12/21/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
TRENTON – The beginning of their home Cahokia Conference Illinois Division game on Wednesday night couldn't have been much better for the Wesclin Warriors.

But the ending left everyone in attendance in a somber mood.

Senior guard Grant Fridley tossed in 19 points as the Warriors jumped out to an early lead and were never threatened in a 54-33 victory.

Six-six junior center Seth Macke added 14 points for Wesclin who improved to 10-2 on the season, 4-0 in the division.

Two other Warriors; junior guard Luke Tasker and junior Harrison Rakers, added six points each in the victory.

Senior guard Brandon Oelrich scored five points for Wesclin.

However Macke had to be helped from the floor in the fourth quarter with an apparent knee injury.

“I thought we played with the right energy, concentration and effort on the defensive end and when you do that usually the ball goes in the hoop. We were really happy with the start and how we played,” said Coach Brede. “It's really tough to see one of your guys go down (injured). He (Macke) is definitely our most improved guy. He is no longer just a 'back to the basket' kid. He can face up, he can make 3's. We just hope for the best because without him we're obviously not nearly as good.”

Senior guard Dillon Teter scored 14 points to lead the Rockets.

Six-seven sophomore Aiden Anderson contributed 10 points for his club.

The Warriors scored the game's first 12 points with Tasker and Rakers nailing down 3-pointers and Macke scored in the lane on an assist from Fridley.

A steal and fast break lay in by Fridley followed by another steal from the senior guard, who then got the ball to teammate Oelrich for a bucket for a 12-0 lead with 3:30 left in the first quarter.

The Rockets finally got some points with a senior guard Hayden Shubert hitting a 3-pointer after the squad was held scoreless for the 6:12 of the frame.

Fridley added yet another 3-pointer, the third of the opening quarter, as the Warriors led 15-6 at the first horn.

Wesclin forced four turnovers in taking control early.

The best was yet to come from the outside for the hosts as they nailed down five more 3-point bombs in the second quarter and the Warriors' defense kept Okawville from getting much done offensively.

Rakers, Macke, Tasker and Oelrich each hit from long range.

Macke added a pair of free throws and Fridley closed the half by banking home (by design) a leaning 3-pointer from the top of the circle to close the second quarter at 32-11 Wesclin.

The Warriors forced four more turnovers and didn't allow an offensive rebound in the first two quarters.

Coach Ryan Heck got points from his front line with Anderson and Shubert getting scores in the lane and senior Joseph Jansen added a basket on a baseline drive.

Macke scored six of his points in the third quarter with two baskets on nice moves in the paint and a pair of free throws for a 45-20 lead heading into the final eight minutes as the Warriors hit 5-of-8 field goal attempts in the quarter.

Teter scored nine of his points in the fourth quarter on a trio of 3-pointers and Anderson added another basket inside.

After the Macke injury at the 5:44 mark of the fourth, Coach Brent Brede had his club spread the floor on offense, which turned into an easy basket by 6-6 junior reserve Evan Orr.

The Warriors closed out the game by hitting 4-of-6 free throws for the win, although costly with the team's leading scorer being injured.

Wesclin won every statistical category on Wednesday night.

The Warriors hit on 18-of-40 shots from the floor, with 10-of-24 from the 3-point line compared to 12-of-28, 4-of-12 for Okawville.

Rebounding was a bit closer with Wesclin ended up with a 20-17 advantage as the Rockets managed just two offensive rebounds.

Okawville committed eight of their 11 turnovers in the first half.

Of the Warriors six turnovers, three came late in the game with reserves on the floor.

“Are we great right now? Absolutely not. But I think we're better than our 2-8 record, we have a couple of close losses but we're moving in the right direction,” said Coach Heck. “We could've folded up and not competed but I felt we competed late and started getting the ball in the right spots. We took advantage of some mismatches and those are the things that we need to keep doing.”

Both teams head into holiday tournament action next week, weather permitting.

Wesclin is at the 61st annual Breese Mater Dei Holiday Tournament and they will play twice on the first day (Tuesday) facing both the host Knights at 1 pm and then Edwardsville Metro-East Lutheran at 9:30 pm.

Okawville will travel to the Pinckneyville “Duster Thomas Classic” where they will open with Mount Carmel at 12 pm, also on Tuesday.

Okawville (33) – Wiese 0 0 0-0, Schleifer 0 0 0-0 0, Nelson 0 0 0-0 0, Teter 1 3 3-5 14, Krohne 0 0 0-0 0, Obermeier 0 0 0-0 0, H. Shubert 2 1 0-0 7, Moody 0 0 0-0 0, Schaller 0 0 0-0 0, Savard 0 0 0-0 0, L. Shubert 0 0 0-0 0, Jansen 1 0 0-2 2, Anderson 4 0 2-4 10.
2FG-8, 3FG-4, FT-5-11, PF-8.
Wesclin (54) – Fridley 2 4 3-4 19, Taskor 0 2 0-0 6, Oelrich 1 1 0-0 5, Herndon 0 0 0-0 0, Szpila 0 0 1-2 1, Hoerchler 0 0 0-0 0, Rakers 0 2 0-0 6, Mueller 0 0 0-0 0, Orr 1 0 0-0 2, Macke 4 1 4-4 15.
2FG-8, 3FG-10, FT-8-10, PF-12.
Fouled Out – None.
Technical Fouls – None.