01-10-2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
CHESTER - Perhaps it was just one of those nights, one excellent offensive performance, one special moment in time for this version of New Athens Yellow Jackets basketball and their head coach Conrad Widdersheim.

Coming into the quarterfinal game of the 58th annual Chester Invitational Tournament the Yellow Jackets were averaging a modest 54.8 points a game as a team and were sitting at .500 for the year, 8-8 overall.

They were a great deal better than that offensively on Monday night.

There is 'streak shooting' and then there is what happened in the squad's win over Ste. Genevieve Valle Catholic.

Coach Widdersheim's team 'singed' the Colbert Gym nets hitting 33-of-50 overall field goal attempts (66 percent), including 8-of-15 shots (53 percent) from the 3-point line.

In a stretch that began at the start of the third quarter they nailed down 10-consecutive field goal attempts.

This great effort shooting the ball overshadowed some 'iffy' play against a late game Valle Catholic desperation press (nine second half turnovers) as New Athens moved into the semifinals with an overwhelming 89-67 win.

This was by a mile their best shooting night of 2021-22 and the victory places the Jackets in Wednesday night's semifinals against Waterloo Gibault.

The Hawks took care of their business in the opening game rout of winless Perryville (MO.).

Whether they were pounding the ball inside or firing away from downtown, New Athens took the game right to the Warriors, who saw their overall mark slip to 6-6.

Doing the damage for New Athens were three kids, who to quote a song lyric 'had the time of their lives' on the basketball floor.

Six-foot senior guard Codey Boone fired up 30-points for New Athens as he hit three 3-pointers and nailed down 5-of-5 free throws (all in the fourth quarter) in the win.

While Boone was connecting outside for the most part, 6-3 junior forward Gannon Birkner was 'cashing in chips' in the lane.

Birkner finished with 28-points, making 11 field goals inside and connecting of 6-of-9 free throws, 4-of-5 in the final minutes.

Gauge Birkner, a 6-0 senior guard, nailed down three more of the 3-pointers for the Yellow Jackets, finishing with 16-points.

“What they did early in the game was to sag off of our shooters and the boys made a few 3's to make them come out and guard us,” said Coach Widdersheim. “That opened things up for Gannon inside.”

There was one bright spot for Valle Catholic and head coach Tyler Search.

Chase Fallert, a 5-8 junior point guard, led all scorers with 32-points while teammate 6-3 senior Aiden Heberlie added 15.

Fallert hit all three of the Warriors' long range 3-point shots.

Considering they missed 19 attempts from the arc (3-of-22) in the game, it was little wonder that they failed to keep up with the New Athens torrid shooting pace.

The other numbers for Valle Catholic were respectable but the key figures favored NA.

The two teams 'waged a war' on the boards with it coming up 28-28 and each team 'hacked up' double-digit turnover totals (NA 12, Valle 10) in the opening round.

That is where the comparisons ended as New Athens took care of the rest by never cooling off from the floor.

Coach Widdersheim got his club going after an early timeout, as the Yellow Jackets took the lead and went on their first run in the contest to close the first quarter.

Getting a couple of inside scores from each of the Birkner's and 3-pointer from Boone, New Athens led 24-18 at the end of the opening quarter.

One of the inside scores turned into a three-point play by Gauge then Gannon closed the deal with a bucket in the lane.

These points spawned a 13-2 run on into the second quarter.

Three-pointers from Boone and senior Kaden Vielweber along with another Gannon bucket kept the momentum rolling.

Birkner added to his inside dominance with a bucket in the paint while being fouled.

Falling down to his right, Gannon got the shot to fall and the subsequent free throw.

Valle Catholic turned the ball over on the next inbounds pass and a moment later junior Andrew Wynn scored his only points of the night as New Athens had its largest spread in the first half at 37-20 at the 2:50 mark.

“That (getting the ball inside) is what we have to continue to do to be successful,” said Coach Widdersheim. “He (Gannon) is one of the best players in our conference and he is shooting really well for us. He works really hard for us inside and he has really elevated his game this year.”

The Warriors got five-points in the second quarter from Fallert, getting the deficit down to single-digits before freshman Isaiah Lintker delivered a 3-pointer from the left wing that beat the horn for the Yellow Jackets, who went to the lockerroom up 42-30 at the half.

After a pretty decent first quarter, New Athens got warmed up in the second quarter, hitting 7-of-12 in the quarter.

It got 'sauna' hot in the next eight minutes.

Counting the Lintker bomb, the Yellow Jackets connected on 11-straight attempts.

Both Binkner's added to the points and another 3-pointer from Boone put NA up 50-32.

Valle Catholic managed to force three NA turnovers but they didn't stop the Yellow Jackets on any of their other 10 possessions.

Boone and the Binkner's accounted for 22 of the points as they led 65-50.

For exactly :51 of playing time to start the final frame, New Athens lost its cool.

Three turnovers resulted in a 9-0 run with Fallert scoring on two lay ups and an inside score from senior Michael Okenfuss.

Heberlie, who hadn't scored since the first quarter, got inside on a drive while being fouled.

His 'And-One' along with a 3-pointer from the left wing by Fallert cut the New Athens lead down to just 68-62 with plenty of time (6:38) left to complete the rally.

Simply put, that was the end of the comeback bid.

Fouls and missed shot by Valle Catholic sent the Yellow Jackets to the line as they extended their lead.

NA was 8-of-10 from the stripe in the last quarter and Coach Widdersheim saw his club drop one final scoring run, closing out the game with 15-3 blitz.

Boone added some 'icing' with another conventional three-point play off of a defensive rebound by Gannon Birkner and outlet pass for a lay in while being fouled.

Adding to the misery for Valle Catholic was a bench technical before Boone went to the line.

Boone hit his free throw and Gannon put down the two technical tosses.

On the ensuing inbounds play, New Athens ended the scoring with a basket by junior Owen Tolson with just under one minute remaining.

“We knew that they (Valle) were going to do that (make a run) but we weathered that storm,” said Coach Widdersheim. “It really was good to close out a game like we did. During the Christmas break we were up eight on Cobden heading to the fourth quarter and lost and then we were up seven against Sparta going into the fourth quarter and we ended up losing those games. It was nice to see the boys complete the job tonight and get the victory.”

Up next for the Yellow Jackets is a rematch with old nemesis Waterloo Gibault.

The Hawks took care of New Athens earlier in the season, 55-27.

“It was absolutely a good win. I know Valle (Catholic) has had a good season so far this year and they are very athletic and strong. It's a tough match up for us,” said Coach Widdersheim. “To be able to come in here in the first game, a 4-5 seed game, to be able to score like that, I'm very happy about that.”