Indians Win Sagebrush Championship!
On Saturday, December 14, the Indians defeated the Triplains-Brewster Titans to win the championship of the Sagebrush Classic Basketball Tournament in Brewster. With both teams playing primarily zone defense and being offensively selective, the points came slowly. As the game progressed, the Indians' execution and size took a toll, and the Indians won the contest 41-29.
Brady Dinkel was selected to the Sagebrush 5-player All-Tournament Team at the conclusion of the tournament.
Adam Krien opened the scoring with a right-wing trey. Brady Dinkel followed with a free-throw. The 4 points were the only ones scored in nearly six minutes of action. At 2:11, Weston Schmidt (6' 1" Sr.) placed the Titans on the scoreboard making one-of-two from the line. The Indians quickly answered with a post-basket by Krien (assist Jesse Baxter) and a Dinkel-to-Ben Busse transition trey from the left wing. St. Francis led 9-1 after one period of action.
Triplains-Brewster (TB) scored the first basket of the second period receiving an out-of-bounds play jumper from the left baseline by Weston Schmidt. Jesse Baxter answered with a mid-post bucket after an assist from Ben Busse. The Titans trimmed the margin to three (11-8) on a right-wing trey by Joey Myers (5' 10: So.) and a post basket by Schmidt (assist Brock Woolf (6' 1" Fr.). After a Busse free-throw, Daxton Latham (5' 7" So.) scored from the left wing further reducing the margin to two (12-10). The Indians were needing to make a play....and they did. Brady Dinkel went coast-to-coast to score after a rebound, and then a Dinkel assist to Adam Krien led to an out-of-bounds play score. St. Francis led 16-10 at halftime.
The Indians began the second half with excellent execution and extended their run to 12 consecutive points. Adam Krien found Jesse Baxter open at the high-post for a jumper. Krien then added a free-throw area jumper of his own. After a steal-two by Brady Dinkel, Dinkel's assist to Colton Neitzel in the high post resulted in a 24-10 advantage. TB ended the SF run with a top-of-the-key trey by Cayde Welsh (6' 1" So.). St. Francis soon answered with a Dinkel-to-Jesse Baxter-to-Dinkel give-&-go. TB had seen enough and called time-out with 2:32 left in the third period. After returning to action, Austin Hillery (5' 9" So.) drained another trey for the Titans. St. Francis would add two more scores before the third period ended. Colton Neitzel scored on an offensive rebound and Dinkel added a driving score. St. Francis led 30-16 going into the final period.
Adam Krien added a driving basket early in the fourth period giving St. Francis a 16 point advantage. A nice assist from Cayde Welsh to Brock Woolf led to a lane basket for the Titans. Welsh then added a score from the block reducing the lead to 12 (32-20). The next two baskets came on offensive rebounds; one by Jesse Baxter for the Indians and one by Woolf for the Titans. St. Francis called time-out with 4:24 to go leading 34-22. After the time-out, the Indians earned a stick-back basket by Krien and a steal-two by Brady Dinkel to increase the lead back to 16. With 2:07 left to play, the Indians took another time-out for strategy. Jesse Baxter's free-throw increased the lead to 17; the largest margin in the contest. After a free-throw by Weston Schmidt, Welsh scored in the lane. St. Francis responded with an offensive rebound basket by Jesse Baxter. The Titans would add two more scores before the game was complete; a post basket by Welsh and a baseline drive by Joey Myers. St. Francis defeated Triplains-Brewster 41-29 to earn the championship of the Brewster Sagebrush Classic Tournament.
Players scoring for St. Francis included Adam Krien 13, Brady Dinkel, 11, and Jesse Baxter 9. Ben Busse and Colton Neitzel each scored 4 points. The Indians made 3 of 8 from the stripe, committed 10 fouls, and had 18 turnovers.
The Titans were led in scoring by Cayde Welsh with 9 points. Five other players scored for the Titans. TB made 2 of 4 from the line, had 12 turnovers, and 10 fouls.
St. Francis will play Holyoke, Colorado, in St. Francis on Tuesday, December 17.
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