Indians Defeat Rawlins County
Bracelin Scores 31
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The Indians swept the Rawlins County Buffaloes in high school basketball in St. Francis on Tuesday, January 27. The varsity Indians earned a 73-50 victory, and the junior varsity edged by the Buffaloes in overtime, 54-51.
The varsity Indians wasted little time in establishing control, but the Rawlins County Buffaloes fought hard and made a couple runs at the Indians in the game. With only 2 minutes and 35 seconds off the game clock, all five Indian starters had scored. The Indians earned baskets by Quinton Cravens (post), Tate Busse (steal-two), Cade Bracelin (offensive rebound), Taylor Rogers (offensive rebound) and Jude Faulkender (basket plus one) to take a quick 11-0 lead. Rawlins County scored on a right wing trey at 5:10 and followed with a steal-two. Baskets by Rogers and Bracelin advanced the lead to double-digits again (15-5). Consecutive Indian turnovers allowed the Buffaloes two quick scores, and a pair of free-throws nearly erased the advantage the Indians had held earlier in the contest. St. Francis earned two baskets, an offensive rebound score by Taylor Rogers and drive by Carl Fabre, to close out the first quarter. The Buffaloes could only muster one more basket, and the Indians led 19-13 after one period of play.
The Buffaloes pulled within 4 points three times in the early part of the second period. The Indians led 20-16, 23-19, and 25-21 in the first four minutes. The Indians then reeled off a 14-2 run. Getting scores from Tate Busse (jumper, 2 free-throws, and steal-two), Jude Faulkender (post and offensive rebound), Taylor Rogers (two free-throws), and Cade Bracelin (offensive rebound), the Indians led 39-23 at halftime.
The Buffaloes scored from the post to open the second half of play. The Indians answered with a press offense basket by Jude Faulkender (assist Taylor Rogers) and a shot by Quinton Cravens from the left baseline (43-25). The next eight minutes or so belonged to Cade Bracelin. Cade scored 20 of the Indians next 22 points. After three consecutive baskets by Bracelin, Rogers scored on a drive. The Indians led 51-32. Cade then made two free-throws and a succession of six baskets all from post-moves and offensive rebounds. At the end of three periods, the Indians led 57-39.
Bracelin's scoring run (22 points in the second half) extended into the final period, and with five minutes left in the game, the Indians led 65-41. Jeremiah Neitzel swished two free-throws and Bracelin drained a trey from the right wing to give the Indians their biggest lead of the contest, 70-43, with 3:07 remaining. Two free-throws by Jude Faulkender and one by Bracelin closed out the Indians' scoring. St. Francis defeated Rawlins County 73-50.
Cade Bracelin added 12 rebounds to his 31 point scoring total for a complete game. Jude Faulkender scored 13 points. Taylor Rogers scored 11 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. Tate Busse scored 10 points and had 5 steals. Other Indians scoring in the game were: Quinton Cravens 4, Carl Fabre 2, and Jeremiah Neitzel 2. The Indians only made 2 of 11 from three-point range, but shot well from two-point range 26-45 (58%).
Rawlins County was led by freshman Braden Leitner and sophomore Dylan Dulany with 14 points each. The Buffaloes made 6 of 14 from the line and swished 6 treys.
In the junior varsity game, both teams established good leads at various times in the contest, but after 32 minutes of play, the score was tied at 43 all. The Indians eventually earned a 54-51 overtime win.
The Indians trailed 2-5 early, but after two assists by Travis Rogers, one to Jeremiah Neitzel on a break and the other to Dalton Straub in the right corner, the game became tied at 7-all. The Indians took a two-point lead after an assist by Jakob Church on a cut through the lane by Straub. Unfortunately, the Indians did not score in the last four minutes of the quarter, and Rawlins County led 9-18 after one period.
Three consecutive break baskets (including one late in the first quarter) by the Buffaloes left the Indians at a 11-22 disadvantage. Rawlins County extended their lead to 11-24 with a post-move score. The Indians earned free-throws by Francisco Fernandez and Carl Fabre to move the halftime score to 14-24.
The Buffaloes nailed a trey to open the third quarter. The Indians responded with baskets by Dalton Straub (left wing trey), Jeremiah Neitzel (post, assist Church), Church (post), and a free-throw to trim the margin to 22-27. Before the quarter ended, Straub swished a top-of-the key trey, Church made an assist to Francisco Fernandez for a fast-break basket, and Starub scored again on a coast-to-coast break. The Indians had completed the come-back, and now led 31-29.
St. Francis was whistled for a technical foul at the beginning of the fourth quarter for having six players on the floor. Rawlins County made both free-throws to tie the game at 31-all. The Indians scored the next six points (Francisco Fernandez break, Mark Coon free-throws and high-post basket) to lead 37-31 with approximately four minutes to go. Two offensive rebound stick-backs by the Buffaloes closed the advantage to two before Straub earned a steal-two for the Indians. A right-wing trey at 1:50 pulled the Buffaloes within one point (39-38). At 1:38, Fernandez scored on a baseline drive. Rawlins County answered with a top-of-the-key trey and a basket from the left wing to take the lead 41-43. Fernandez scored a lay-up with 24 seconds left to tie the contest. The Buffaloes missed a free-throw seconds later, and the Indians had a chance for the final shot. The Indians turned the ball over, and Rawlins County called time-out with four seconds remaining. The Buffs missed a long shot at the buzzer and the game went to overtime.
The Indians scored the first two baskets in overtime. Dalton Straub made a trey and then handed out an assist to Francisco Fernandez on a fast-break (48-43). RC scored on an offensive rebound at 2:31. At 2:06, Jeremiah Neitzel made a strong post move to advance the lead to five points and scored again at 1:37, again from the post (52-45). At 1:22, the Buffs scored on an offensive rebound. Dennis Potter scored the final Indian points on a assist from Fernandez (54-48). Rawlins County scored twice in the final seconds of play, but the Indians had earned a 54-51 overtime victory.
The Indians will play Triplains-Brewster, in St. Francis, on Friday January 30.
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