Nice way to enter the Christmas break

I guess this is turning into a weekly update. Hopefully after the new year I can past more often. Don't hold your breath, though.

Monday the elementary and junior high teams played at Cornerstone Christian in South Chicago Heights. We have played them regularly in soccer, but have declined their invitations to play basketball because we had heard that the played at a very high level. This year, however, they asked again and told us that they were rebuilding this year. Rebuilding, they said.

The elementary team took the floor with someone connected to the school reffing because the refs hadn't shown up fifteen minutes past the start time. We really couldn't anything going offensively, as has been the case in most of our games, the opponents were much bigger than us. At the end of the first quarter Cornerstone was ahead 9-2, with Joel getting our only points. We slowed them a little in the second, giving up only four, but we missed all seven of our shots. Finally in the third, Brian started driving and getting to the basket. He made three of his five shots and both free throws to account for all eight points for HSRC in the quarter. Cornerstone was limited to five so the Patriots were only down eight heading into the fourth. Brian and Joel each scored in the fourth, but that was all the points they could manage. Meanwhile, Cornerstone scored five to give them the 23-14 victory. Brian scored ten for the highest point total for the younger guys this year.

The junior high was worse. Much worse. We turned the ball over most of the times we had possession in the first quarter and ended up trailing 19-0 after one quarter. We only got off three field goal attempts (to Cornerstone's eighteen) and two free throws and missed all of them. Cornerstone subbed liberally in the second Mark broke the scoring drought with a basket to open the quarter and the Patriots were able to outscore Cornerstone's bench 8-6 in the second. A couple of starters were put back in to start the third. Not many shots were taken by either squad but Cornerstone shot 57% in outscoring our guys 9-4 to end any hope we had of getting back into it. The fourth saw both teams shoot poorly with only six points scored, four by Cornerstone and the game ended 38-14. Henry led in scoring with five.

The next night, Tuesday, we went out to New Lenox to play the Community Christian Panthers. Last year the junior high struggled against CCS but the varsity dominated. This year was a repeat. The junior high Panthers pressed as the did last year and as we did last year, we couldn't hold onto the ball. Both teams shot around 40% in the first, but CCS got off twelve shots to our five. The major concern was that Henry got into foul trouble and had to sit until the second half. In the second, Community's shooting cooled off but so did ours. Caleb made our only basket while CCS was scoring eight to give them a 20-7 halftime lead. Our offense got even worse against the man-to-man defense in the third - we only managed a free throw by Henry. However, our defense was a little better, as the Panthers were held to four. Our outside shooting finally heated up in the fourth, with both Matt and Caleb hitting two baskets. Matt's two foul shots round out our scoring. Even with the relative outburst, we still were outscored in the quarter, 12-10. Final score: Community Christian 36, HSRC 18.

As has happened in a couple of earlier games, the varsity took a little bit to get their defense working properly. An obviously outmanned CCS team scored the first two basket, but then the Patriots began imposing their will. Nate was fouled and hit both shots, then scored again, this time from the field. Steal after steal led to basket after basket. Or free throws. The quarter ended with the Patriots having scored fourteen straight. They picked up where the left off in the second. By the time the Panthers final scored, the Patriots had scored twenty-four in a row. The half ended with a basket from Josh to give HSRC a 30-10 halftime lead. Coach substituted early in the second half and Community put the pressure on to take advantage. The lead did get as high as twenty-six at 43-17, but the pressure paid off with Community finishing the quarter on a 13-4 run. Kyle and Josh made sure that CCS wasn't going to come back, scoring seven between them to CCS's two. CCS, even with the press, couldn't make too much headway. The teams ended up even in scoring for the quarter, sixteen apiece, to make the final 63-46, HSRC. Kyle had a big game, scoring 22, pulling down nine boards, dishing four assists and grabbing six steals.

