Wildcats Bite The Indians
Season Ends
The 2018-2019 boys basketball season came to an end at the Sub-State Tournament in WaKeeney on Friday, March 1. Though the Indians played well in many facets of the contest, poor free-throw shooting and a second-quarter blitz by the Wallace County Wildcats decided the outcome. St. Francis lost to Wallace County 40-63 in the semi-final round of the Sub-State Basketball Tournament. With the win, the Wildcats advanced to championship contest against undefeated Central Plains on Saturday March 2. The Central Plains Oilers defeated Wallace County 54-31 to advance to the State Basketball Tournament in Dodge City this coming weekend.
The Wallace County (WC) Wildcats started quickly. A left-wing trey by Cody Seader (6' 1" Jr.) was followed by two free-throws by Trevor Medina (6' 2" Sr.). With the addition of an offensive rebound basket by Luke Johnson (6' 0" Sr.) the Indians trailed 0-7. The Indians eventually scored on a left-baseline jumper by Jesse Baxter (assist Brady Dinkel) and a stick-back basket by Dinkel. With 3:45 remaining in the first period, Wallace County used their first time-out. With 2:10 left in the first period, Colton Neitzel picked up his second foul and headed to the bench. The next points added belonged to the Wildcats; a pair of free-throws by Medina after being fouled on a drive. Adam Krien's assist led to a score by Dinkel in the lane moving the Indians within three (6-9) late in the quarter. In the final moments of the period, Medina made one-of-two from the line making the score 6-10 at the first quarter break.
In the opening seconds of the second period, Trevor Medina earned his second foul. He was removed from the game briefly. At 7:25, Brady Dinkel scored on a a baseline drive moving the Indians within two (8-10). It was as close as the Indians would get. Moments later, Medina scored on an out-of-bounds play. Cody Seader followed with a right-corner trey. After a driving score by Jesse Baxter, Seader scored on an outstanding drive. An assist by Richard Johnson set up a left-elbow score by K.C. Krien keeping the Indians close (12-17). Seader then added his third basket of the quarter on another drive. Midway, through the quarter, Medina earned his 3rd foul on a hard drive to the goal. Adam Krien followed with an offensive rebound basket (14-19). With the Wildcats leading scorer (Medina) on the bench, it appeared as if the Indians were gaining some momentum. Unfortunately, the Wildcats would continue to roll. On the ensuing possession, Andrew Noone (6' 1" Sr.) drained a top-of-the key trey. Johnson answered with a nice spin-move in the lane for the Indians. On the next Wildcat possession, Colton Neitzel earned his 3rd foul and left the contest until the second half. Luke Johnson sank both free-throws. With 2:30 left in the first half, Seader swished another trey; this one from the left wing. The basket moved the Wildcats' advantage to double-digits (16-27). Though Dinkel earned a steal-two moments later, the Wildcats added three more scores before the half ended; a basket in the lane by Champ King (6' 5" Sr.), two free-throws by Luke Johnson, and beautiful transition basket on an assist from Johnson to Trevor Fischer (5' 10" Sr.). The Wildcats had out-scored the Indians 12-23 in the second period and led 18-33 at intermission. Cody Seader scored 10 points for the Wildcats in the second quarter.
Luke Johnson opened the third period with a post score for the Wildcats. The Wildcats then added a fast-break basket on an assist from Trevor Medina to Johnson. The two quick scores increased the deficit to 18-37. The Indians needed a basket badly; and they got it. Jesse Baxter scored on a reverse lay-up. K.C. Krien followed with a stick-back basket. Adam Krien then added 1-of-2 from the line. The Indians had trimmed the deficit to 23-37. At the 4:02 mark, Dinkel was called for a charge on a drive to the goal. Dinkel earned a steal-two moments later, moving the Indians within twelve points. Cody Seader reappeared. Cody drained a left-wing trey for the Wildcats and then, after a St. Francis turnover, added an offensive rebound basket. After a free-throw by K.C. Krien, Landon Johnson (5' 7" So.) swished a top-of-the-key trey for the Wildcats returning the margin to 19 points (26-45). With 16 seconds left, WC's Champ King was whistled for his 4th foul; Colton Neitzel missed both attempts. St. Francis trailed 26-45 after three quarters of action.
Colton Neitzel opened the final period with an offensive rebound score for the Indians. Medina answered at the opposite goal with a stick-back for WC. After a charge by Richard Johnson, Luke Johnson scored a leak-out basket for the Wildcats. An Indian turnover led to the next Wildcat basket; an out-of-bounds play trey by Trevor Fischer. The deficit was now 24 (28-52). After a transition basket in the lane by Cody Baxter, Johnson scored in the lane for WC. With 3:47 remaining, WC used a time-out to prevent a turnover when the Indians trapped a Wildcat ball handler. The teams would close the contest battling almost evenly the rest of the way. After a driving score by WC's Trevor Medina, Jesse Baxter scored in the lane. Brady Dinkel then earned a steal-two, but Fischer soon answered with a pair of free-throws. Another driving score by Dinkel was followed by a score in the lane by Fischer after he received an beautiful assist from Cody Seader. The Indians would then earn back-to-back scores: a stick-back by Adam Krien and a steal-two by Bryce Raby who had just entered the game. Luke Johnson drained a final left-wing trey for the Wildcats. St. Francis lost to Wallace County 40-63.
WC's Cody Seader led all scorers in the contest with 18 points. Luke Johnson added 17 to the Wildcats' total. Trevor Medina added 11 though he played much of the contest with foul trouble. The Wildcats made 8 treys, connected on 11 of 16 from the line, had 14 fouls, and committed only 9 turnovers. The Wildcats earned a scoring advantage in each quarter of the contest.
St. Francis was led in scoring by Brady Dinkel with 14 points. Others adding to the Indians' total were Jesse Baxter 6, Adam Krien 5, K.C. Krien 5, Colton Neitzel 4, Cody Baxter 2, Richard Johnson 2, and Bryce Raby 2. The Indians did not make a trey in the game and connected on just 2 of 9 from the stripe. The Indians had 18 fouls and 15 turnovers.
The Indians completed their season with a record of 16-8. Seven seniors have played their last basketball game for the Indians including Cody Baxter, Wyatt Hilt, Draven Houtman, Richard Johnson, Connor Keller, K.C. Krien, and Bryce Raby.
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