Greyhounds pull through in foul-heavy contest vs. Spencer
The Loyal Greyhounds and Spencer Rockets faced off for the first time this season in a tit-for-tat battle on the basketball court Friday, with the Loyal boys finally claiming the win at home.
The physical game had players bumping into each other frequently, sending the foul tally high for both teams, which proved to be a double-edged sword.
“This was the third game this season we got into really bad foul trouble. We’ve had six games so far, so we’re averaging 50 percent where we’ve been in foul trouble,” said Loyal coach Brandon DeSmet. “But on the positive side, we drew a lot of fouls tonight. We haven’t gotten to the rim and been as physical as we were tonight.”
The visiting Rockets were the first to score when junior Jonathan Jonas, who made frequent trips to the basket throughout the game, popped in a layup. Loyal’s Isaac Jakobi soon responded in kind to tie things at 2. The teams tied again at 4 before Loyal went on a scoring run, picking up seven unanswered points to go ahead 11-4. Both teams scored two to make it 13-6. However, Spencer jumped back into the fray and went on its own seven-point run to tie the score again, this time at 13. From there, neither team was able to get a foothold, with ties at 19 and 23.
By the time the scoreboard had clicked down to 3:34, Spencer had committed seven fouls while Loyal had 10, putting Spencer in double bonus. Jonas picked up two on a fast break, much to the excitement of the Spencer crowd. That combined with three free throws plus another Jonas basket left the momentum squarely in Spencer’s court heading into halftime, with a score of 32-29 Spencer.
Loyal missed some opportunities in the half as Spencer was able to snatch the ball away.
“We need to work on ball control and ball security. In the first half, turnovers really hurt us. We also have all new guards this year, so we’re growing in that area,” said DeSmet.
In the second half, Loyal controlled the ball better and pumped the gas on offense, quickly catching up with Spencer. The teams tied at 39. Spencer went ahead a bit, but Loyal brought it right back, aided by a Connor Genteman three to tie it at 45. The teams tied again at 52 and 54.
This time with 3:39 remaining, the Rockets led in fouls, with 10 compared to Loyal’s eight. The Greyhounds picked up six points just from free throws throughout the rest of the game, while the Rockets had just one. After the teams tied 58-58, Loyal junior Jacob Schill sunk a three-pointer from the corner and there was no going back for the Hounds. Genteman put in three free throws, while Spencer missed its couple attempts. Loyal’s Drew Stieglitz and Schill each added one more to seal the deal.
The Greyhounds won 67-58, a nine-point gap even though it was only created in the last minute.
Stieglitz led his team in scoring, with 17 points. DeSmet especially highlighted Stieglitz’s performance. “Drew didn’t get a break tonight. And when we were pressed, he helped calm us down and get our flow back. He was aggressive on the inside as well. He got a big layup for us with about four minutes to go.
“He’s really been growing as a scorer and a leader. This is my third year coaching, and I’ve seen him grow a lot over these years. Now in his senior year, he really knows how to attack, whether it’s a dribble, pull-up or on the glass.”
Other scorers for Loyal were as follows. Schill had 13 points, including two three-pointers. Genteman also made two baskets from beyond the arc, along with a twopointer and a smattering of free throws for 12 points in all. Cain Toufar scored 11 points for the Hounds. Jakobi had seven points; Gavin Wiechers had six points, both three-pointers; and Parker Smith had one point.
“Connor and Schill hit some big ones for us in the second half,” noted DeSmet.
On Spencer’s side, Jonas made a splash, racking up 25 points on the night. He made two three-pointers and seven two-pointers. Fellow senior Luke Roehrborn was close behind him, with 22 points. He knocked down three threes. Also scoring for the Rockets were Degan Kind with six points, Levi Anderson with three, and Madden Prybylski and Connor Bacon, each with two.
DeSmet would have liked to see his team limit Spencer’s scoring more than they did.
“We need to be better on defense still. We always pride ourselves on our defense, but we need to do better. We didn’t get back on D quickly and didn’t guard the ball super well,” he said. “I am very proud of this team for their hard work though.”
The outcome of the game put Loyal at 1-1 in conference play and Spencer at 0-2.
On left, Loyal senior Drew Stiegtliz tips the ball away, preventing a Spencer score and returning the ball to the Hounds. Not only was he aggressive on defense, but he also led his team on the offensive end, with 17 points. On right, Jonathan Jonas, a junior at Spencer, puts one in easily to start the Dec. 16 matchup at Loyal. Jonas accumulated 25 points for the Rockets.
VALORIE BRECHT/STAFF PHOTOS