The two younger teams played right away again the next night. The opponent was Calvin Christian of South Holland. The elementary guys started off with a bang, ending the quarter with a 8-0 lead. Calvin played pretty tentatively in the first, but came out much stronger on defense in the second, and we began turning the ball over. Calvin had nineteen attempts to our seven. Thankfully they only made two. We solved the pressure a little bit as far as ball-handling, but not with our shooting. Again we missed all of our shots. Meanwhile Calvin made four plus a free throw and surged into the lead 13-8. Brian and Joel broke through in the fourth, but with only one bucket each even though they got off a lot of shots. Calvin scored five and the final was 18-12. Brian, Nate and Joel each had four points in the game.

The junior high game was the toughest of the week, and not just because we were missing Will. We were smaller, slower and less aggressive than Calvin the whole game. Turnovers and bad shooting hurt us yet again. Calvin led 11-2 after one and didn't slow down. It was 24-4 at the half. Henry started going to the foul line which helped us score six in the third quarter, but Calvin didn't slow down scoring eleven again. Henry scored the only points in the fourth, two from the the free throw line. The final was 39-12, our worst loss of the year. Henry finished with six.

Yesterday the varsity team played in the inaugural Channahon Shootout. This was originally going to be a bigger tournament, but teams kept dropping out, leaving only three - us, Families of Faith Christian Academy, and Glory to God. FOFCA beat GTG in the first game. For some strange reason, a GTG player left after that game. The hosts requested that we play them with a couple of FOFCA bench players playing so they didn't have to forfeit. We found out later that yet another player from GTG refused to play so the team was three of their own players and three FOFCA bench /junior high players. Coach Boss played his four bench players and rotated the starters in the other position, but it was no contest. Even with our guys playing a pretty passive zone, GTG could not get shots to fall. Our bench guys scored pretty consistently, building the lead from 13-0 at the end of one to 23-2 at halftime, 35-2 at the end of three and ending at 45-4. Josh scored ten in a little more than a quarter, while Caleb had nine, and Peter, Jonathan and Stan had eight each.

The last game was the championship game against Families of Faith. Coach was a little concerned because the Eagles played pretty well against the press the last time we played them and our kept our offense pretty stagnant. Well, the offense was clicking pretty good from the outset. FOFCA began fouling early, unable to stop the Patriots otherwise. Kyle had nine in the quarter, five from the charity stripe, of the 21 the Patriots scored. On the other end of the court, the defense was just fine, holding the Eagle to eight. The defense stayed consistant in the second, while the our shooting went cold. It did stay hot enough to complete another big run straddling the first and second quarters, this time sixteen in a row. We ended up only hitting five of seventeen shots in the quarter. However, our eleven points were four more than FOFCA scored and the lead was seventeen at the half. The offense got back on track in the third. Going to the free throw line for seven attempts helped, but the shooting was solid too - eight for sixteen. The defense was still good, holding the Eagles to ten. The fourth was the craziest quarter of the year. FOFCA started playing frantically, full-court pressing and turning up the tempo. But they biggest thing they did was hit threes, especially Cody Blan. He hit a twenty-three footer to set the tone. By the time he was done, he had hit five in the quarter, including one that had to be close to thirty feet, and another he threw up with one hand while moving laterally. Josiah Blan and Stephen Bestler also each had one in the onslaught. Of course, with a thirty-one point deficit to make up, it was a lost cause, but they did end up outscoring us 25-9 in the quarter to make the final a respectable 65-50. Seth ended up with seventeen points with Kyle adding sixteen. Josh led with eleven rebounds. Lucas contributed six steals.

We go into the Christmas break with a 13-0 record and our first tournament championship. Overall, the second part of the season will be much tougher. We still have five conference games plus several non-conference games plus the Calumet tournament and the conference tournament. And hopefully some post season play :-).

Battles

Ugly but effective.The first two games played by the varsity this week were tough slogs against some good defensive teams, albeit quite different in their styles. The last two were ugly in different ways. But all four were wins. At the junior high and elementary levels it was a tough week, with each team losing both of their contests.

