extended their lead to 13-35. In the fourth period, St. Francis trailed by as many as 27 points, but cut the lead to 25-46 at one point. Mikaela Grace had a big fourth quarter scoring 12 in the period. The Lady Indians lost to a good Stratton team 29-50.
Mikaela Grace led the Lady Indians in scoring with 14 points. Jordan May led the Lady Eagles with 23.
In boys, action the St. Francis-Cheylin game was a good one. Both teams played hard and executed well. Cheylin led early in the first quarter. St. Francis did not lead until three minutes remained in the quarter when they took a 10-8 advantage they would not relinquish. The Indians led at the end of one quarter 16-10.
In the second quarter, Cheylin cut the lead to 17-16 with 3:24 remaining. A quick basket by Trent Raile, a stickback bucket by Matt Raile, and an Indian steal and layup by Trent gave the Indians a 23-16 lead with 2:11 remaining. The halftime score was 28-22, Indians.
The Indians stretched their lead to 32-22 with less than a minute gone in the third and never looked back. An aggressive drive by Garrett Figgins for a left-handed score and free throw moved the score to 46-32. St Francis went on to win 57-40.
St. Francis did not score a field goal in the fourth quarter, but connected on 11 of 18 free throws to seal the win. Trent Raile (20) and Matt Raile (19) led the Indians in scoring. Caleb Keltz (6'4" junior) had 15 to lead the Cougars.
Coach Jeff Beims had the following comments on the boys game: "This represented a pivotal early season game for us. Not only did it propel us into the championship game in the Sagebrush Tournament, but Cheylin is a good team, and we passed the test. They play good defense and have a couple guys that can score from anywhere. We were able to withstand their pressure, and apply a little of our own. We would have struggled to win this game in the past, but I think we are starting to understand the importance of defense and how keeping your composure under pressure can win ball games."
He continued, "We have by no means perfected the defensive philosophy I espouse, but we are getting there, and its starting to pay dividends. In the 2 games of the Brewster tourney thus far, our opponents have averaged only 39 points. On offense we need to be more disciplined in running our offense when the game is on the line, but we had good looks at the basket. Although we didn’t shoot well from the field, due in part to Cheylin’s defensive efforts, we did hit shots when we needed them. Our ability to hit free throws down the stretch was huge especially considering we did not score from the field in the 4th quarter."
