Tigers Bite the Indians
The Dundy County-Stratton Tigers won both high school boys basketball games played in Benkleman on Friday, December 15. The Tigers thumped the junior varsity Indians 4-40 in a two-quarter contest. In the varsity game, St. Francis lost to the Tigers 43-60.
St. Francis got off to a sluggish start in the boys varsity contest. The Indians did not score in the contest until there was less than three minutes remaining in the first period. By then, Dundy County - Stratton (DCS) had earned a 0-9 lead, and their outstanding player, senior Phalen Sanford, had three goals; one from the right-wing, one from the left-wing, and one from the post. Dalton Straub placed the Indians on the scoreboard making 1-of-2 from the stripe. Sanford followed with a driving score giving him 10 points in the quarter and the Tigers a 10-point lead. The Indians recovered from the early onslaught fairly well in the final minutes of the first period. Adam Krien's assist led to a basket by Brady Dinkel, and then Dinkel's assist set up a score by Straub; a trey from the top-of-the-key. After an offensive rebound basket by Straub, the Indians had closed within three (8-11). A basket by Michael Frederick (6' 2" So.) stopped the Indians' run. Adam Krien scored on a driving basket late in the period. St. Francis trailed 10-13 at the first quarter break.
Tate Busse opened the second period with a driving score; his first basket of the game. Sanford answered with a coast-to-coast drive going the other way. A top-of-the-key trey by Busse tied the content at 15-all with just over 6 minutes showing on the clock. A minute passed with the only additional point scored being a free-throw by DCS's Matthew Lorens (6' 0" Sr. ). At 5:05, Busse drained another trey (assist Straub) giving the Indians their first lead of the contest (18-16). At 4:08, Jacob Gemborys' (6' 3" Jr.) stick-back basket retied the game. Busse answered with a right-wing trey giving St. Francis their largest lead of the night (21-18). Busse's 11 points in the quarter had kept the Indians close, but the Indians would not score again in the half. DCS would add two free-throws by Lane Shillington (5' 8" So.), two treys by Shillington, a drive by Serbando Diaz (5' 6" Fr.), and a driving basket by Sanford. The Indians trailed 21-30 at halftime.
The pace of the contest picked up considerably in the third period. The Indians would add 15 points to their point total in the period while falling further behind. The Tigers scored 21 points in the period. St. Francis opened the period with an assist from Dalton Straub that led to a basket by K.C. Krien. DCS would score the next 6 baskets--five of them by Phalan Sanford, while St. Francis earned a free-throw by Busse. Sanford scored on 4 straight drives, and St. Francis took a time-out with 3:59 remaining in the quarter trailing 24-41. After returning to the floor, Sanford scored again on a steal-two lay-up. Richard Johnson drained a pair of free-throws, but the deficit remained 19 after the addition of a post basket by Gemborys. St. Francis began to slowly trim the deficit receiving a stick-back basket by Johnson and a baseline drive by Straub (30-45). An exchange of free-throws by Sanford and Adam Krien was followed by another offensive rebound basket by Frederick (32-48). A free-throw line jumper by Busse and a baseline drive by Adam Krien pulled the Indians within twelve (36-48). The quarter ended on a deep trey by Shillington at the buzzer. St. Francis trailed 36-51 at the third quarter break.
Leading by a good margin, the Tigers went to a weave offense in the final period. The "slow-down" tactic only resulted in three more baskets for the Tigers, but it was enough. Lorens scored on a drive early in the period. Brady Dinkel followed with a left-wing trey. After a free-throw by Gemborys, Nathan Auffet (5' 9" Sr.) added a basket. With 3:35 remaining, Sanford scored his last basket of the contest on a out-of-bounds play trey. Dalton Straub and Tate Busse each added baskets in the final minutes. After a final free-throw by Sanford, DCS called time-out to get more substitute players into the game. Neither team scored again. St. Francis lost to Dundy County -Stratton 43-60.
Tate Busse led the Indians in scoring with 16 points (11 in the 2nd period). Dalton Straub added 10. Others adding to the Indians' point total were Adam Krien 6, Brady Dinkel 5, Richard Johnson 4, and K.C. Krien 2. The Indians only made 4 of 11 from the stripe.
Phalen Sanford led the Tigers with 29 points (10 in 1st qtr. and 11 in 3rd qtr.). Lane Shillington chipped in 10 points. The Tigers converted 7 of 13 from the line.
In the junior varsity game played in the DCS Grade School, St. Francis had difficulty scoring against a very aggressive DCS team. The Indians managed to get a basket each from Adam Krien and Wyatt Hilt losing 4-40 in a two-quarter contest.
The Indians will play Idalia, at Idalia, on Friday January 5.
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