Monday Luther East was our guests at Hidden Cove. The Eagles (yes, the Eagles again. Not a lot of variety in team mascots in the conference) came in without a win but had played a couple of conference teams tough. They always had a couple of talented players but not much depth, and that seems to be the case again this year. Coach Boss started out with the press, but LE's ball handler was too quick and talented, and he quickly abandoned it for the 2-3. The Patriots had a little trouble early with LE inside, even with the 2-3. After Lucas scored on a drive and Kyle hit a three, the Eagles got free inside for a pair of baskets. Kyle hit another three, but LE immediately matched it and then scored again to take the lead, 9-8, which they held at the end of the quarter. Lucas put the Patriots back into the lead when he hit a three to open the second. The teams exchanged baskets for a while, then Kyle and Seth wrapped threes around an Eagle basket to give HSRC a 19-15 lead at the half. The Patriots really had their 2-3 defense working in the third quarter. LE was held to a basket and a free throw, while HSRC started getting some inside baskets. When Kyle hit a basket to end the scoring for the quarter, the Patriots led 29-18. Nate scored to open the quarter, and the lead was never less than nine after that. Nate ended the scoring with a two, making the final 37-26. The Patriots only shot 32% from the field in the game. Kyle led with 13 points, Lucas had eight rebounds and Seth had seven assists.

All three teams played the next night in Valparaiso. We weren't sure if the first game would come off when half the team and the coach didn't show up until a few minutes past the scheduled game start time. Even though they did show up, the youngest Patriots were still short-handed with three of their players not there. We had a lot of trouble with their aggressive defense and shill hadn't scored at halftime, while VCA had 11. Joel finally got one to go in to open the second half scoring, but that was an aberration, as the Lions scored the next eight points. Joel and Brian each scored in the fourth but it wasn't nearly enough as the elementary team lost 21-6.

The junior high team was up next. Victory was the only team we beat last year, but they are vastly improved. Victory took the lead early and built it up steadily throughout the first half. Henry was able to score in the first, but that was our only score. Caleb and Matt hit shots in the second, but VCA added eight to the five they got in the first and the lead was 13-6 at halftime. It was more of the same in the third. We got one basket (Will); they scored six. We got a lot of shots off in the fourth (13) but only made one. VCA kept up their efficient play, scoring six again to give them the 25-10 win. Henry had four points in the loss.

Victory got the first basket in the varsity game, but the 2-0 lead didn't last long. Nate and Josh scored before Victory hit two free throws, the first of many for them. HSRC went on a 9-0 run at that point, capped by a three from Seth. VCA scored their first three which Nate followed by a free throw, then a basket a bit later. The Patriots opened the second with a 14-5 run, with every starter but Kyle contributing. VCA hit three free throws to stop the momentum a bit, but Kyle then joined the fun, scoring the last four of the half to give HSRC its largest lead of the game at 34-15. All this in spite the eight fouls called against the Patriots compared to the three charged to VCA. The third quarter was a slog. The foul imbalance continued, this time with our guys being called for offensive fouls. The defense was stout so neither team could get much going. The lead was still nineteen at the end of the third. The Patriot defense relaxed a bit in the fourth, but the lead never got smaller that twelve. At that point the Lions began fouling in attempt to get back into the game. While the Patriots didn't shoot well from the line, the scored enough from the field to keep it even for the quarter. HSRC scored the last seven and the victory margin was nineteen, 55-36. Kyle led with sixteen points. Nate added twelve rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Kyle also had four steals.

The elementary and junior high team had games on Thursday against Glenwood. The young guys, again playing with makeshift roster, nevertheless at one point had a 10-2 lead. This was early in the third. Glenwood had scored first for the only scoring in the first quarter, but David got hot in the second, scoring eight of the Patriots's ten in the quarter, hitting uncontested fifteen-footer after uncontested fifteen-footer. Joel also scored. The Wildcats made adjustments at half and guarded David closely in the second half. Meanwhile their #0 began making shots. Glenwood pulled to within one after three, and then hit the only two buckets in the fourth. We missed all nine of our shots, including several desparate threes at the end of the quarter. Final score: 13-10. As mentioned, David had eight of the ten points.

