02/07/2023
BY JACK BULLOCK
COLUMBIA - Columbia head coach Mark Sandstrom called Tuesday night's 50-39 loss to Breese Central 'A Perfect Storm'.

“With everything that has been going on with us (injuries), wearing the bullseye (being top-ranked) and to top it off we didn't play well,” said Coach Sandstrom. “Then Central, with their physicality and their aggressiveness getting to the loose balls. And when you're playing a quality club like that? I thought they played extremely well. The credit goes to them.”

Central put the state's top-ranked club away with a big third quarter push as Coach Jeremy Shubert's squad assumed control of the Cahokia Conference Mississippi Division race while adding this important win to the regular season resume as the coaches convene Wednesday night to seed each of the sub-sectionals in the state.

“Our seniors came up and made plays. Something else our boys did tonight that they need to do a little bit more is to talk to each other while they are out there. This was a packed house tonight and this is what the postseason is going to be in the regionals,” said Coach Shubert. “It was loud, it was a packed house tonight. They communicated with each other.

Central forced Columbia into 16 turnovers, eight in each half, as they improved to 23-4 overall and 7-0 in the division.

The Eagles had their 17-game winning streak snapped as they now stand at 25-3, 6-1.

There was something else that the Cougars excelled at on Tuesday night.

Central nailed down 16-of-19 free throws, 11 made in the fourth quarter as they put this game in the win column.

Five-ten senior guard Cody Dickshot led the Cougars with 17 important points, including 5-of-6 from the free throw line while 6-2 classmate Chase Lewis added 13.

Juniors Mason Shubert and Zane Schrage added seven points each and senior Ty Kueper added six points in the important win.

For the Eagles it was a great beginning jumping out to an early six point advantage.

However after the first five minutes of the game, the script was flipped as Central took command.

Senior guard Jack Steckler paced the Eagles with 13 points while sophomore Sam Donald added nine.

Both Donald and Steckler scored early for the hosts, part of an 8-2 run that started the game.

A bucket by freshman Brodie Landgraf, a Donald rebound score and a pair of free throws by Steckler was a great start.

A fast break lay in by Steckler off of a steal by Landgraf forced a Central timeout at 8-2 with 3:12 left.

Central responded with a 3-pointer from the top of the arc by Lewis and a drive by Kueper as the Cougars were down just 8-7 at the end of one.

Dickshot added two baskets in the second quarter, with a conventional three-point play for a 12-9 Central lead.

“When you can hold a team like that to 39 points, who is averaging 55 or 56, I give my defense a ton of credit,” said Coach Shubert. “The kids were focused. The ball handling was huge tonight, we were able to spread them out.”

The low scoring first half ended with a score by Lewis in the lane for a 16-14 Cougars' lead.

Columbia could have made things better on themselves but five second quarter turnovers kept them from getting control.

Central put together a strong third quarter, forcing another four Eagles' turnovers and using a 9-0 run to get separation.

Shubert scored on a set play lob pass to start the run and baskets by Dickshot and Lewis, on a three-point play, followed by another score from Dickshot off of a spread offense bucket from 15 feet, gave Breese Central a 30-19 advantage with 1:44 left.

Although Steckler answered with a basket to close the scoring, Central owned a 30-21 lead heading to the fourth.

A microcosm of how things went during the fourth quarter for Columbia was one possession where Central missed three shots yet got all three of the rebounds.

Shubert scored again on a drive in the lane and Schrage canned a big 3-pointer from the left corner for a 35-21 lead with just 5:10 left.

Although the Eagles managed to cut into the margin some, Central kept them a bey from the foul line.

Schrage (4-of-4) and Dickshot (3-of-4) closed out the game from the foul line for the road victory in front of a large crowd at Columbia.

The Cougars were more efficient although neither team shot the ball well.

Central ended up 16-of-39, 3-of-8 from the arc compared to 14-of-32 overall and 2-of-9 for the hosts.

These two teams will play again at Central on February 16 in a make up game of the contest that was snowed out on December 23rd.

Each club has conference games left as the Cougars will travel to Freeburg on Friday night and host East Alton-Wood River next Tuesday.

Columbia will host Roxana on Friday and Freeburg next Tuesday.

“It (the loss) is definitely something we have to learn from moving forward because we still have to put the jersey's on,” said Coach Sandstrom. “Central did what they needed to do to win the ballgame tonight.”

Breese Central (50) –Dickshot 6 0 5-6 17, Kueper 2 0 2-2 6, Shubert 2 0 4-6 8, Rakers 0 0 0-0 , Behrman 0 0 0-0 0, Schrage 0 1 4-4 7, Arnold 0 0 0-0 0, Lewis 3 2 1-1 13.
2FG-132, 3FG-3, FT-16-19, PF-16.
Columbia (39) – van Breusegen 1 0 1-2 3, Strickler 4 0 5-7 13, Bosch 1 0 0-0 2, Murphy 0 1 3-4 6, Donald 3 1 0-2 9, Landgraf 2 0 0-0 4, Hemminghaus 1 0 0-1 2.
2FG-12, 3FG-2, FT-9-16, PF-16.
Fouled Out – None.
Technical Fouls – None.