Loyal overcomes Spencer in close, fast-paced game

It may have had a slow start, but the boys basketball game between the Loyal Greyhounds and the Spencer Rockets turned out to be a real nailbiter that left the crowd gathered in the Dome on Jan. 26 on the edge of their seats. The teams were pretty evenly matched that night as both held the lead at different times during the game, but the Greyhounds managed to win 57-45 due to their successful offensive rebounds in the second half and numerous fouls by the Rockets in the last two minutes.

The game started out simply enough with Loyal taking a casual lead of five points to get things going. It was not until the 13:50 mark that the Rockets launched their first offensive, with a pair of shots made by Luke Roehrborn and Jonathan Jonas to bring Loyal's lead down to one.

Loyal responded with a 3-pointer by Bryce Deegan and a free throw by Drew Stieglitz, but that didn't stop the Rockets' pursuit. Roehrborn scored another two points for Spencer and went one-for-one on the following free throw. Loyal held the Rockets off again, scoring several more points, including a 3-pointer by Connor Genteman to keep Spencer at a distance. Following a timeout, with the score at 22-16 in Loyal's favor, Spencer renewed its chase. Roehrborn struck again, making both his free throws, followed by a lay up by Nathan Rucker. Loyal's Cain Toufar added one point for Loyal on a free throw before Connor Bacon got his hands on the ball to put up two more for Spencer. His chance to tie up the game on the following free throw attempt failed, but Roehrborn made up for it by going one-for-two after a foul at the 3:03 mark. With the clock winding down to end the first half, both teams began to push harder to take control of the lead. Loyal got the lead back, courtesy of Reed Stieglitz, before Reed Knecht of Spencer tied the score again at 25. The last minute of the half reached a fever pitch in effort from both teams before a foul was called on Issac Jakobi with 16.9 seconds left. Spencer's Sam Bezlyk was able to sink two shots for the Rockets, ending the first half in Spencer's favor, 27-25.

As they started the second half, the teams did not let up on the pace they had set at the end of the first half. If anything, they played even faster as the minutes ticked by. Loyal pushed hard in the first few minutes to regain the lead, but scoring chances were few and far between. Both teams scored a few more times to put the score at 32-29, but it was not until after a timeout was called at the 12:30 mark that the Greyhounds found their stride again and took the lead with a two-for-two free throw attempt by Drew Stieglitz and another field goal by Genteman.

Loyal, regained the lead at 33-32 and opened up the floodgates, leading to a flurry of baskets during the next four minutes of play. In those minutes, the Greyhounds excelled at offensive rebounds, giving their team more chances under the net to add points. By the time Genteman launched a 3-pointer with just under nine minutes left to play, Loyal was leading 40-34.

Moving with the speed of hockey players on ice, the Greyhounds attempted to keep and grow the lead they had gained while the Rockets tried to do the opposite. Roehrborn added four more points on free throw shots at 8:17 and 2:14 while Bacon put up another field goal. On the Loyal side, Jakobi scored twice and Genteman shot another 3-pointer to get the score up to 49-40 in Loyal's favor.

While Spencer tried to overcome the deficit, the last two minutes of play sealed the deal. The Rockets' last scores were made by Roehrborn, who went two-for-two at the line, and by Madden Prybylski, who shot his only 3-pointer of the night. The rest of the game's time was dominated by bonus shots for Loyal. The Greyhounds had four seperate chances to shoot free throws in the last minute, and Loyal gained six points from the opportunities, ending the game with a 57-45 score.

While Loyal won the game, the Rockets boasted a better percentage of successful free throw shots in the game, sinking 15 of 19 for 0.792. That was compared to Loyal's 0.662. Roehrborn scored most of the free throws for Spencer, being the top scorer for the Rockets that night. He went 10-for-11 on free throws and made three field goals. Bacon was the team's next highest scorer with nine points, and Jonas added six points.

For Loyal, Jakobi was the top scorer with 14 points. Genteman scored 13 points, including three, 3-pointers, while Reed Stieglitz added 11 points.

Reporter Cheyenne Thomas contributed to this article.

Spencer’s Luke Roehrborn tries to reach over Loyal’s Jacob Schill for a basket. Roehrborn was the top scorer for the Rockets during the game.

CHEYENNE THOMAS/STAFF PHOTO

Loyal’s Connor Genteman slides in to make a shot in the team’s 57-45 win over the Rockets on Jan. 26. Genteman proved to be effective behind the three-point line in the game, nailing three baskets from the perimeter.

CHEYENNE THOMAS/STAFF PHOTO