Bluejay Basketball
Jays End Season in Subdistricts
by MacKenzie Peters
The varsity boys' basketball season came to a close on Tuesday, February 19, after the Jays were defeated by Wayne in the first round of subdistricts at Norfolk High School.
The first quarter was a low-scoring period for both teams. Carter Rohrich started the scoring in the first quarter by making a two-point shot. Following this, Carson Oestreich and David Dale also both scored a two pointer. This ended the quarter with a tie, as the Wayne Blue Devils scored six points as well.
Entering the second quarter, Dawson Watts scored a point for the Bluejays by making a free throw. To continue the scoring, Jadon Magdanz scored a two and made a free throw later in the quarter. Gavin Larson managed to score four points, as he made two free throws as well as a two pointer. Logan Moeller and Watts both went on to score a two-point shot. Finally, Oestreich was able to put one more point on the board after making a free throw shot. The teams continued into the second half of the game neck-and-neck with a score of 19-19.
The Bluejays began to fall behind the Blue Devils in the third quarter, as they were able to score only five points. Dalton Freeman gave the team two points after making a two-point shot. Following, Larson scored a three pointer. The Blue Devils took the lead during this quarter, as they scored 12 points on the Jays. As they went into the fourth quarter, the score was 24-31.
Oestreich started the final quarter for the Jays by making a pair of free throws. He also managed to make a three-point shot. Magdanz contributed four points by making two two-point shots. Watts was also able to score a two-pointer. Although the Jays were able to outscore the Blue Devils in this quarter, it was not quite enough to overcome the deficit from the third and win the game. The game ended with a final score of 35-39.
“I was very pleased with the progress this group made throughout the season,” said coach Mike Emory. “We were successful at all three levels of the program and showed great improvement from November to February. The boys played extremely hard versus Wayne on Tuesday. Defensively, we were much better than we were the first time we had played them. We did not shoot the ball well enough to win the game.”
This was the boys’ last game for the season. The final record of the varsity boys basketball team was 11-13.
Bluejays Fall to Blue Devils
by Kailey Marks
The varsity Bluejays took on the Wayne Blue Devils for their last regular season game on Friday, February 15, on the Pierce court. The Bluejays ended up losing their battle to Wayne 47-54.
To start off the game, junior Dalton Freeman got fouled and aided the team straight away with one of his two free throws. Junior Gavin Larson swished his shot from the arc, and senior Jadon Magdanz went up to score a two-point shot. Freeman came back to score a two, and junior Carter Rohrich also banked in a two. At the end of the first quarter, the Bluejays kept the game close, 10-9.
During the second quarter, junior Carson Oestreich, the lead scorer of the game, got fouled and successfully put in both of his free throws, three two-point shots, and two more free throws for Pierce. Freeman scored a three, and sophomore Dawson Watts nicked in a two pointer and five free throws. After staying on top of the Blue Devils’ offense, going into the locker room, the Bluejays were still leading the game, 28-26.
Going into the second half, Oestreich knocked in two more free throws, along with another two point shot. Watts also scored with a shot from the arc and one of his free throws. The Blue Devils offensively overcame the Bluejays in the third, scoring thirteen to Pierce’s eight, ending the third with the lead 36-39.
In the final quarter, Watts scored a two and also banked in two free throws. Oestreich scored a pair of two pointers for Pierce, and Freeman finished the game with a three. But with the Blue Devils heating up on offense and scoring fifteen, the Jays fell 47-54
The varsity boys’ next games were played in subdistricts, which began Monday, February 18.
JV Boys Compete Against Blue Devils in Nail-biter
by Kiley Bierman
Pierce’s junior varsity boys’ basketball team competed against the Wayne Blue Devils on Friday, February 15, at Pierce’s home court. After a tight game, the Bluejays lost against the Blue Devils in overtime with a final score of 36-37.
The Bluejays flew in with a lead in the first quarter. Luke Collison made a pair of two pointers, Ritter Oestreich made one three pointer, and Zach Collison made one three pointer. The Jays held the Blue Devils with a lead of 7-4 to end the first quarter.
To begin the second quarter, the Jays kept on top of the Blue Devils to hold their lead. Logan Moeller was the lead scorer in the second quarter with one two pointer, one three pointer, and three free throws. Z. Collison also made one three pointer to hold the lead over Wayne. The quarter ended with a final score of 18-14.
Coming out of halftime, the Bluejays continued to keep their lead throughout the third quarter by racking up nine points. The Jays spread out the scoring across the board as Tyler Race scored one two pointer, David Dale made one two pointer, L. Collison made two free throws, and Oestreich made one three pointer. Pierce held Wayne with a lead of 27-21 to finish off the third quarter.
In the final quarter, the Bluejays scored seven points but were unable to hold their lead on the Blue Devils. Moeller made one two pointer, Dale made two free throws, and L. Collison made one three pointer to rack up their point total to 34, but Wayne was able to score 13 points to bring their score total to 34 as well. The game proceeded into overtime to break the tie of 34-34.
