Riders put WHS in grind
ST. MARYS — A basketball season is a grind, and St. Marys Memorial ground out a win.
In a contest that could have featured
helmets and pads, the Roughriders worked
their way to a 52-36 win over rival Wapakoneta at the Horseshoe on Friday night.
It is the first Western Buckeye League victory for the
Roughriders, now 1-1, while the Redskins
fell to 0-2. Overall, Memorial moved up to 4-1 and Wapakoneta fell to 3-2.
The Roughriders used a few scores at the start to grab the lead. They held it until a series of turnovers gave Wapakoneta scoring chances, which they used to take a small advantage. Memorial battled its way back in front and led by four at the half.
After another intense period in the third, Memorial pulled away in the final stanza, with Wapakoneta getting
open looks, but not getting them to drop.
Sophomore Evan Angstmann led the
scoring attack for the Roughriders with a game-high 21 points,
and center Austin Parks added 12 points.
Coach Dan Hegemier of Memorial praised Angstmann’s
effort. “We’ve been waiting for him. He had a great game.” He
noted that he are Jace Turner are very talented and lots is expected of them. In addition, he said that the Roughriders need to get the half-court
offense going moving forward.
Wapakoenta coach Trey Elchert said, “It comes down to making shots. We had a lot of really good looks. They hit a few
more than we did when they needed to.” Elchert added that he
expected the physical nature due to Memorial’s size.
For Wapakoneta, Kaden Siefring and Braeden Goulet had
eight points each, and Jackson Courter scored six.
Angstmann got things rolling with a 3-pointer on the
opening possession for the Roughriders. Turner followed with a jumper from the
side and Parks threw down a dunk a short time later for a 7-0 lead.
The Redskins got on the board with a free throw by Zach Rogers,
and then a layup by Grant Bauer after a turnover.
Parks dished the ball to Turner for a
score midway through the period. After the Redskins
closed within a point at 9-8, Parks hit a shot along the baseline with 35 seconds to go.
A free throw by Goulet made it a twopoint margin, 11-9, after one period.
The first few minutes of the second quarter was light in terms of scoring, with Angstmann and
Brayden Sullivan hitting for the Roughriders. In between, Taylor Echols forced a
midcourt turnover and converted the layup.
After Siefring drew a block and made one from the line, the Redskins forced backto-back turnovers. Echols converted a layup on the first, then Goulet scored in transition on the second.
Memorial called timeout, but when play resumed, another miscue for the Roughriders led to a
score by Siefring and a 19-15 lead for the Redskins as the clock
neared 2 minutes.*
The Roughriders kept their poise, however. Gavin Reineke hit a shot, and Brandon Bowers connected twice from the free throw line to tie it. Angstmann then
poked the ball away. He took it along the
sideline, and scored with 1:13 to go. He drew contact and
completed the 3-point play.
Goulet scored on a baseline drive. With 21 seconds left, Angstmann was fouled while hoisting a shot from the corner. He
splashed all three foul shots to make it a 25-21 lead for Memorial at intermission.
The third quarter settled into a backand-forth. The first points did not come until more than 2 1/2
minutes had gone by, with Parks muscling his way for layup.
The teams then found their shooting touch, as Angstmann
hhit a 3 and a 2 for the Roughriders, but Courter kept the Redskins in it with a pair from long distance.
The final 3 minutes of the period favored the defenses, with a
jumper by Parks giving the Roughriders a
seven-point cushion, 35-28.
Angstmann made his third 3-pointer of the night a minute into the fourth,
stretching the lead to double digits.
Rogers answered that one with a 3 of
his own, but Memorial gradually stretched the lead with an 8-3 run. Parks had baskets at the start and finish of that burst,
along with a couple free throws
Bauer made one more steal and score,
but it would be the last points of the night for the Redskins. Memorial closed it out with Kyle Steininger, Reineke and Sullivan all going to the line and making a halfdozen shots for the final margin.