Pierce High Boys Basketball
Bluejays Power Past Battle Creek in Regular Season Matchup
By Natalie Endorf
The boys basketball team hit the road to face Battle Creek on Saturday, January 24, delivering a strong performance in a 60-44 victory.
“Our boys did a good job of knowing their team. They knew what they like to do on offense, and they prepared themselves well,” head coach Ryan Ohnoutka said. “I thought they did a good job of limiting their best player, and they really knew the scouting report going into the game. I thought we did a good job of pushing the ball in transition. We like to get out and run so we’re able to get some points there in conversion, and then we own the paint like we should. It was good to have Jax back, first game back from injury, so he played a good game inside for us.”
The Bluejays came out strong in the first quarter, holding it with a 15-12 lead at the end of the period.
Pierce extended that lead in the second quarter, making the score 28-18 to close the half.
In the third quarter, the Bluejays put up 24 points to the Braves’ 12, bringing the lead to 42-30 in favor of Pierce.
Finally, Pierce closed out the game with a final score of 60-44.
The Bluejays next look to continue their momentum when hosting West Point-Beemer on Tuesday, January 27.
Bluejays Overpower the Summerland Bobcats
By Arriah Ludden
Thursday, January 22, the Bluejays boys basketball team faced the Summerland Bobcats and defeated them by a score of 68-35.
In the first quarter, the Bluejays scored 10 points, while the Bobcats scored 16 points. Gavin Lubischer, Ryder Theisen, Brock Collison, Keaton Frazier, and Ethan Nordby had two points apiece.
The Bluejays came out strong in the second quarter, scoring 22 points and holding the Bobcats to only four points. Leading the second quarter, Frazier had eight points, Collison and Lubischer had five points apiece, and Tyler Schulz and Nordby had two points each.
Coming out of halftime, the Bluejays scored 16 points while the Bobcats scored only four points. Leading with six points was Theisen, close behind was Frazier with five points, Collison with three points, and Kendall Shada with two points.
At the end of the fourth quarter, the Bluejays had put up 20 points, with four points coming from Dayton Watts. Lubischer, Schulz, Brody Scholting, and Briggs Drahota each had three points apiece, and close behind were Theisen and Frazier, each with two points. The Bobcats scored 11 points, leading to a final score of 68-35.
“We started off slow in the first quarter, but then we played better the rest of the game to get the win,” senior Dayton Watts says.
Bluejays Fall to the Knights
By Dayton Watts
Pierce played Norfolk Catholic on Tuesday, January 20, and the score did not turn in the Bluejays favor though, falling 63-40.
Starting in the first quarter the Bluejays came out flat scoring eight points while the Knights scored 17. Keaton Frazier was able to put up six points and Ethan Nordby had two.
In the second quarter the Bluejays and Knights both scored the same amount as they did in the first. Brock Collison hit a three as well as Nordby, and Frazier had two free throws making the score at halftime 34-16 in favor of Norfolk Catholic.
In the third the Bluejays scored eight points while the Knights scored 12. Kendall Shada scored three points. Frazier and Nordby had two points each.
The fourth quarter was the best for the Bluejays who scored 14 points while the Knights scored 17. Ryder Theisen had seven points. Frazier had four points. Dayton Watts scored three points.
“Our defense needs to improve, and we got good looks but they just were not falling today for us,” senior guard Tyler Schulz said.
