The Sacred Heart boy’s basketball team made it four-in-row on Friday night. And this time, unlike their previous two games, there was no drama down the stretch in Sacred Heart’s 63-42 win at Council Grove.
Sacred Heart got started early with both Charlie Skidmore and Luis Mendez making shots to put the Knights ahead.
For his part, Council Grove’s Brodey King tried to keep the Braves in the game as he scored eight of his 12 points in the first quarter. However, Skidmore and Sacred Heart held a 21-12 lead after one.
The second quarter was similar to the first in that Sacred Heart controlled the stanza–this time with defense. The Knights began to clamp down on Council Grove on their way to a 37-22 halftime advantage.
The second half is when Sacred Heart’s fast break game finally broke the will of Council Grove. Sacred Heart’s Ethan Buckner started to “rim hunt” in transition and Trace Leners would find Buckner on a couple of brilliant passes to make sure the Knights kept complete control. The Braves would never get closer to Sacred Heart in the second half than the halftime deficit and the Knights were able to play their bench for most of the final quarter.
Council Grove (7-11) struggled with the tough Sacred Heart defense all night. King led the way with 12 points for the Braves, while Brett Birzer added in 10.
Sacred Heart (13-4) never trailed. And unlike their previous two games against Minneapolis and Russell, the Knights didn’t sweat out the final few minutes trying to hold on to a win. Buckner led the way with 14 points, while both Skidmore and Tate Herrenbruck scored 11 points, each.
With the win, Sacred Heart sets up a gigantic rematch with Beloit–who beat Sacred Heart last month–on Tuesday. This time, the Knights entertain the Trojans with a league championship on the line.
Council Grove 51, SACRED HEART GIRLS 34
Sacred Heart’s girl’s team let a 17-2 Council Grove run end any hopes the Knights had of a comeback road win on Friday.
Things started badly for Sacred Heart as their floor-general and top scorer, Ally Cochran, injured her leg early on in the first quarter. The Knights were able to manage without her in the first quarter and led 14-11 after one.
Cochran returned in the second stanza, but appeared to reaggravate her injury just seconds in to her return. She immediately left the game–this time for good.
Without Cochran’s leadership and 13.5 PPG average, the Knights looked lost offensively against a switching Council Grove zone. The Braves would hold Sacred Heart to just four second quarter points and led 24-18 at halftime.
The Knights would start the second half on a 7-0 run to regain the lead coming right out of the locker room, however. It appeared that the Knights were ready to make it a dog-fight. But, a 17-2 run over the next quarter-in-a-half by Council Grove turned the game from being tight to a blow-out.
Council Grove (10-8) was hot behind the arc all night, as Hailey Hower soaked three 3’s for 14 points and Jaidyn Miller hit two 3’s for 10 points to lead the way for the Braves.
Sacred Heart (9-8) couldn’t find its offense in the final quarter. The loss is the fifth in the last six games for Sacred Heart. Teghan Slagle led the way with nine points.
Sacred Heart hosts Beloit on Tuesday and coverage can be heard on FM 104.9 beginning around 5:45 p.m.
