02-07-04
RED BUD VS. BREESE MATER DEI
NASHVILLE BOOSTER CLUB SHOOTOUT
BY JACK BULLOCK
NASHVILLE - Red Bud's Chris Schield was on fire to say the least Saturday evening and the Mater Dei Knights found no way to extinguish the his blaze of 3-point bombs.

Hitting for eight shots from behind the arc, Schield established a school record in the process of giving the Musketeers their biggest win of the season, according to coach Curt Berger.

"This is a big win for our program," said Berger, whose team is now 18-3 after winning its tenth-straight game. "We executed well tonight and we got the ball to who we needed to shoot it."

After jumping out to an early 7-2 lead, Red Bud used some inside baskets by Tyler Mueth to lead 9-4 at the first horn.

In the second quarter, Mater Dei got things going from the outside as well, with Brandon Timmermann hitting three 3-pointers.

However Mueth scored nine points in the frame, including an inside basket late in the quarter to send both teams to the locker room at 23-15 Musketeers.

Coach Berger's squad jumped on Mater Dei in the second half with Schield hitting two 3-point shots from the same spot on the left wing.

His second one where he spotted up on a fast break gave Red Bud a 31-15 advantage.

But Mater Dei's Ryan Lake had a great third quarter to keep his club within striking range. He scored 10-points in the stanza, highlighted by a fast break slam-dunk.

Mueth scored two times from in close in the period and his driving lay in with 4:01 to go pushed the lead to 33-21.
Lake's running one-handed shot in the paint followed by two free throws on its next possession got MD back to within 35-28 with :55 left.

However the Musketeers held the ball for a final shot.

While working against Mater Dei's 2-3 zone, Red Bud made several crisp passes that eventually got the Knights out of position and chasing.

The ball ended up in Schield's hands at his favorite left wing spot behind the arc.

His sixth 3-pointer of the game put Red Bud back up by double-digits at 38-28 heading to the final quarter.

"We did a good job against their zone and got the ball to Chris (Schield) where he could get some good looks," added Berger.

Mater Dei, who had made a huge comeback last Saturday on the road against Class AA state-ranked Belleville Althoff, had a run left in the tank and got nearly even with Red Bud in the final quarter.

Six-five senior Eric Tschannen, who was held scoreless in the first three quarters by the Red Bud defense, scored a couple of baskets in the final eight minutes.

After another Timmerman 3-pointer, Tschannen nailed a 12-foot baseline jumper and scored again on a steal and a lay in as the Knights apply full court pressure.

Following another Red Bud miscue, Lake struck again for MD with a 3-pointer from the right corner to cut the lead to 40-38.

However, as if on cue, Schield broke out his 3-point golden gun.

This 'blonde bomber' connected on three straight 'trifecta' bombs to put away the Knights.

Working the ball with precision, the Musketeers fed the hot hand and Schield responded.

When his third laser beam ripped through the nets, Red Bud had taken back the momentum.

Mater Dei did not score another point as the Musketeers finished off the game from the foul line, as they hit 5-of-6 charities in the final 1:18.

"We had an answer for every one of their (Mater Dei) runs at us," added Berger. "Shield can flat out shoot the ball and he got open a lot tonight."

Schield finished with a game-high 26-points while Mueth added 18.

Lake paced Mater Dei (16-10) 17-points while Timmermann's five 3-pointers added up to 15-points.

Tschannen, who was averaging 16 p.p.g., was held in check by the Red Bud match up zone defense.

Breese Mater Dei (38) - Varel 1 0 0-0 2, Lake 2 2 7-8 17, Tschannen 2 0 0-0 4, Timmermann 0 5 0-0 15.
2FG-5, 3FG-7, FT-7-8, PF-16.
Red Bud (54) - Porter 0 0 4-4 4, Gregson 2 0 2-4 6, Mueth 6 0 6-8 18, Sheild 0 8 2-2 26, Hentis 0 0 0-2 0.
2FG-8, 3FG-8, FT-14-20, PF-12.
Technical Foul - None.
Fouled Out - None.