Indians Advance to Regional Championship
Sub-State Next
Though they appeared a bit out-of-sync at times in the Regional semi-final contest, the Indians earned a 52-41 victory over the scrappy Triplains-Brewster Titans. The win advanced the Indians into the Regional championship contest versus the Northern Valley Huskies on Sunday, February 24. The championship finals were moved from Saturday as originally scheduled due to the winter storm in the Northwest Kansas area. The win also insured that the Indians will be one of the Regional teams advancing to the Sub-State Tournament in WaKeeney and/or Russell (site to be determined during the seeding) on March 1 and 2.
The Indians started quickly. Jesse Baxter opened the contest with a stick-back basket and then added a driving score. An assist from Colton Neitzel set up a baseline jumper by Baxter. At 5:52, the Titans used their first time-out and changed from a box-and-one defense to man-to-man. Triplains-Brewster's (TB) first score came soon on a free-throw by Brett Roulier (6' 1" Sr.). Baxter answered with a free-throw for the Indians moments later. The Indians led 7-1 with Baxter accounting for all of the St. Francis points. Neitzel's next assist led to a right elbow score by Cody Baxter. Unfortunately, Jesse picked up his second foul of the contest and headed to the bench until after halftime. After another Roulier free-throw, Brady Dinkel added a right-wing trey moving the St. Francis advantage to double-digits (12-2). It was now the Titan's turn to make a run. The Titans would score 9 unanswered points before the Indians would find the net again. The Titans' post man, Aaron Platt (6' 2" Sr.), started the run with a driving basket. Taylor Wright (6' 0" Sr.) added a jumper from the right baseline. At 2:56, St. Francis used their first time-out. The only remaining score score in the quarter came on an out-of-bounds play basket by Platt. St. Francis had built a comfortable early lead, but it was rapidly slipping away. The Indians led 12-8 at the first quarter break.
Roulier opened the second period with the addition of another free-throw. Weston Schmidt (5' 11" Jr.) then added a right elbow jumper after an offensive rebound. The Titans were now within one (12-11), and the Indians desperately needed to score. Brady Dinkel came to the rescue with a reverse baseline drive. Connor Keller earned a steal-two. Platt's post basket and a pair of free-throws by Roulier trimmed the margin to one again (16-15). On the next Indian possession, Adam Krien added a right elbow jumper. Keller then earned another steal, but was fouled on his way to the goal. Connor sank both free-throws increasing the margin to five (20-15). The scrappy Titans would not go away and soon added a fast-break basket by Roulier and a right-baseline score by Wright. Krien's driving score was answered by a stick-back basket by Cayde Welsh (6' 0" Fr.) to close the first half. St. Francis held a slim 22-21 lead at intermission.
The Indians executed better in the third period than they had in the second. Connor Keller opened the second half with a pair of free-throws. At 6:02, Jesse Baxter drew a charge on a driving Titan in the lane. Colton Neitzel then added a post basket giving the Indians a 26-21 lead. Joey Meyers (5' 10" Fr.) scored on a baseline drive for the Titans. Keller's top-of-the-key trey widened the advantage to six (29-23), but Aaron Platt quickly answered with a post basket for the Titans. Baxter's jumper from the left baseline was followed by a right-corner trey by Brady Dinkel extending the margin to nine (34-25). Platt responded with a score in the lane on the next TB possession. K.C. Krien' assist led to another Baxter score; a jumper in the lane. Joey Meyers' left wing trey certainly helped the Titan's cause, but the Indians answered with a strong stick-back basket by Neitzel and a back-door baseline cut by Dinkel (assist Neitzel). The action moved the scoreboard to 40-30 and triggered another TB time-out with 1:15 left in the third period. Neither team would score again in the quarter. St. Francis led by 10 entering the final stanza.
A strong driving score by Richard Johnson increased the Indians' lead to twelve early in the final period. On the next TB possession, Platt scored in the lane. The Indians followed with an outstanding assist by Colton Neitzel on a cut through the lane by Adam Krien. Two baskets by Joey Meyers; a left-corner trey and a baseline drive, trimmed the margin to 44-37. The Titans used their 3rd time-out with 4:05 remaining. TB returned to the court employing full court pressure. Moments later, TB's Hunter House (6' 1" Sr.) earned a steal-two moving the Titans within five (44-39). Both teams had turnovers and missed shots in the next few minutes, and at 1:33, TB used their 4th time-out. After returning to action, an assist from Brady Dinkel led to a run-out score by Connor Keller. On the next titan possession, Jesse Baxter drew a charge on Roulier, erasing a score on the drive. Though the Indians would turn the ball over several times in the final moments, the Titans failed to score and resorted to fouling to preserve the clock. Brady Dinkel (2 of 2) and Adam Krien (4 of 4) each swished free-throws to seal the win. The Titans' Schmidt added a left-wing deuce in the final seconds. St. Francis defeated the Triplains-Brewster Titans 52-41.
Triplains-Brewster was led by Aaron Platt with 12 points. Joey Meyers added 10. The Titans had 13 fouls, 23 turnovers, and made 5 of 12 from the free-throw line.
St. Francis made 11 of 15 from the stripe, had 13 fouls, and committed 24 turnovers. The Indians received a good balance of scoring from Brady Dinkel (12), Connor Keller (11), Jesse Baxter (11), and Adam Krien 10. Others scoring for St. Francis included Colton Neitzel 4, Richard Johnson 2, and Cody Baxter 2.
Click on the photos to see more photos!
