Junior High Boys Defeat Decatur Community
On Thursday, November 3, the junior high boys opened the 2011 basketball season in Oberlin. The young Indians were victorious in both games played against Decatur Community. In the B-team contest, Oberlin led 0-2 after one quarter of play and 10-13 at halftime. St. Francis earned a one-point lead (18-17) after three quarters and won the contest 25-21. Scoring for St. Francis were: Austin Patton 7, Joel Hill 6, Travis Rogers 5, Quinton Cravens 2, Jeremiah Neitzel 2, Ryan Grover 2, and Francisco Fernandez 1.
Coach David Morrow made the following comments on the B-team game, "These guys played a good, hard game from the tip-off. Oberlin has a pretty scrappy B-team, but we matched up fairly well with them. In fact, Austin Patton’s size gave us a decent advantage in the post area. Throughout the entire game, the guards did a good job taking care of the ball and handling the various types of defensive pressure Oberlin applied. Taylor Rogers, Quinton Cravens, and Joel Hill were our primary ball handlers. That trio and Francisco Fernandez were also responsible for a large number of the 37 turnovers into which we forced the Red Devils. Patton, Ryan Grover, and Jeremiah Neitzel all played very well in the post area at times throughout the game. Neitzel’s defense and Patton’s rebounding were especially critical toward the end of the game."
The A-team won their game 20-17 with an exciting come-from-behind victory. St. Francis trailed 3-4 after one quarter and 5-8 at halftime. The Indians earned a 12-10 lead by the end of three periods and went on to win the game 20-17. Scoring for the Indians were: Garrett Brunk 5, Jakob Church 4, Clay Cassaw 3, Carl Fabre 3, and Jude Faulkender 2.
Coach Morrow commented, "It was a joy to watch these young men compete Thursday night. Having trailed for much of the game, they finally took the lead in the fourth quarter and managed the end of the game very well. Unfortunately, we couldn’t capitalize off the numerous steals we had in the contest because we found it difficult to score on lay-up opportunities. Had we done so, the end of the game would not have been nearly as dramatic as it turned out to be. Five times in the fourth quarter, we were given the opportunity to either take or increase the lead by making free throws. Making just 4 of those throws allowed Oberlin to stay in the game until the end, but the guys managed the clock pretty well and salted away the game."
"Just like their counterparts in the B-team, these guys fought hard from the very beginning of the game, a sign of just how far they have come since last year. Not once, either in practice or in the game on Thursday, have I had to coax the 21 players on this team to play harder. Each day in practice they give great effort, and it’s obvious they are well on their way to becoming good competitors. There are two explanations for this dynamic: we have good 8th grade leaders who lead by example, and we have a lot of guys on the team who love playing the game."
The Indians will play Rawlins County in St. Francis on Tuesday, November 8th.
