Bluejay Basketball
Launch the media gallery 1 playerVarsity Jays Defeat Scotus
by Montana Ruppert
The varsity boys’ basketball team picked up a win against the Columbus Scotus Shamrocks on the road Friday, December 15. The Jays won 54-37.
In the first quarter, the Jays got off to a slow start and were outscored by the Shamrocks 8-11. Braydan Waldner started things off with a two-point shot. Taylor Oestrich then added two buckets, and Carson Oestrich added another two-pointer.
The Jays picked up their offense in the second quarter, putting up 16 points and holding the Shamrocks to seven to take the lead. Waldner scored two free throws and two two-point shots. T. Oestrich scored two three-point shots in a row, and Waldner added another basket and free throw. Before the halftime buzzer sounded, Waldner sank another free throw. The Jays went into halftime with a lead of 24-18.
The Jays didn’t let up in the third quarter, scoring 15 to the Shamrocks’ ten. Scoring for the Jays this quarter were Gavin Larson, Dalton Freeman, T. Oestrich, Waldner, and Wyatt Neitzke.
In the final minutes of play, the Jays once again outscored the Shamrocks, putting up 15 points and holding Scotus to nine. Accuracy from the free throw line aided the Jays’ efforts, as Waldner C. Oestrich, Freeman, T. Oestrich, and Jadon Magdanz all contributed shots from the charity stripe. This sealed the Jays’ victory at 54-37.
Individually, T. Oestreich led the Jays in scoring with 21 points, followed by Waldner with 17. C. Oestreich had seven rebounds, and Magdanz had six. Waldner had two blocks, and T. Oestreich had four steals.
The next varsity boys’ basketball game will be away on Thursday, December 21, against O’Neill St. Mary’s.
Varsity Jays Fall to O’Neill
by Montana Ruppert
The varsity boys’ basketball team played the O’Neill Eagles Tuesday, December 12, at O’Neill, where they lost 32-51.
The first part of the game saw the Eagles take an early lead. The Jays were able to put up nine points in the first quarter. Scoring the first points of the game, Jadon Magdanz put down two two-pointers in a row. Taylor Oestreich then added a three-pointer. Brayden Waldner scored the last of the Jays’ points in the quarter with a two-point shot. On the defensive end, however, the Jays allowed the Eagles to score 14 points.
Still struggling to put some points on the board, the Jays were outscored in the second quarter 7-17. Carson Oestreich scored a two-pointer, and Waldner followed with another two-point shot. T. Oestreich put away a three-pointer to end the Jays’ scoring in the first half.
Starting off the third quarter, T. Oestrich put up a two-point shot for the Jays, followed by Waldner and Magdanz, each adding a bucket of their own. After allowing the Eagles seven more points, the Jays headed into the final quarter of the game behind 20-38.
In the last quarter of the game, the Jays added a few more to their total for ten more points. Magdanz scored four points in a row, followed by T. Oestrich with another three-pointer. Waldner scored the Jays’ final points of the game, but with the defense allowing 13 more points from the Eagles, Pierce fell 32-5.
Coach Mike Emory said, “We had better flow on the offensive part of the game. I thought at times, our defense did better at keeping the ball in the paint. We need to be more consistent at both ends of the court.”
The next varsity boys’ basketball game will be away on Tuesday, December 21, against O’Neill St. Mary’s.
JV Basketball Boys Fall to Scotus
by Montana Ruppert
The JV boys’ basketball team lost to Columbus Scotus 42-51 on Friday, December 15, at the home of the Shamrocks.
The Jays started off slow and fell behind Scotus in the first quarter 7-15. Weston Neitzke started off the Jays’ scoring with a two-point shot. Following Neitzke, Carter Rohrich and Gavin Larson all added buckets of their own, and Larson also scored a free throw.
The Jays still trailed in the second quarter, getting outscored by the Shamrocks 8-16. Watts added a two more two-pointers and a three-pointer to the board for the Jays. Watts also scored a free throw. Ending the second quarter, David Dale scored a two-pointer. Going into halftime, the Jays were behind 15-31.
In the third quarter, the Jays were able to hold Scotus to eight points and put up nine of their own. Dale started off the quarter with a two-point shot. Scoring three more points for the team, Logan Moeller put up a shot from behind the arc. Following Moeller, Watts scored two free throws, and Dale scored a two-pointer. Going into the final quarter, the Jays were still behind 24-39.
In the final quarter, the Jays outscored Scotus 18-12. Larson and Moeller each put up a three, and Watts came in with two two-pointers. Chaden Roth added a basket, and ending the game, Watts scored two more two-pointers. Despite the Jays’ efforts, they fell 42-51
Coach Tim Waldner said, “The bench came in a performed really well. I think in the first half, our defense was not handling pressure on offense or defense at all. We will definately be working on how to handle pressure better.”
