11/28/2025
BY JACK BULLOCK
TRENTON - A quick look at the statistics from Friday night's first game at the Wesclin “Tip-Off Classic” would show one particular category which propelled the Nashville Hornets to their second win in the tournament and the season.

The Hornets defense forced Breese Mater Dei into 15 turnovers, eight in the first half, and senior forward/guard Maddox Ritzel took care a bunch of the offense in a 67-59 victory.

Ritzel scored 23-points to go with nine rebounds as Nashville, after a win over Columbia on Tuesday, stands at 2-0 on the season with a date Saturday night against the hosts.

Mater Dei (0-2) will face Columbia on Saturday night, weather permitting.

The defensive effort by Coach Stote Reeder's club got the offense started and the Hornets nailed down 7-of-8 free throws in the final frame for the win.

They took advantage of the Knights' bad night handling the ball and managed to get to the foul line more often.

Nashville hit on 15-of-23 from the stripe compared to just 4-of-7 for BMD.

Mater Dei is now 0-2 on the season with both losses coming in the event.

Coach Cory Arentsen got another top-shelf performance from 6-3 senior guard Gavin Peppenhorst.

He led all scorers with 26-points.

Six-foot junior guard Kassidy Linkey added 13-points for the Hornets ad Coach Reeder got an additional nine-points from Tyse Reinburg.

Two other double-digit scorers from Mater Dei were seniors Becker Wade (14) and Beagan Woomer (10).

Eight of the Hornets scored points and the squad only coughed up six turnover, three in the fourth quarter, that ended up not hurting the winning cause.

“If our stats are right, that is 34 assists for us in two games. We're sharing the ball well and Maddox is really trusting his teammates. He had five assists Tuesday night and four tonight,” said Coach Reeder. “We've got a lot of kids stepping up and making a lot of plays. We've got guys that can make shots.”

Both teams shot the ball well with Nashville hitting 23-of-43 overall while the Knights ended up 23-of-44.

There were three ties and three lead changes in the first quarter alone.

Ritzel scored nine of his points in the opening frame, including his only 3-pointer, and also a nice basket on a lob assist from Linkey for a 14-11 lead.

Woomer, Peppenhorst and Wade (2) combined for four 3-pointers in the first quarter as the Knights trailed 22-20 at the end of one.

Peppenhorst scored eight points in the second quarter but Nashville got 3-pointers from junior Parker Renken, Linkey and senior Blake Brooks.

A conventional three-point play by Linkey with :03.8 left made it 41-33 at the half.

“Our help defense on Peppenhorst early wasn't great but that got cleaned up in the second half,” said Coach Reeder. “Our pressure was good. They (Mater Dei) were hitting some 3's that we wanted to give up but they were making them. We rebounded the ball well, too.”

Mater Dei got within a point in the third quarter but no closer than six in the final stanza.

A 7-0 run to begin the second half was the best Knights' scoring march, started by freshman guard Stuart Parkin with a 3-pointer and followed by two buckets by Peppenhorst as it was 41-40.

But Ritzel added free throws and a basket in the lane while junior Gannon Turner nailed down a 3-point bomb from the top of the arc as the Hornets held a 50-45 lead heading to the final quarter.

Mater Dei needed points in the final minutes but missed on seven 3-point attempts while Nashville paraded to the foul line.

Reinburg, Ritzel and Turner closed the book on the win from the stripe.

The Nashville/Wesclin winner will take home the title of the 12th annual event.

“You get tired of playing each other in practice for two weeks and you're just ready to see how good you are,” said Coach Reeder. “Columbia is good and Mater Dei is so much better than I expected them to be and Wesclin is good. I wouldn't' have it any other way. I'm glad we're playing tough teams early.”

Head coach Mark Sandstrom didn't mince words after his team's 60-52 loss to Wesclin on Friday night.

“You know me well enough that I don't play a lot of zone but I felt we had to do that because when Wesclin gets in a flow they're really good,” said Coach Sandstrom. “Our half-court defense was retched. That's what we talked about in the locker room after the game. You have to make it (defense) a priority. You have to step over and take a charge, you have to close out. Right now you're just interested in running up and down the floor.”

Wesclin stayed undefeated by nailing down open long shots, especially in the second and fourth quarters and they held off a late Eagles' rally to beat Columbia 60-52.

The victory thrusts the Warriors into a true title game in the Round Robin format as they will play Nashville.

Wesclin was topped by junior guards Bryce Haar and Gavin Rahm with 19 and 17-points respectively.

Another junior, Eli Wellen, made Columbia pay from outside as he nailed down three 3-point shots in the second half for nine-points.

Junior guard Jeremiah Zurliene was another Wesclin player that Columbia couldn't cover, notching 12-points with two 3-pointers for himself.

That was nine long range shots (9-of-14) from the arc for Coach Brent Brede's club.

Wesclin was a scorching 25-of-47 overall and held a 23-20 rebounding edge while holding Columbia in check with a defense that forced a 5-of-17 performance from beyond the 3-point line and 21-of-44 overall.

The Eagles were paced in scoring by senior Eddie Smajic with 20-points and senior Brody Landgraf with 14.

The game was close in the early going but Wesclin was getting the upper hand by getting open shots.

Three straight baskets by Haar and Rahm, with the third one by Haar being a 3-pointer from the right win made it 15-9 with 1:06 left in the first quarter.

A 3-pointer by senior Kyle Chudd narrowed the gap to 15-12.

Columbia had a couple of brief leads in the second quarter and were up 21-18 after two straight scores from Smajic and Landgraf.

But Rahm nailed down a 3-pointer plus a mid-range shot before Haar drove in for a score as the Warriors led 25-23 at the break.

After a basket by Smajic tied the game, Wesclin hit 6-of-10 from the floor and both of their 3-point attempts by Zurliene and Rahm.

Haar added another shot on a drive inside as the Warriors were on top 38-31.

Seven points by Columbia, including a 3-pointer that beat the third quarter got the Eagles back to within 40-38 heading to the final eight minutes.

However Columbia couldn't get the stops they needed to get the victory late.

With the game even for the final time at 46-46, Haar and Zurliene hit big time shots.

Haar getting to the basket for a rebound stick back and Zurliene canning another trifecta from the left wing gave Wesclin back the advantage for good.

A Rahm drive down the left side of the lane was followed by a dagger-like 3-point shot by Zurliene from the left corner on an assist by junior Kaeden Tobin pushed the lead back out to 56-50 with 1:36 remaining.

The game go no closer as Haar, Tobin and Rahm combined for 4-of-6 free throws in the final :37.0.

Columbia, the tournament's champ from last season, will try to avoid an 0-3 start with a game against Mater Dei Saturday night while Wesclin aims for its first “Tip-Off Classic” championship since 2023.

“This is the most points we've given up in the first two games of a season since I've been at Columbia. Of course we're playing two really good teams but at Columbia we play good man-to-man defense. Right now we're just not ready. This tournament is a gauntlet and this was a winnable game. I like our guys but it's going to take time to adjust and we're not there yet.”