Indians Advance To Semi-Finals With 22-0 Run
St. Francis 69; Trego 39
The Indians placed a 69-39 whooping on the Trego Community Golden Eagles in the opening round of the 2A Sub-State Tournament on Tuesday, February 27. The Eagles entered the contest with a 5-14 record and on a two-game winning streak (Smith Center 53-51; Quinter 61-59 (OT)). The Indians and Eagles battled closely throughout the first period, but a 26-point advantage for the Indians in the middle two quarters opened the margin comfortably. The Indians had three players in double-figures while the Eagles had two. St. Francis did an especially good job of defensive rebounding; limiting the Eagles to one attempt per possession on most occasions. With the win, the Indians now advance to play Plainville (15-6) in the Sub-State semi-finals on Friday evening, March 2, in Wakeeney. Plainville defeated Oakley 79-46 in their first-round contest. The teams will tip-off at 6:00 p.m. On the other side of the bracket, #1-seeded Hoxie (19-1) defeated Decatur Community 78-35 and #5-seeded Hill City beat #4-seeded Ellis in overtime, 54-50. Hoxie and Hill City will play at 7:30 p.m. on Friday in Wakeeney. Click here to view the Sub-State bracket.
St. Francis earned a 4-0 lead getting two free-throws by Dalton Straub and a coast-to-coast drive by Brady Dinkel early in the game. After a Trego free-throw by 6' 2" junior Keagan Shubert, K.C. Krien scored in the lane on a nice assist by Wyatt Hackler. Tate Busse added a base-line drive, and Dinkel swished a left-corner trey after an offensive rebound and assist by Krien. With 3:46 remaining in the first period, Trego called their first time-out trailing 11-1. The time-out was successful, and the Golden Eagles returned to the floor to earn a top-of-the-key trey by Shubert and a driving score (plus one) by Kobi Shubert (6' 0" freshman) trimming the margin to 11-7. The Indians responded with a left-wing trey by Dinkel (assist Busse) and a left-corner trey by Busse to extend the lead to double-digits again. The Indians would not score in the final minutes of the quarter. Trego Community earned a deuce and two free-throws by Hunter Olson (5' 8" Sr.) and a post basket by Keagan Shubert. St. Francis held a narrow 17-14 lead at the first-quarter break.
Richard Johnson added a free-throw to the Indians score early in the second period. Carter Minson (5' 9" So.) followed with a top-of-the-key trey narrowing the advantage to one (18-17). Tate Busse added a baseline drive (plus one) and a left-wing trey giving the Indians a bit of breathing room. Tate Pfannenstiel (5' 10" Sr.) swished two free-throws, but Busse answered with a drive. The play started a St. Francis 8-0 run to close the quarter. Adam Krien's assist set up another score by K.C. Krien in the post. With 1:44 left, Busse's assist led to a fast-break basket by Dinkel. The half closed on a steal-two by Busse. St. Francis held a 32-19 lead at halftime.
The Indians continued their run into the third period. Tate Busse opened the second half with a right-corner trey. Brady Dinkel followed with a steal-two. At 5:20, Dalton Straub's assist led to a Busse lay-up. On the next SF possession, Dinkel scored and was fouled on the play. The Trego coaching staff protested and was accessed a technical foul. After Dinkel sank his free-throw, Busse made 1-of-2 for the technical. The Indians failed to score on the ensuing possession, but Straub's steal-two soon moved the scoreboard to 45-19. The Indians' 22-0 run had blown the game open. Trego scored on their next possession; a top-of-the-key trey by Keagan Shubert and then called another time-out at 4:25. After returning to the floor, Busse drained a right-wing trey. Olson then added a right-corner trey and a steal-two for the Golden Eagles. St. Francis earned the next three scores; a post-basket by Straub (assist Dinkel), a baseline score by Straub (assist Hackler), and a left-wing trey by Busse. After a Shubert post score, Busse drained a deep trey at the buzzer. St. Francis had taken complete control of the contest and now led 58-29.
Olson opened the final stanza with a top-of-the key trey for Trego. Busse answered with a deuce at the opposite goal on the next possession. Adam Krien's post-basket moved the scoreboard to 62-32 and set the 30-point running clock in motion. (Note: a running clock will be used in Sub-State play, but not in the State Tournament.) Another Busse trey followed. After a Trego free-throw, Tayton Weeter scored from the post on an assist by Adam Krien. St. Francis now led 67-33. St. Francis completed the contest with more substitutes seeing action. K. Shubert added a pair of free-throws and a coast-to-coast drive for Trego. Olson then scored on a break. All three scores came in 16 seconds. At 2:34, Trego used another time-out, but would not score again. The final score of the contest came on a Busse assist to Straub on an out-of-bounds play with just over a minute-and-a-half to play. St. Francis used a final time-out at 1:37 for substitution. The Indians defeated a scrappy Trego Community team 69-39.
Tate Busse led all scorers with 35 points (15 in 3rd Qtr.). Brady Dinkel added 15 and Dalton Straub 10 for the Indians. Others adding to the St. Francis point total were K.C. Krien 4, Adam Krien 2, Tayton Weeter 2, and Richard Johnson 1. St. Francis made 6 of 11 from the free-throw line, tallied 13 fouls and 12 turnovers.
Trego Community had two players score in double-figures; Keagan Shubert and Hunter Olson each had 15 points. The Golden Eagles made 9 of 12 from the line, committed 8 turnovers, and collected 11 fouls.
The Indians will play Plainville at 6:00 on Friday in Wakeeney.
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