Indians Slay The Dragons
St. Francis earned another road victory in Holyoke, Colorado, on Tuesday, January 29. The Indians defeated the Holyoke Dragons 57-47 in varsity action. Holyoke won the junior varsity contest 41-23.
The varsity game opened with something you rarely see--two opening tip-offs. The opening tip was caught by players of both teams resulting in a second opening tip. St. Francis opened the game with a basket in the lane by Brady Dinkel. Dinkel soon added a driving score. Holyoke's Staten Burris (5' 8" Jr.) placed the Dragons on the board with a driving basket. The Indians extended their lead to 6 on an assist by Dinkel on a cut through the lane by Jesse Baxter. Ethan Johnson (5' 11" Fr.) added a steal-two for Holyoke. After free-throw by Colton Neitzel, Joey Beckner (6' 2" So.) scored on a drive for the Dragons. Burris added two additional free-throws, and at 2:10, Miles Sprague (5' 11" Fr.) scored on a floater in the lane to take the lead 9-10. The final two scores of the quarter were both treys. Dinkel drained the first from the left-wing, and Connor Keller added the final trey from the top-of-the-key.
Another left-wing trey by Brady Dinkel extended the lead to 18-10 early in the second period. Holyoke took a time-out at 6:55. After returning to the floor, Staten Burris scored a transition basket for the Dragons. After a jumper in the lane by Jesse Baxter and a driving score by Richard Johnson, the Indians held a ten-point advantage (22-12). Miles Sprague then added a score in the lane. Baxter's assist led to a post basket by Colton Neitzel. Neitzel followed with an assist on a post basket by Cody Baxter. The lead was now twelve (26-14). Ethan Johnson (5' 11" Fr.) answered with a top-of-the-key trey. Jesse Baxter's lane shot and a bucket by Cody Baxter preceded another trey by Johnson. Dinkel drained a buzzer-beater trey to close the half. The Indians led 33-20.
The Indians opened the third period with an out-of-bounds play basket by Jesse Baxter (assist Brady Dinkel). A trey by Kalson Kinnie (5' 11" Fr.) for Holyoke was followed by an offensive rebound score by Baxter. The action moved the Indians' advantage to 20 points (40-20) and triggered a Holyoke time-out at 5:50. Caleb Deaver (6' 3" Jr.) added an offensive rebound basket for the Dragons. After a K.C. Krien free-throw, a Dinkel to Baxter assist resulted in a high-post score (43-22). After a free-throw by Burris, Josiah Sims drew a charge on a driving Dragon. Miles Sprague then added a deuce after a St. Francis turnover. Baxter's baseline basket was followed by a left-wing trey by Kalson Killin (5' 11" Fr.). Deaver sandwiched a right-elbow shot between a Richard Johnson free-throw and a baseline jumper by Draven Houtman. St. Francis led 38-20 after three quarters of play.
A driving basket by Sprague opened the final quarter. Colton Neitzel answered with a drive for the Indians. Johnson's left wing trey was followed by a high-low post assist from Jesse Baxter to Colton Neitzel. The Indians led 52-35, but the Dragons were about to make a run. Picking up the pace of the game, Joey Beckner (6' 2" So.) scored a right-elbow jumper. Deaver followed with a stick-back basket. At 2:20, Sprague drained a left-wing trey. The Dragons had trimmed the margin to ten (52-42). Both the Indians and the Dragons missed several shots in the next minute or so. With 39 seconds left, Holyoke's Deaver fouled out of the game. K.C. Krien ended the Dragon's 10-2 run making one-of-two from the free-throw line. Sprague's top-of-the-key trey narrowed the margin to 8, and the Dragon's used another time-out at 24.6. When the Indians inbounded the basketball, the Dragons immediately fouled Baxter. Jesse swished both free-throws. In the final seconds, Johnson added an offensive rebound basket, and Dinkel added two more free-throws. St. Francis defeated the Dragons 57-47.
St. Francis was led in scoring by Brady Dinkel with 22 points. Jesse Baxter added 16. Others contributing to the St. Francis point total were Colton Neitzel 7, Connor Keller 3, Richard Johnson 3, Cody Baxter 2, K.C. Krien 2, and Draven Houtman 2. The Indians made 11 of 20 from the stripe, were whistled for 7 fouls, and committed 10 turnovers.
Though the Dragons fielded a young team (playing 2 juniors, 3 sophomores, and 3 freshmen), they displayed good skills and competed hard. Holyoke made 3 of 4 from the line, committed 16 turnovers, and had 16 fouls.
The Indians will play Hoxie, in Hoxie, on Friday, February 1.
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