JH Boys Lose to Dighton
The junior high boys suffered through a cold shooting afternoon against the Dighton Hornets on Thursday, November 15. The Indians also had numerous turnovers, and coupled with the sub-par shooting, it made it difficult to keep pace with a good Dighton A-team. St. Francis lost to Dighton 21-32 in the A-team contest. Dighton also won the B-team contest 7-41 and the one-quarter C-team game 2-5.
Dighton jumped out to a 0-9 advantage after one period, and stretched the lead to 0-13 early in the second period. St. Francis finally broke the ice with a left-corner trey by Ben Busse with 3:25 remaining in the first half. Preston Witzel added a free-throw moments later. After a left-baseline trey by Jordan Smull late in the first half, the Indians trailed 7-15 at the halftime break.
St. Francis did not score in the third period. Meanwhile, the Hornets increased their advantage to 7-24 by the end of the quarter. The Indians finally began to make some shots in the final period. Ben Busse opened the period with a left-wing trey. Though the Hornets answered with a driving score, Busse added a trey from the opposite side moments later. A trey by Jordan Smull completing an out-of-bounds play moved the Indians within ten (16-26) and caused Dighton to take a time-out at 3:37. The addition of a free-throw by Colton Raile trimmed the margin to 9, but Dighton then scored two consecutive basket extending the margin to 17-30. After a St. Francis time-out at 1:47, Dighton was called for a technical foul. Busse sank one of the technical free-throws but could not capitalize on the following possession. A driving basket by the Hornets and a three-ball at the buzzer by Preston Witzel completed the scoring. St. Francis lost to the Dighton Hornets, 21-32.
Scoring for St. Francis in the A-team game were Ben Busse (10), Jordan Smull (6), Preston Witzel (4), and Colton Raile (1). The Indians made 3 of 9 from the stripe. Dighton was led by Daniel Cramer (6th) with 12 points. Eli Wilkinson (8th) added 10. The Hornets made 2 of 2 from the stripe.
In the B-team game, St. Francis received baskets from Shane Todd and Dawson Rose and a free-throw from Connor Wachsmann in the first period. The Indians and Hornets were tied 5-all after one period of play. The Indians only scored one more basket in the game, a third period bucket by Todd. The Indians trailed 5-16 at halftime, 7-31 after three periods, and lost the B-team contest 7-41.
Scoring for St. Francis in the B-team contest were: Shane Todd (4), Dawson Rose (2), and Connor Wachsmann (1). Dighton was led by Cody Pierce (7th) with 10 points. Daniel Cramer (6th) and Garreth Schmalzried (8th) each added 8.
The Indians will play Quinter, in Quinter, on Monday, November 19.
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