Boys Lose To Thunder Ridge
Season Ends
The St. Francis Indians lost to a talented Thunder Ridge team on Thursday evening, March 1, in the semi-final game of the 1A Substate Tournament. The 44-58 loss ended the season for the Indians.
Both teams seemed a bit tight as the game got underway. Neither team scored until Isaac Schiltz found the basket with 5:40 left in period one. A trey by Mason Schiltz brought the score to 5-2 at 4:55. Jonathan Butler scored a bit later (7-2), and things looked good for the Indians. Then the Indians made three consecutive turnovers, and the score moved to 7-6. The Indians followed with a fourth turnover. The Thunder Ridge shots were not falling and the Indians escaped possible trouble. At 1:40, Dylan Peter scored a basket off a nice pass by Jonathan Butler. The Indians led 11-6 after one quarter of play.
Thunder Ridge opened the second period with a quick trey (11-9) and followed it with an old fashioned three-point-play to take the lead 11-12 at the 6:23 mark. The Longhorns would lead 11-14 before Isaac Schiltz scored for the Indians (13-14). Thunder Ridge scored two more baskets before a nice pass from Peter led to a Jonathan Butler basket (15-18) at 4:09. The Indians were getting out-rebounded by the Longhorns and were feeling the effects of the increased defensive pressure applied by Thunder Ridge. The Longhorns were gradually gaining an advantage.
Thunder Ridge lead 15-22 before Cade Braceln scored on a pass from Isaac Schiltz. The Longhorns answered with a chippie basket on a well-executed out-of-bounds play. St. Francis committed a turnover on their next possession, and the Longhorns scored again (19-28). St. Francis trailed 21-28 with less than ten seconds left in the half. Thunder Ridge scored a lay-in with 4.5 seconds left. St. Francis turned the ball over on the in-bounds pass, and the Longhorns dropped in another basket at the buzzer. The Indians trailed 21-32 at halftime. Using good defensive pressure, aggressive rebounding, and patient offensive execution with excellent interior passing, the Longhorns had out-scored the Indians by 16 points in the period.
The Indians made a small run in the third period. At trey by Dylan Peter moved the score to 26-34 at the 6:23 mark. Isaac Schiltz converted a Thunder Ridge turnover into two more points at 5:13. A second consecutive Longhorn turnover did not reward the Indians with another score. The Indians then committed a turnover, and the Longhorns scored at 3:28 to regain a ten-point lead (28-38). The Longhorns extended the lead to 28-41 before the Indians scored again. Converting an out-of-bounds play into a lay-up, Thunder Ridge forged ahead 30-43. Kyler Zweygardt scored the final basket of the third period on an offensive rebound to bring the score to 32-43 heading into the final quarter. The Indians were playing hard, but were in trouble on the scoreboard.
Isaac Schiltz hit a trey at 6:14 to narrow the gap to 35-43, but Longhorns answered with four more points. Another basket by isaac was followed by a stick-back basket by Mason Schiltz at 3:36 to get the Indians to 39-48. Thunder Ridge answered with a lay-in basket. Isaac Schiltz scored two more times to cut the deficit to 44-50 with 2:18 left. Another Indian turnover resulted in a Thunder Ridge basket at 1:29 (44-52). The Indians attempted to preserve the clock by fouling. The Longhorns made freethrows to preserve the win, and the Indians could not score again. The Indians lost to a good Thunder Ridge team 44-58.
\isaac Schiltz scored 20 points for the Indians against very good defensive pressure. Dylan Peter and Mason Schiltz each added 7 to the Indian point total. The Indians were perfect from the free throw line. Isaac Schiltz was 2 of 2, but the Longhorns played "in-your-face" defense without fouling.
Thunder Ridge was led by Austin Herman with 19 points. Sophomore Garrett Krueger chipped in 15. The Longhorns were 12 of 18 from the free throw line.
The Indians season closed with a 10-11 record.
In the late semi-final contest, Hoxie defeated Stockton 62-46. Hoxie and Kensington - Thunder Ridge will play for the boys substate championship on Saturday, March 3.
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