Sub-State Champions!
The St. Francis Indians qualified for the Kansas State Basketball Tournament for the second time in school history (previous visit 1997) by winning the Sub-State Championship of the Quinter Sub-State on March 4. The Indians convincingly defeated #2 Sub-State seed Triplains-Brewster 57-31 to earn a berth in the State Tournament. The Indians will face Kiowa-South Barber in the quarter-final round at 4:45 on Thursday, March 9. The tournament will be held at Gross Memorial Coliseum on the campus of Fort Hays State University. Click here for a complete listing of the Kansas State Tournament brackets.
The Indians started a bit slow missing their first three shots from point-blank range to open the Sub-State Championship game. Triplains-Brewster (TPB) took an early 0-4 lead on successive baskets by Jacob Benham. The Indians did not score until the 4:39 mark of the first period when Jeremiah Neitzel placed the Indians on the scoreboard with a stick-back basket. Moments later, Quinton Cravens drained a shot from the right-baseline (assist Brock Waters) to tie the contest. A Waters trey from the top-of-the-key completed a 7-point Indian run. After a TPB free-throw, Taylor Rogers nailed a jumper from the right-wing (assist Cravens) giving the Indians an early four-point lead (9-5). The Titans responded with consecutive left-corner treys by Jaden Schmidt to take a 9-11 advantage with 1:10 left in the first period. The score stood at 11-all after one quarter of play with addition of a post score by Rogers (assist Neitzel).
The Indians opened the second period with a left-wing jumper by Brock Waters, a free-throw by Quinton Cravens, and a left-wing trey by Tate Busse. The scores completed an 8-0 St. Francis run giving the Indians a 17-11 advantage with 4:10 remaining in the first half. The Titans deliberately slow offensive pace had kept the game close for a while, but the Indians defense, rebounding, and offensive prowess were beginning to show. Brady Dinkel sandwiched a left-corner trey (assist Dalton Straub) between two Titan scores, and then the Indians produced another small run. The six-point run included baskets by Busse (lane), Straub (high-post) and Cravens (assist Waters). The Indians now led by double-digits (26-15). The quarter closed on a driving score by TPB's Brett Roulier and an offensive rebound basket by Cravens. St. Francis led 28-17 at halftime.
The Indians blew the game open in the third period earning runs of 6, 6, and 7 while holding the Titans nearly scoreless for most of the quarter. Brock Waters opened the second half with an out-of-bounds play score. Quinton Cravens added an offensive rebound basket (plus-one). At 6:48, TPB called time-out. After returning to the floor, Tate Busse earned a steal and quickly turned it into a Waters lay-up with a fast-break assist. The Indians had quickly advanced the margin to 36-17. After a left-wing trey by TPB's Tad Holm, Jeremiah Neitzel scored from the high-post on consecutive trips and Waters added another driving score. The Indians' defense and rebounding was limiting the Titans' opportunities and the SF offense was beginning to assert itself. With approximately four minutes remaining in the third, the Indians were up 42-20. Holm scored two more baskets in the period for the Titans, but the Indians added five baskets, including four consecutive baskets to close the quarter. The baskets were scored by Waters, Dalton Straub, and Busse (three). The Indians led 51-25 after three quarters of action.
The Indian offense slowed a bit in the final period as the game's outcome had already been decided. With 6:20 left in the contest, an assist by Brady Dinkel led to a run-out dunk by Tate Busse. Benham followed with a post-move basket (plus one) for the Titans. An assist by Brock Waters set up a score by Dalton Straub mid-way through the period, and a pair of Water free-throws capped the Indians point total. With approximately two-minutes to play, Coach Busse cleared the bench to allow the remainder of the team (Conner Keller, K.C. Krien, Jordan Raby, Tayton Weeter, and Jake Faulkender) some action in the Sub-State Championship contest. St. Francis defeated Triplains-Brewster 57-31 to advance to the Kansas State High School Basketball Tournament.
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St. Francis had three players score in double figures; Brock Waters 17, Tate Busse 11, and Quinton Cravens 10. Others contributing to the Indians' point total were Dalton Straub 6, Jeremiah Neitzel 6, Taylor Rogers 4, and Brady Dinkel 3. The Indians made 5 of 9 from the line and committed 9 fouls. The Indians committed 2 turnovers in the first half and 9 in the second half.
Triplains-Brewster was led by Tad Holm (6' 2" senior) with 10, Jacob Benham (6' 0" junior) with 7, and Jaden Schmidt (5' 8' senior) with 6. The Titans made 2 of 5 from the line and were called for 10 fouls.
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More photos from this game can be found on the "Photos" page.
