St. Joseph-Ogden built a 31-point halftime lead and defeated ALAH 66-30 in its season opener.
Bishop McNamara 60, Charleston 37
ST. JOSEPH - Bishop McNamara made a strong opening statement at St. Joseph-Ogden's annual Toyota of Danville Classic on Tuesday, defeating the Charleston Trojans 60-37.
Bishop McNamara jumped out to an early lead behind 11 first-half points from senior Karter Krutsinger, who finished with a game-high 15. Krutsinger was supported by teammates Coen Demack (11 points) and Callaghan O’Connor (10 points). The team was efficient from the free-throw line, making seven of eight attempts. The win improved the Fightin’ Irish’s record to 4-0.
Meanwhile, Charleston (0-3) struggled to keep pace, heading into halftime facing a 30-12 deficit. The Trojans hit seven three-pointers in the game but could not generate consistent offense. Tyler Oakley led Charleston with nine points, while Rohen Walters added seven. Eight other Trojans scored in the contest.
The Fightin’ Irish are scheduled to face Paxton-Buckley-Loda in the next round of the post-holiday tournament. Charleston will next face Cissna Park as it searches for its first win of the season.
Paxton-Buckley-Loda 58, Cissna Park 47
A quiet third quarter for Ethan Williams set the stage for a roaring fourth. From that silence erupted a 12-point performance that propelled Paxton-Buckley-Loda to a 58-47 comeback victory over Cissna Park on Tuesday.
The Panthers found themselves staring at a 27-18 halftime deficit. But the game shifted, possession by possession, until the teams stood knotted at 34-all heading into the final quarter. That's when Williams, who finished with a team-high 20 points, took over. His late surge, combined with 18 points from teammate
Tyler Cole, secured the win and kept PBL (1-1) in title contention.
Yet, for all of Williams' and Cole's combined effort, neither could outduel the singular performance of Cissna Park's
Dierks Neukomm. Neukomm poured in a game-high 28 points, including 11 in the frantic fourth quarter. Other than two free throws from Seth Walder, it was all Neukomm. But in the end, even that remarkable individual effort wasn't enough to hold off the Panthers' collective rally.
St. Joseph-Ogden 66,
Atwood-Hammond-Arthur-Lovington 30
For the ALAH Knights, the trouble began in the first quarter. By halftime, it was a distant memory of a contest.
Nolan Franzen made his varsity debut one to remember, scoring all 21 of his points in the first half to power the St. Joseph-Ogden Spartans to a commanding 66-30 victory over ALAH in the season opener for both teams at the Toyota of Danville Classic on Tuesday. The Spartans built a 31-point lead by intermission, a cushion so substantial that a five-point fourth quarter was merely a footnote in the cruise-control win.
Franzen’s explosive opening act was the catalyst. He was joined by teammates
Parker Fitch and
Lane McKinney, who notched their first double-digit scoring games of the season with 11 and 10 points, respectively, as the Spartans’ offense fired on all cylinders early.
For the Knights, Easton Frederick paced the effort with eight points, but the team fell to 0-2 with the loss.
Both teams return to action Thursday in the tournament. ALAH will look to rebound against Oakwood in a 5 p.m. tip-off, while the Spartans aim to carry their momentum forward against the Watseka Warriors at 6:30 p.m.
