Young Indians Win One, Lose One
The junior high basketball teams traveled to Quinter on Thursday, November 10, to play the Bulldogs. Each school won a game during the competition. St. Francis won the A-Team game by a score of 46-31. Quinter won the B-Team game 11-27.
Only two Indians scored in the B-Team contest. Preston Witzel netted 9 points and Ben Busse added 2. Quinter's Tucker Gillespie led all scorers with 14 points. Quinter jumped out to a 2-8 lead after one period. The Indians narrowed the lead slightly before halftime (8-13) but trailed 8-21 after three periods failing to score in the third quarter. St. Francis lost the B-Team game 11-27.
In A-Team action, the Indians found themselves in a very competitive game. Quinter had players with the skills and size to compete with the tall and talented Indians. Quinter called time-out with 4:43 remaining in the first period. Neither team had yet scored. The Indians earned the game's first basket a few moments later on a steal-assist by Shadryon Blanka that led to a score by Adam Krien. Krien returned the favor finding Blanka in the post a bit later. Blanka's free-throw gave the Indians a 5-0 lead. Collin Thielen converted a charity toss getting the Bulldogs on the board with 2:39 left in the first period. Harlan Obioha's post basket and Jaden Boone's free-throw trimmed the Indians' lead to 5-4, before Jesse Baxter answered with a offensive rebound score. Colin Blackwill's fast-break basket made the score 7-6 at the first quarter break.
The second period opened with two free-throws by Shadryon Blanka and a Boone post move. A right-wing trey by Adam Krien (assist Colton Neitzel) gave the Indians a 12-8 lead. It would not last long as Collin Theilen answered with a right-wing trey for the Bulldogs. Quinter took their first lead of the contest (12-13) on a free-throw line jumper by Obioha on a break. St. Francis called time-out with 2:50 remaining in the first half to regroup. Krien's right wing shot put the Indians back in front for a moment, but it would be the last lead the Indians would possess in the half. Eli Gruenbacher's trey after an Indian turnover put Quinter ahead again. Another turnover led to a fast-break basket by Boone (14-18). Krien answered from the right-wing on an assist by Kobe Tice, but Gruenbacher drained another trey, this one from the left side, capitalizing on the third Indian turnover in just over a minute (16-21). Neitzel scored on an out-of-bounds play just before the half ended, but the Indians fouled on a final Quinter three-point attempt at the buzzer. The Bulldogs converted only one of the three charity shots. The Indians went to the locker room trailing 18-22.
The Indians reeled off the first 8 points of the third period getting a offensive rebound basket by Jesse Baxter, free-throws by Adam Krien and Colton Neitzel, an out-of-bounds play basket by Baxter (assist Krien), and another offensive rebound stick-back by Baxter. The outburst had placed the Indians ahead 26-22. Obioha's post basket stopped the run at 8 points. An exchange of free-throws, two by Neitzel and one by Blackwill, preceded Garin Cooper's assist on a right-wing shot by Shadryon Blanka. Neitzel followed with a offensive rebound basket at 1:05 giving the Indians a 7-point advantage (32-25). The Indians' aggressiveness on the boards was paying big dividends. Boone's basket for the Bulldogs was answered by an out-of-bounds play score by Baxter on a nice pass by Preston Witzel. St. Francis had forged a 34-27 lead with some aggressive play.
St. Francis stepped up the defensive pressure to full court at the beginning of the final period. The move resulted in a quick Quinter time-out. An assist by Kobe Tice to Jesse Baxter was followed by a Baxter offensive rebound basket and a steal-assist by Shadryon Blanka setting up a fast-break score by Adam Krien. Colton Neitzel's post assist to Baxter triggered another Quinter time-out at 3:10 with the scoreboard reading 42-27. Quinter returned to the floor with a full-court press. Theilen soon scored for the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs used four time-outs during the final stanza, but could not overcome the Indians' earlier run. The Indians received a steal-two basket by Blanka and a final score on an sweet assist by Tice on a back-door cut by Blanka to close the game. St. Francis had earned a hard-fought victory over a good Quinter team, 46-31.
Jesse Baxter led the Indians in scoring with 20 points. Adam Krien added 10, Shadryon Blanka 7, Colton Neitzel 7, and Kobe Tice 2. Quinter was led by Eli Gruenbacher with 7. Jaden Boone and Harlan Obioha each scored 6. and Collin Blackwill chipped in 5. St. Francis made 7 of 12 from the stripe. Jesse Baxter scored 16 points in the second half.
St. Francis will play Hoxie at home on Tuesday, November 15.
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