Glenwood's junior high team was big, fast and athletic. Despite the visual differences between the two teams, we kept it close through one quarter. The Wildcats jumped out to a 9-0 lead, but just when it looked like it might get really ugly, Caleb hit a baseline jumper, then Matt on the next possession hit a three, so the quarter ended with the Patriots down only 9-5. The second quarter, however, saw a lot of turnovers and shots emphatically blocked. Their star, #10, kept up the scoring. He got seven of their eleven in the quarter. We only scored one basket, by Henry, so the lead was 20-7, Glenwood at the half. #10 didn't play in the third and we were able to hold them scoreless in the third. Our shooting didn't improve and we were only able to score two, a basket by Caleb. #10 was back in the game to open the fourth and he scored four early to end any hope we had of coming back. Each team scored once more, but that was it and Glenwood won 26-11. Caleb was leading scorer with six. He also had ten rebounds and four steals.

I was not able to be at the varsity games on Saturday. I can report that the varsity team remains undefeated. When these games were scheduled last fall, the opponents were supposed to be First Baptist of Mishawaka and Granger Christian. After FBM wasn't able to reopen this fall, FOFCA did their best to find an opponent to replace them. A new team, Glory to God out of Morris, IL agreed to be the replacement team. After some uncertainty on whether the games would come off, they finally did. GTG was to be our first opponent. We would be playing with seven, while they only had five. We were short because Stan was ill and Caleb had a family obligation. Also, Seth was not feeling well and had some nagging injuries. That evened things up a bit with GTG, but we still had too much firepower. With the starters in but playing a pretty passive 2-3, the Patriots went up 18-7 after one quarter. Jonathan and Peter then came in and played the rest of the way. GTG managed only one three in the second. HSRC scored thirteen to make it a 31-10 game at half. The lead grew in third but not as fast, as GTG hit a couple of threes while the Patriots were scoring eleven. From there the Patriots coasted to victory, 52-24.

Granger, the actual eastern division team was up next. They had some underclassman talent last year, and had gotten a couple of players from First Baptist. Coach Boss reported that they had a lot of talent, but not much cohesiveness nor composure. We did jump out to a first quarter 13-6 lead, but also got into some foul trouble. Lucas had to sit in the second due to three fouls, and Granger took advantage. Three threes plus three free throws and a two-pointer were made by Granger, while our guys had trouble getting shots off. Granger actually took a one-point lead at the half. The third quarter was very sloppy for both teams. We shot 30% in the quarter; thankfully Granger shot 8.3%. Granger did get more shots off but made only one, while HSRC made three. Granger added a free throw to complete their scoring for the quarter which ended up with HSRC leading, 25-23. The fourth quarter was chaotic. After the Patriots stretched the lead a bit, Granger tried to press, which our guys broke pretty easily. Then they resorted to fouling. When it was over, HSRC had shot twelve free throws, making nine. They also shot 73% from the field. All this added up to 25 points. Granger, while a little more productive, only managed eleven and the game turned into a blowout, with the Patriots on top 50-34. Seth was the leading scoring, netting 18 and Kyle added 15. I don't have the other stats yet.

One more semi-busy week before Christmas: Tuesday against Community Christian at New Life Church in New Lenox on Tuesday, and the Channahon Shoot-Out on Saturday.

Another packed week

Packed but successful. The varsity's record remained unblemished while the junior highers picked up their second win of the season.