In overtime, Moeller made one two pointer to bring them on top, but Wayne came back with a three pointer to win the game. The final score was 36-37.
The JV boys’ basketball team ended their season with a record of 11-3. Coach Waldner said, “I was very happy with the season with only three losses. They were able to win consistently with a lot of young kids and different line-ups.”
JV Bluejays Take Down Cadets
by Sarah Miller
The JV Bluejays flew to West Point to take on the Cadets on Monday, February 11, in a 36-27 road victory over the Cadets.
Starting in the first quarter, the Bluejays started out strong with a 15-2 first quarter score. The Bluejays scorers were Chaden Roth with two three pointers, Tyler Race with one two pointer and one three pointer, and David Dale with a pair of two pointers.
In the second quarter, the Bluejays slowed down as they scored just seven to the Cadets’ 13. The Bluejay scorers were Race hitting both of his free throws, Luke Collison scoring a two pointer, and Ritter Oestreich hitting a three pointer. Going into halftime, the score was 22-18.
In the third quarter, the Bluejays outscored the Cadets 8-6 to maintain their lead. Roth scored a three, Race scored a two pointer, and Dale scored a free throw and a two pointer for the Bluejays. Heading into the final quarter of the game, the Bluejays were up 30-24.
In the final quarter, the Bluejays sealed their victory as they scored six points and held the Cadets to just three. The scorers were Logan Moeller with a two pointer, Roth with two free throws, and Race with a two pointer. The final score for the Bluejays was 36-27.
The Bluejays’ next game would be their final game of the season, which was played Friday, February 15, at home against Wayne.
C-Team Boys Fall to Wayne
by MacKenzie Peters
The Pierce C-team competed on their home court against the Wayne Blue Devils on Friday, February 15. The Jays fell short to the Blue Devils with a final score of 42-47.
The first quarter began with Tyler Race scoring two points for the Jays. Luke Collison was also able to help out his team after he scored another two points. To end the scoring in the first quarter, Zach Collison scored a three pointer. The Bluejays were able to overpower the Blue Devils in the first quarter, as Wayne managed to score only four points during this period.
Entering the second quarter of the game, Ritter Oestreich made a three-pointer. Z. Collison, Mason Sindelar, and Race all scored two points. Race also made a free throw following his two pointer. Finally, Shawn Rinkel scored a point after making a free throw. The Bluejays began to fall behind in this quarter as the Blue Devils managed to put up 16 points. The first half of the game ended with a score of 18-20.
During the second half of the game, L. Collison scored seven points, making two two-pointers and a three-pointer. Both Oestreich and Race were also able to score a point, as they both made a free throw. Finally, Rinkel scored two points after making two free throws. The Blue Devils managed to put 13 points past the Jays in the third. This led the Bluejays into the final quarter with a score of 29-33.
The final quarter was the Jays’ highest-scoring quarter of the game, as the Jays scored 13 points. The fourth quarter began with Z. Collison making a two pointer as well as a three. Sindelar also scored two points by making both of his free throws. Race managed to score six points during the final quarter, making four free throws and a two pointer. The Jays were unable to come ahead of the Blue Devils, who scored 14 points in the final quarter. The game ended with a score of 42-47.
C-Team coach Zach Weber said, "We didn't end the season how we wanted. Wayne played well offensively, and we couldn't get stops when we needed. We also did not do a good enough job on the defensive boards to win. Even though we struggled in this game, I am very proud of our season. We improved a ton, and I look forward to seeing these guys progress in future seasons."
This was the C-Team’s last game. They ended with a final record of 12-4.
JH Bluejays Soar Over Trojans
by Morgan Crist
Pierce’s junior high boys’ basketball team defeated the Trojans of Cedar Catholic on Saturday, February 16, with a final score of 34-19 in Hartington.
In the first quarter of the game, things started off a little slow as the Bluejays scored five points and the Trojans scored just two. Scoring first for the Bluejays was Abram Scholting with a three-point shot. He was followed up by a two-point shot from Ben Brahmer.
In the second quarter, the Bluejays caught fire while the Trojans attempted to catch up. Ben Brahmer hit a two pointer for the Jays. Following was Colby Anderson with a three-point shot. Brahmer then put up eight more points in a series of two-point shots. After that, Scholting made both of his free throws, and finishing off the quarter was Addison Croghan, who made a free throw. The Trojans scored only seven points in this quarter. This put the score at halftime at 20-9.
In the third quarter, Anderson kicked off with a three-point shot. Croghan then made another free throw and was followed up by a two-point shot made by Deon Watts. Finishing off the Bluejay scoring in the third was Scholting with a two-point shot. The Trojans put up just five points in this quarter, bringing the running score to 28-14.
In the fourth and final quarter, the Bluejays scored six more points and held the Trojans to five to take the win. The first to sink a two point shot was Brahmer, who was followed up by Scholting. The final shot was taken by Dawson Raabe to put the Bluejays at 34 to the Trojans’ 19.
The junior high Bluejays finished their season with a record of 9-2 for both the A and B teams.
