JH Basketball Teams Defeat Rawlins County
On Tuesday, November 8, the junior high basketball teams played Rawlins County in St. Francis. The Indians won all three contests played.
In the B-Team contest, the scoring was slow early in the contest, but the Indians got the offense going later in the game and rolled to an decisive win. Taylor Rogers scored the only Indian points in the first quarter, and the score stood even at 2-2 after one quarter of play.
In the second period, the Indians turned up the defense, earned a few steals, and turned them into baskets. With 3:40 left in the period, the Indians were up 9-2. The Indians held a comfortable 13-2 lead at halftime.
Using good pressure defense and strong rebounding, the Indians stretched the lead to 23-4 after three periods and cruised to a 28-6 win.
Scoring for the Indians in the B-team game were: Taylor Rogers 9, Francisco Ferndandez 6, Austin Patton 4, Joel Hill 2, Quinton Cravens 2, Chris Hoard, 2, and Jeremiah Neitzel 1.
Coach David Morrow made the following comments on the B-team game, "We had another sluggish start in this game. Defensively, we played very well, but it took about a quarter for the offense to find its footing. Once we got into the flow of the game, things started to roll pretty well. Taylor Rogers hit a 3-pointer in this quarter, and Francisco Fernandez was able to convert a steal into a lay-up. From that point to the end of the game, the guys were able to keep up the pressure on defense and score some points in the transition game."
"We had a very well-rounded effort again tonight. The guards all played well and our taller guys were able to score some points from the post area. Fernandez, who plays both guard and post, had some very nice drives to the basket. Our next contest will be against Oakley on the 10th. They will be a tough challenge, but this team will be ready for them. These young guys give great effort and are a lot of fun to watch."
In the A-Team game, the Buffaloes and Indians battled through a close first half, but the Indians took control in the second half to win easily.
Jude Faulkender scored a basket to tie the game at 4-all midway through the first period. The Indians trailed 5-7 after one period of play.
With 5:16 left in the second period, Jakob Church tied the contest at 7 on a two-point basket. Carl Fabre gave the Indians the lead (11-10) when he scored off a nice pass by Garrett Brunk. Rawlins County regained the lead, but a Church trey cut the deficit to 14-16 at halftime.
St. Francis took the lead for good (17-16) on a rebound basket by Brunk early in the third period. St. Francis led 24-16 after a Brunk stick-back and free throw. St. Francis stretched the lead to 31-16 on a basket by Lane Hobrock. The Indians cruised to a 35-16 win, holding Rawlins County scoreless in the second half.
Indians scoring the game were: Carl Fabre 12, Garrett Brunk 8, Jakob Church 7, Jude Faulkender 4, Clay Cassaw 2, and Lane Hobrock 2.
Coach Morrow commented, "The first half of this game was very competitive. The Buffaloes were able to find some holes in our defense and score some points. As we had done in the previous game, we missed some easy lay-ups in the transition game. In the second half, our defense was much, much better, holding Rawlins County scoreless that entire time."
"The guys gave another great effort in this game. Carl Fabre was very tough on defense and ran the court well in transition. Garrett Brunk also played great defense. In the second half, he managed to get to the free-throw line several times. Jude Faulkender and Jakob Church both shot the ball well for us. Lane Hobrock played great defense in the second half. The quickness of Clay Cassaw and Philip White really helped us get the defense shored up in the second half."
Two quarters only were played in the C-Team contest. St. Francis led 4-3 after one quarter of play. A trey by Ryan Grover extended the lead to 7-3 and a steal and lay-in by J.R. Landenburger moved the score to 9-3. St. Francis won the shortened game 15-5. Players scoring in the C-team game were: Ryan Grover 5, Chris Hoard 4, Payton Beims 4, and J.R. Landenberger 2.
Coach Morrow commented, "A couple of the teams in our league have enough players to field three full teams. Since we have 21 players, we were able to play Rawlins County in two quarters of a C-team contest. These guys played very well for the most part. J.R. Landenberger handled most of the ball-handling duties. Zach White played well in his guard position. Payton Beims and Chris Hoard dominated in the post area, both players scoring 4 points. Ryan Grover had 5 points in the second quarter, three of which came from a 3-point shot. All in all, I was pleased with the effort of these guys. Many of them played in the B-game but had enough quarters to help us out in this game. We anticipate playing a full C-team game against Oakley."
The Indians will play Oakley in St. Francis on Thursday, November 10th.
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