The next JV boys’ basketball game will be at O’Neill St. Mary’s on Thursday, December 21.
JV Basketball Boys Defeat O’Neill
by Montana Ruppert
The JV boys’ basketball team defeated the O’Neill Eagles 37-19 Tuesday, December 12, at O’Neill.
The Jays got off to a good start and outscored the Eagles in the first quarter 9-6. Gavin Larson scored a three-pointer and another basket. Weston Neitzke and Dalton Haase also each aided their team’s efforts with two points apiece.
In the second quarter, the Jays held the Eagles to just three points while putting up nine of their own. Kage Heisinger scored three free throws, and Haase, David Dale, and Dawson Watts all contributed two points to take the Jays into halftime with a lead of 18-9.
The Jays were able to maintain their lead in the third quarter despite getting outscored by the Eagles 7-8. Scoring for the Jays were Weston Neitzke with two free throws and two buckets, and Watts with a free throw.
The Jays sealed their win in the final quarter, putting up 12 points and holding the Eagles to only two. Most of the Jays’ scoring came from free throws, as Larson made three, Carter Rohrich made one, Tyler Race made two, Logan Moeller made one, and Dale made one. Moeller and Dale also each put up a basket.
Coach Tim Waldner said, “We handled pressure and defense very well in all quarters. We definitely competed well in all quarters of the game. We had many improvements from the last game, such as our defensive positions.”
The next JV boys’ basketball game will be away on Thursday, December 21, against O’Neill St. Mary’s.
Freshman Jays Conquer Cardinals
by Rhayna Waldner
The freshman Bluejays traveled to Newman Grove to play the Boone Central-Newman Grove Cardinals on Tuesday, December 19. Having a handle on the Cardinals the whole game, the Bluejays prevailed 33-17.
Coming out strong right off the bat, the Bluejays scored eight points. Chaden Roth put in a basket, and Dawson Watts made three two-point shots. Holding the Cardinals at just three points, the Jays headed into the second quarter up 8-3.
In the second quarter, the Bluejays stayed strong and scored seven more points to the Cardinals’ three. Watts sank a three-point shot, and David Dale added two shots worth two each. Going into halftime, the Bluejays had a 15-6 lead.
Staying on top of the game on both ends, the Bluejays put up 13 points in the third. Roth added two more two-point shots, and Watts made another bucket. Logan Moeller sank two free throws, a short for two, and a three-pointer. Keeping the Cardinals to just two points this quarter, the Jays headed into the fourth up 28-8.
In the final quarter of the game, the Jays were able to add five more points. Zach Collison and Luke Collison each made a basket, along with L. Collison putting in a free throw. Slightly letting up on the defensive end, the Bluejays allowed the Cardinals to score nine points. Still able to finish the game strong, the Bluejays took the victory 33-17.
“Offensively, I continue to see improvement in our execution of the plays,” freshman coach Zach Weber said. “We are getting consistent, easy looks at the basket. Defensively, we did an excellent job of keying in on their good players, and we didn’t allow them to get into any sort of offensive rhythm.”
The freshman Bluejays’ next game will be a triangular held at Laurel-Concord/Coleridge on Tuesday, January 2, starting at 4:30.
Freshman Bluejays Beat Scotus
by Angelica Volquardsen
The freshman boys’ basketball team faced the Columbus Scotus Shamrocks at home on Saturday, December 16. The Jays finished with a win of 44-28.
The Jays started off strong, outscoring the Shamrocks 14-8 in the first. Starting off the first quarter with a basket for the Jays was David Dale, who followed with a free-throw. Dawson Watts made two baskets, and Luke Collison made a shot, followed by a three-pointer and a basket made by Logan Moeller to end the first quarter with a score of 14-8.
In the second quarter, L. Collison made another basket, and Mason Sindelar followed with two shots. Ending the second quarter with three three-pointers, two made by Watts and one made by Tyler Race, the Jays went into halftime ahead of Scotus with a score of 29-16 as the Shamrocks added just eight points in the second quarter.
The Jays continued to dominate in the third quarter. Dale had a free-throw to start off the Jays’ second-half scoring and then added another basket. Race, Watts, and Dale then each made a shot to end the quarter with a score of 38-17 as the Shamrocks added just one point.
Zach Collison, Trevor Pettit, and Hunter Rabbe were contributors to the final quarter to keep the Jays’ lead on Scotus. They each made a basket, adding six more points for the Jays. Ending the fourth quarter with the Jays ahead. Even with Scotus putting up 12 more points, the final score read 44-28, Jays.
The next freshman boys’ basketball game will be held on Tuesday, January 2, at Laurel against the Laurel-Concord/Coleridge Bears.
