Indians Hunt Down the Wolves
The Indians added two more victories to their season records on Friday, January 5. Though the Indians were missing three players due to injury/illness and execution was a bit ragged at times, the Indians dominated the Idalia Wolves in high school boys basketball. St. Francis won the two-quarters-only junior varsity boys game 23-14 and earned a 78-30 win in the varsity contest.
In the varsity contest, St. Francis jumped out to an early lead. A driving basket by Tate Busse gave the Indians a 9-0 advantage and triggered a time-out by the Wolves at 4:59. After returning to the floor, the Wolves earned their first score, a bank-shot from the free-throw line by Caleb Wingfield (So.). A bit later, Sam McGinnis (Jr.) added a basket from the lane (9-4). After a Busse trey, Dax Towns (So.) scored on a baseline drive. Richard Johnson added one-of-two from the stripe before Wingfield scored on an offensive rebound. After a coast-to-coast drive by Wyatt Hackler, Jake Faulkender added consecutive free-throws (17-8). The final score of the first period came on a deep trey by Idalia's Erik Estrada at the buzzer. St. Francis led 17-11 after one quarter of play.
The Indians would increase the point spread in the second stanza. Tate Busse drained a trey to open the period and followed with two free-throws on the next possession. A Busse assist led to a left-elbow basket by Draven Houtman moments later. The Indians led 24-11. McGinnis chipped in a shot from the lane for the Wolves. Brady Dinkel then scored from the right-wing (assist Tayton Weeter). A Weeter stick-back basket preceded a driving score by Logan Prather (Jr.). The Indians then added a drive by Dinkel, a drive by Busse, and a break basket on an assist from Dinkel to Busse. The margin ballooned to 35-15. With many Indians receiving playing time early in the contest and the Wolves continuing to battle hard, the point spread remained somewhat stable throughout the remainder of the half. Estrada drained another trey to stop the Indians' run. K.C. Krien's assist lead to another Dinkel basket on a nice cut to the hoop. Tate Busse sandwiched another driving basket (plus one) in between two scores by Idalia's Brandon Kock (Sr.). St. Francis led at halftime 40-22.
The Indians would out-score the Wolves 21-8 in the third period. St. Francis opened the second half with a 9-2 run getting a left-wing trey from Brady Dinkel, a basket on a strong cut by Tate Busse (assist K.C. Krien), a post basket by Busse (assist Krien), and a drive by Busse. The margin increased to 49-24. Estrada responded with another trey, but the Indians then added a trey by Connor Keller (assist Busse), another Busse drive, and an offensive rebound score by Richard Johnson. The score now stood at 56-28. Logan Prather added a driving score to the Wolves side of the scoreboard, but Dinkel (assist Busse) and Busse (steal-two) each added scores for St. Francis before the quarter closed. St. Francis lead 61-30 at the third quarter break.
Four straight possessions to open the final period each resulted in additional points by Tate Busse (2 of 4 free-throws, a steal-two, and a drive). With the score at 68-30 in the opening minutes of the final period, the Indians starters were done for the evening. St. Francis added 10 more points in the final 5 minutes of the game getting a free-throw, a trey, and a deuce from Conner Keller and a basket from Draven Houtman to close the contest. Idalia did not score in the final period. St. Francis cruised to a 78-30 win over the Wolves.
With 37 points, Tate Busse was one-point short of the St. Francis High School single-game scoring record in the contest. (Tate scored 38 against Logan on 12/10/2016.) Busse did not play the last 5 minutes of the contest. Brady Dinkel added 13 points and Connor Keller 11 to the Indians cause. Others scoring for St. Francis included Richard Johnson 6, Draven Houtman 4, Tayton Weeter 3, Wyatt Hackler 2, and Jake Faulkender 2. The Indians made 11 of 25 from the free-throw line. The Indians only committed 5 fouls in the contest.
Idalia was led by Erik Estrada with 9 points (3 treys). Logan Prather added 7. The Wolves did not make a free-throw in the game (3 attempted). The Wolves were called for 17 fouls.
In junior varsity action, St. Francis earned a 3-0 lead receiving a driving basket by Draven Houtman and a free-throw by Connor Keller. Idalia's Dax Towns (So.) soon tied the contest with a trey. The addition of a post basket by Talon Glanz (So.) gave the Wolves their only lead of the evening. Bryce Raby's stick-back basket tied the contest, and Raby's driving score later in the quarter placed the Indians in front for good. A right-wing trey by Keller completed the first period scoring. St. Francis led 10-5.
Another Raby drive increased the Indians' lead to 12-5 early in the final period. Idalia responded with a left-wing trey by Towns, a steal-two by Toby Prather (Fr.), and a left-corner score by Caleb Wingfield (So.) to tie the contest at 12-all. Tayton Weeter ended the Idalia run with a driving score, but Towns soon answered with an offensive rebound basket (14-14). The Wolves would not score again. St. Francis added a free-throw by Connor Keller and a stick-back basket by Colton Neitzel to take a 17-14 lead. After a St. Francis time-out at 1:29, the Indians added another basket by Neitzel. A steal by Weeter led to an additional point from the stripe. The final St. Francis points (an old-fashioned three-point play) were scored on a give-and-go play from Weeter to Raby to Weeter. St. Francis defeated the Wolves in the two-quarter contest 23-14.
Scoring for St. Francis is the JV game were Tayton Weeter 6, Bryce Raby 6, Conner Keller 5, Colton Neitzel 4, and Draven Houtman 2. Idalia was led by Dax Towns with 8 points. St. Francis made 4 of 7 from the line; Idalia did not attempt a free-throw.
St. Francis will play Weskan on Tuesday, January 9, in Weskan.
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