Indians Earn Hard-Fought Win
The St. Francis Indians earned a hard-fought 57-48 win over the previously undefeated Dundy County - Stratton Tigers (6-1) on Friday night in St. Francis. The junior varsity Indians were smacked by the Tigers 14-53.
The varsity game was a battle throughout the contest. The Indians earned a nine-point lead in the first period, and though the Tigers battled hard and narrowed the margin to one in the 3rd period (and to 2 or 3 five other times), the Indians never trailed. The Indian lead grew as large as 11 early in the final period.
St. Francis' first score of the contest came on an out-of-bounds play basket by Colton Neitzel (assist Brady Dinkel). Lane Shillington (Jr.) followed with a floater in the lane for DCS. After a series of free-throws (Dinkel 2 of 2; DCS' Michael Fredrick (Fr.) 1 of 2, and Neitzel 2 of 2), the Indians' lead grew to 6-3. The Indians were demonstrating some superior passing as they worked the basketball for good shots against the pesky defense of the Tigers. An assist by Neitzel led to a right-elbow score by Jesse Baxter. An assist by Baxter led to score by K.C. Krien. Krien's offensive rebound score gave the Indians a 12-3 advantage and the effort showed that the Indians had came to compete. DCS earned a six-point run on a fast-break basket by Krutsinger-Haines (assist Quade Myers (Jr.)), two free-throws by Fredrick, and a post basket by Krutsinger-Haines. The action narrowed the margin to 12-9. The Indians needed a score, and Jesse Baxter provided one on an offensive rebound. Fredrick answered with an shot in the lane. The next Baxter score was followed by a deep trey from Dinkel enlarging the margin to 19-11. DCS closed the period with a beautiful fast-break pass from Lincoln Waters (Jr.) leading to a lay-up by Joey Fasso (Jr.).
Jesse Baxter opened the second period with a stick-back basket for the Indians. Michael Frederick followed with back-to-back post baskets for the Tigers. A left-elbow jumper by Lane Shillington completed a 6-point DCS run trimming the margin to two points (21-19). An offensive rebound basket by K.C. Krien proved timely giving the Indians a bit of momentum. At 6:02, the Indians called time-out to discuss strategy. After returning to the floor, a high-low post pass from Colton Neitzel to Jesse Baxter resulted in a 6-point lead for the Indians. As usual, the Tigers kept battling, and after two post scores by Jacob Krutsinger-Haines, the Tigers were back within two (25-23). Brady Dinkel drained a trey, and Shillington answered with a driving score. The Indians then closed the half with an 8-point run getting two free-throws from Dinkel, a lay-up from Krien, a free-throw from Cody Baxter, and a right-wing buzzer-beater trey from Dinkel. St. Francis went to the locker room with momentum and a nine-point lead, 36-25.
Michael Fredrick drained a right-wing trey to begin the second half. Jesse Baxter's free-throws preceded another DCS run. Frederick added the next three baskets; two coming after St. Francis turnovers. Unfortunately for the Tigers, Frederick pickup his 4th foul with 5:34 left in the period and headed to the bench. A right-wing trey by Shillington pulled the Tigers within one point (38-37) moments later. It was time for the Indians to respond. K.C. Krien answered the bell with a strong scoring move in the lane. Brady Dinkel added a fast-break basket after a DCS turnover. Colton Neitzel soon found Dinkel on a cut to the goal with a sweet pass leading to two more. Connor Keller's assist set up a jumper from the right-elbow by Baxter. The Indians had responded with an eight-point run. At 1:23, DCS took back-to-back time-outs to discuss strategy. Neither team scored in the remainder of the third period. At the buzzer, St. Francis led 46-37.
The Indians earned their largest lead of the game when Krien scored in the lane to open the final period (assist Connor Keller). Shillington added a right-wing jumper, and Frederick added a post basket on an assist from Krutsinger-Haines. At 5:07, St. Francis called timeout leading 48-41. Krien added a driving score after a return to action. Neither team scored for about two minutes, but during the action, at 3:32, Frederick fouled out of the contest. After a pair of free-throws by Connor Keller, Myers drained a trey from the right wing. At 2:53, an assist by Krutsinger-Haines led to a post score by Cade Lutz (Jr.) trimming the margin to 8 points (52-46). The Indians committed a turnover on their next possession giving hope to the Tigers, but DCS failed to score. At 2:41, St. Francis used another time-out for strategy. Being deliberate offensively, the Indians earned two free-throws by Krien at 2:29. Again, the Indians turned the ball over; the result was a score by Myers (54-48). With 55 seconds remaining, an assist from Baxter led to a post score by Keller. Brady Dinkel added one final free-throw. With 18 seconds left, DCS used a time-out to allow a few more substitutes to enter the contest. St. Francis defeated a very good DCS team, 57-48.
Michael Frederick led all scorers with 20 points in the contest. Lane Shillington added 11 for the Tigers. Jacob Krutsinger-Haines chipped in 8 points. The Tigers made only 3 of 10 from the stripe, committed 23 fouls, and had 15 turnovers.
St. Francis was led in scoring by Brady Dinkel with 18 points. K.C. Krien added 16 and Jesse Baxter 14. Others scoring for St. Francis were Connor Keller 4, Colton Neitzel 4, and Cody Baxter 1. St. Francis made 14 of 24 from the line, committed 14 fouls, and had 24 turnovers.
The outcome of the junior varsity game was never in doubt as the Tigers jumped out to a 0-12 lead approximately 4 minutes into the contest and never looked back. Six different players scored for DCS in the early run. Keegan Krutsinger (So.) earned the opening basket on a fast-break. After a free-throw by Joey Fasso, Travis Sandberg (So.) scored after a St. Francis turnover. Matthew Merklin (Fr.) and Jacob Krutsinger- Haines then added jumpers from the right-corner. The final score of the run came on an out-of-bounds play bucket by Major Marlin (Fr.). St. Francis earned their first point, a free-throw by Cutler Mayer with 3:25 remaining in the period. Bryce Raby followed with a driving score trimming the margin to nine (3-12). Krutsinger would add a stick-back basket and Dominic Sis scored on a drive before the Indians scored again. Another driving score by Raby moved the scoreboard to 5-18. The Indians trailed 5-20 at the first-quarter break with the addition of a right-corner jumper by the Tigers.
The Tiger's superior skills and quickness continued to take a toll as the game progressed. Numerous turnovers by the Indians led to many empty possessions and extra opportunities for the Tigers.The Tigers added three more baskets stretching the margin to 5-26 before St. Francis earned a pair of free-throws by Josiah Sims. Joey Fasso added five baskets in the period for DCS. Cutler Mayer added a jumper late in the period for St. Francis to make the halftime score 9-32.
The Indians did not score in the third period. DCS added 16 points to their side of the scoreboard on 8 unanswered baskets. St. Francis trailed 9-48 after three quarters of action.
The final period was played with a running clock due to the 30-point spread. Bryce Raby earned a runner in the lane to open the final period. Jesus Olivas (So.) answered with a right-wing trey for DCS. Talan Riley added a post basket a bit later for the final DCS score. An assist by Josiah Sims led to the final scores a basket and free-throw by Brady Schoenrogge. St. Francis lost to a good junior varsity team from DCS, 14-53.
The Indians will play Idalia, in St. Francis, on Friday January 4.
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