Loyal boys spoil OW senior night

By Harry Toufar and Valorie Brecht The Loyal Greyhounds recently traveled to Owen-Withee (OW) with hopes of avenging an earlier loss that started a Loyal four-game losing streak. With a win, OW would be guaranteed at least a tie for the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference championship, while a Loyal win would keep the Greyhounds’ championship hopes alive.

A good representation from both communities were on hand for the Feb. 18 contest. Both teams were patient as they worked the ball around against tough man-to-man defense, looking for an opening. That opening occurred 90 seconds in as Loyal’s Cain Toufar scored down low. OW’s Mason Gay put the Blackhawks on top with a 3-pointer. Loyal’s Bryce Deegan hit a 2-pointer to retake the lead. That is when Gay hit three straight baskets (one being a 3-pointer) to surge ahead.

OW scored again, pushing their lead to 10-4. Loyal then went on a 9-0 run with Deegan hitting a three and Parker Smith hitting two long-range shots for a 13-10 lead. OW cut the lead to one before Toufar scored with 9:30 remaining. Gay continued his torrid shooting as he hit another shot, bringing OW to within one point. Reed Stieglitz made one of two free throws and Carson Prein put down two for an 18-14 lead. OW scored again before Prein made his second basket, pushing Loyal’s lead to 20-16 with 3:48 left on the clock. OW would score twice more before Deegan scored and Toufar hit two free throws for a 30-24 lead at the half.

“I think early in the game we made some open looks, and found confidence in our offensive game. That helped spark us and give us more energy. It gave us a belief that we could win that game on the road,” noted Loyal coach Brandon DeSmet in an email.

Deegan opened the second half by hitting a jumper for Loyal. Gay made two baskets, bringing OW within two points. A3-pointer and a 2-pointer by Stieglitz pushed the Hounds’ lead to seven points. OW countered with their own basket before Hunter Walter and Stieglitz scored for the Hounds. Gay continued his shooting prowess by sinking two free throws after being fouled in the act of shooting.

With 2:30 remaining in the game, Gay committed his fifth foul. He headed to the bench after scoring 21 points. Loyal’s Rhett Lamovec scored next, followed by OW hitting one of two free throws. Over the next minute or so, OW held Loyal scoreless while sinking five of six from the charity stripe, cutting the Loyal lead to three. Deegan scored again before OW went to the line, making both free throws and cutting the lead back to three. Fouled in the act of shooting, Stieglitz calmly stepped to the line and sank both free throws with 1:01 left on the clock.

With the clock running down, Stieglitz drove to the top of the key, where he was double-teamed. Fighting through two defenders, he found Deegan wide open for an easy two points. OW raced down the court and tossed up a 3-pointer, hitting nothing but net. With 25.8 remaining, Stieglitz was fouled, sending him to the line for a one and one. Usually spot on with his free throws, his first shot bounced out, giving OW new life.

While OW was coming down the side line, Deegan stole the ball and was immediately fouled with 12.1 seconds remaining. Deegan, usually a pretty good free throw shooter, also missed the front end of a bonus situation. OW came down and drilled home another 3-pointer to pull within one point with 4.6 seconds left. Stieglitz was fouled as soon as he received the inbound pass. Shooting a double bonus with ice in his veins, Stieglitz sank both charity tosses. OW got the ball past half court, putting up a three pointer that was off the mark, resulting in a 50-47 Loyal victory.

DeSmet praised Stieglitz’s clutch free throws that helped the Greyhounds to close it.

“One of the hardest things to do is make those free throws at the end of the game. When you have a player, like Reed, who wants to shoot those free throws at the end of a game, it gives your whole team confidence to finish a game at the end,” he wrote. Gay led all scorers, with 21 points before fouling out. Stieglitz led the Hounds in scoring with 14 points. Held to a single free throw in the first half, he came alive in the second half as he pumped in three baskets (one being a 3-pointer) and madesixofsevenfreethrows. Deegan, mired in a scoring slump, also came alive, scoring 13 points with six made baskets (one being a 3-pointer.) Toufar and Smith (two 3-pointers each) scored 6 points. Lamovec (5), Prein (4), and Walter (2) rounded out the scoring.

“I think we had some really great individual efforts throughout the night like Parker Smith and Cain Toufar playing great defense on their two leading scorers. Bryce Deegan made some great offensive plays and Reed made some really important free throws,” DeSmet said.

The win proved particularly satisfying to the Greyhounds after having lost to OW 54-52 when they played them Jan. 16. DeSmet pointed to a couple of factors that he suspected made the difference in his team coming out on the winning side this time.

“Both games were so close, but I think the biggest difference in this game compared to the first game was finishing plays defensively. We were able to get two or three really important rebounds that we missed in the first game, and offensively we shot 70% from the free throw line and only 60% in the first game,” DeSmet wrote in an email.

“I am most proud of how tough and together our team was. They never got down about some close plays or calls, and they just kept responding to any run that Owen-Withee made,” he added.

Loyal finished the regular season hosting Greenwood on Feb. 21, and is scheduled to play a Cloverbelt crossover game at Fall Creek this Thursday. After that, playoff action begins with Loyal facing Greenwood at home on Tuesday. The winner will play either Blair-Taylor or Plum City/Elmwood.

DeSmet had a clear goal in mind when it came to what he felt his team needed to improve upon for the offseason.

“We need to continue developing our man-to-man offense. We are starting to play with better spacing and cutting actions. If we can avoid being too stagnant on offense and start feeling really confident in our ability to shoot the basketball, we can keep becoming a better offensive team.”

Bryce Deegan grabs an offensive rebound for Loyal, before quickly passing it outside to Reed Stieglitz, who scored in the Feb. 18 game at Owen.

VALORIE BRECHT/STAFF PHOTO