The New Haven Shamrocks took on the St. James Tigers at home on Friday, the 19th of December. This was the first conference game of the season, along with being the night of Winterball Coronation, and it was a close battle for both the junior varsity and varsity teams.
Before the game started, Kim Hoffman commented, “I expect it to be an intense and competitive game.” Kim got what she had hoped for because the junior varsity game was a constant tie breaker until the fourth quarter.
The starters for the JV game were John Fleer, Justin Shockley, Brady Kruse, Will Soete, and Zach Vedder. The game started off with the Shamrocks getting the tip. At the beginning of the game, the Tigers were being very aggressive and committing quite a few more fouls than the Shamrocks. After getting through the rough beginning, there was a point in the game when New Haven was struggling to make a pass to the basket.The struggle began when the Tigers had possession, and Soete intercepted a pass and dribbled his way down the court. He went for the layup, only to get fouled for two free throws.
After halftime, freshman Aiden Bailey was passed the ball after it being thrown around the court with overhead passes. The Tigers came barreling down the court from their offensive end to try and stop Aiden from getting a shot from the post. Aiden had four of St. James’ players all guarding him at once. He faked a shot, and they all jumped to block it, so he shot the ball as they came down and scored two more points for the Shamrocks.
Junior varsity head coach Johnny Veland was looking for “a ‘W’, aka a win” at this game, but the Shamrocks were unable to beat the St. James Tigers, who won with an ending score of 46-29.
The varsity game--a close one--definitely kept the crowd on the edge of their seats through all four quarters. The starters were Jared Horstman, Brandon Carey, Kyle Ruediger, Dylan Goodwin, and Camron Pritchett. This game was very intense because Kyle Ruediger was going for his 1,000th point. Kyle Ruediger said before the game, “I hope we can play the game like we’ve practiced and come out with a win.”
At the end of the first quarter, the game was tied at 8 - 8 with two minutes and thirty seconds left. The Shamrocks had kept up with the Tigers’ missed shots and got the rebounds. The Shamrocks also missed shots but were able to make it up because the varsity Tigers were just as aggressive at the junior varsity Tigers, fouling the Shamrocks on numerous occasions. For both games, the foul count was high.
The boys from New Haven were having a rough time on the court while playing offense. The Tigers were making sure they had a hand on whoever they were guarding. Kyle was getting knocked around constantly the first half of the game. At the end of the second quarter, the Shamrocks were losing, 24-21
During the third quarter, the Shamrocks got possession of the ball and had to throw it in bounds. Dylan was looking for someone to pass it to while the boys were working hard to get open. Finally, Kyle got open and received a lob pass to shoot a basket. Kyle was fouled and got to shoot two free throws, making one for two.
The fourth quarter was a battle for the ball. The ball was constantly being passed from a red jersey to a white jersey. At one point, Cameron got passed the ball. The ball was intercepted, but Cameron was able to get it back and go for a shot at the basket. On that shot he was fouled, making one for two, tying the game at 38 - 38.
Kyle was the last scorer of the night. He was passed the ball on an out of bounds play and scored, making the score 40 - 40. On that shot, he was fouled. It was also the end of the quarter, so Kyle was alone at the free throw line to sink the first of his free throws, scoring his 1,000th point. The score was now 42 - 40, with the Shamrocks leading. During the last two minutes of the game, the ball was thrown around like a hot potato. One of the Tigers took a shot at the basket and made it, but still got fouled on the shot. He then hit a free throw to score the winning point of the game. The varsity Shamrocks lost in a close game, 43- 42.
The Shamrocks played a close game against the Tigers; even though the Shamrocks didn’t win the games, the games were both a battle for the ball. The next time the Shamrocks play the Tigers, it should be another exciting game.
-by Abby Perdue
The starters for the JV game were John Fleer, Justin Shockley, Brady Kruse, Will Soete, and Zach Vedder. The game started off with the Shamrocks getting the tip. At the beginning of the game, the Tigers were being very aggressive and committing quite a few more fouls than the Shamrocks. After getting through the rough beginning, there was a point in the game when New Haven was struggling to make a pass to the basket.The struggle began when the Tigers had possession, and Soete intercepted a pass and dribbled his way down the court. He went for the layup, only to get fouled for two free throws.
After halftime, freshman Aiden Bailey was passed the ball after it being thrown around the court with overhead passes. The Tigers came barreling down the court from their offensive end to try and stop Aiden from getting a shot from the post. Aiden had four of St. James’ players all guarding him at once. He faked a shot, and they all jumped to block it, so he shot the ball as they came down and scored two more points for the Shamrocks.
Junior varsity head coach Johnny Veland was looking for “a ‘W’, aka a win” at this game, but the Shamrocks were unable to beat the St. James Tigers, who won with an ending score of 46-29.
The varsity game--a close one--definitely kept the crowd on the edge of their seats through all four quarters. The starters were Jared Horstman, Brandon Carey, Kyle Ruediger, Dylan Goodwin, and Camron Pritchett. This game was very intense because Kyle Ruediger was going for his 1,000th point. Kyle Ruediger said before the game, “I hope we can play the game like we’ve practiced and come out with a win.”
At the end of the first quarter, the game was tied at 8 - 8 with two minutes and thirty seconds left. The Shamrocks had kept up with the Tigers’ missed shots and got the rebounds. The Shamrocks also missed shots but were able to make it up because the varsity Tigers were just as aggressive at the junior varsity Tigers, fouling the Shamrocks on numerous occasions. For both games, the foul count was high.
The boys from New Haven were having a rough time on the court while playing offense. The Tigers were making sure they had a hand on whoever they were guarding. Kyle was getting knocked around constantly the first half of the game. At the end of the second quarter, the Shamrocks were losing, 24-21
During the third quarter, the Shamrocks got possession of the ball and had to throw it in bounds. Dylan was looking for someone to pass it to while the boys were working hard to get open. Finally, Kyle got open and received a lob pass to shoot a basket. Kyle was fouled and got to shoot two free throws, making one for two.
The fourth quarter was a battle for the ball. The ball was constantly being passed from a red jersey to a white jersey. At one point, Cameron got passed the ball. The ball was intercepted, but Cameron was able to get it back and go for a shot at the basket. On that shot he was fouled, making one for two, tying the game at 38 - 38.
Kyle was the last scorer of the night. He was passed the ball on an out of bounds play and scored, making the score 40 - 40. On that shot, he was fouled. It was also the end of the quarter, so Kyle was alone at the free throw line to sink the first of his free throws, scoring his 1,000th point. The score was now 42 - 40, with the Shamrocks leading. During the last two minutes of the game, the ball was thrown around like a hot potato. One of the Tigers took a shot at the basket and made it, but still got fouled on the shot. He then hit a free throw to score the winning point of the game. The varsity Shamrocks lost in a close game, 43- 42.
The Shamrocks played a close game against the Tigers; even though the Shamrocks didn’t win the games, the games were both a battle for the ball. The next time the Shamrocks play the Tigers, it should be another exciting game.
-by Abby Perdue
RSS Feed