The week's activity opened with junior high and varsity games against Families of Faith Academy at one of our many home gyms. It's sad that schools are stuck with the same gym game after home game, while we have home gyms scattered all over the south and southwest suburbs of Chicago. Sigh. Anyway, if it was December 3, then the home gym of the day was Hidden Cove in Bourbonnais. Our junior high guys were coming off of a couple of tough losses the week before which dropped their record to 1-3. Matt started us off strong with a three early in the first quarter. The Eagles hit a two-pointer to cut the lead to one. Henry got fouled on a drive just a bit later and hit one of two free throw. The quarter then turned into a miss-fest. We shot a lot, got a lot of offensive rebounds but couldn't get one to go through. The defense was pretty stout and kept FOFCA off the board as well. The second quarter was the Eagles'. They opened the scoring by splitting two free throw, then followed a Henry bucket with six straight points to end the half with a three-point lead, 9-6. FOFCA continued their momentum with a basket to start the scoring in the second half, but the pressure Henry was putting on the ball handler was starting to pay dividends. Matt and Henry each hit one of two free throw to cut lead back to three again. FOFCA scored once more but that would be it for them in the quarter. Matt hit another three and Henry hit another basket to tie the game in the quarter. The pressure defense really paid off in the fourth, as the Patriots outscored the Eagle 9-2 for a stretch in the quarter. The Patriots had five steals in the quarter to go with nine rebounds in the strong defensive effort. FOFCA hit a couple free throws late, but HSRC did a good job running the clock and finished with a solid 22-17 victory. Henry led in scoring with eleven, Matt adding seven and Caleb four. Caleb again dominated with twelve rebounds to which he added four steals. Henry and Mark each had three steals.

The varsity then took the floor. HSRC defeated FOFCA all four times they played last year, but the game were pretty competitive. In fact, the last time these two teams played, in the SSCC tournament, HSRC only led by two going into the fourth quarter before coming away with a ten-point victory. Seth opened things up with a quick basket, but their big man was fouled and hit two free throws. HSRC gave up some baskets because the half-court defense wasn't clicking, but the full-court press was and generated fast-break baskets. At 6-6, Kyle scored, then hit two free throws. FOFCA's point guard drilled a three before Seth closed out the quarter scoring with another layup. The defensive pressure continued into the second. Seth hit a basket, then after a stop was fouled and hit one of two. Kyle and Lucas followed that with scores to make it an eight-point game. The Eagles' talented freshman starter then scored inside and was fouled. He hit the free throw, but Kyle and Seth completed the first-half scoring with buckets to give HSRC its biggest lead, 23-14. FOFCA knocked down a three to open the scoring, but then Josh got going. He hit three straight baskets and when Seth hit a layup, the lead was fourteen. FOFCA scored inside to stop the streak, but HSRC scored nine of the last twelve points in the quarter to go up 40-22 heading into the last quarter. Lucas hit a basket and Kyle followed a free throw with a field goal to open the fourth and the game was pretty much over. Coach Boss began emptying his bench and FOFCA played a strong press, but all that did was bring the deficit down to eleven by the end of the game, 51-40. Seth had a big game with 22 on nine of thirteen shooting. Kyle had eleven and seven steals. Josh got another double-double with ten points and eleven rebounds, to which he added four blocks. Nate pulled down nine boards to go with his three blocks.

The next night it was Southside Baptist in their cozy gym. The Patriots beat the Torchmen twice last year, the second time by 24. HSRC's press in a gym that small is almost unfair. It took a bit for the guys to get going with it, however. Southside scored the first four points and then after Kyle scored twice, scored the next three. But like last game, when the defensive pressure starts working, a lot of easy baskets are generated. Seth again was ferocious at point, repeated stealing the ball and either scoring or hitting a teammate for an easy basket. His three was what started it, but when Josh hit the last basket of the quarter, the Patriots had a 15-1 run to go up eleven heading into the second. Substitutions and a reining in of the pressure kept the score pretty even in the second. Josh scored again to open the fourth, but after Stan answered a Southside basket with one of his own, Southside's offense started clicking a little, and they outscored the Patriots 7-3 down the stretch to cut the lead to 26-17 at the half. The pressure was reinstated to start the second half, and it was even more effective that it was in the first quarter. The Patriots scored the first fourteen points of the half. Southside hit a three for their only points in the quarter. HSRC finished with six more points to finish the 20-3 quarter and to give them a 46-20 lead going into the fourth. All the bench players played in the fourth, and they had trouble getting room to score in that little gym. Southside was more successful, but the 9-0 scoring advantage for the hosts was too little, too late and the Patriot were 5-0 after the 46-29 win. Seth was the double-double man of this game with sixteen points and ten steals. Josh's double-double streak ended as he scored eight and had six rebounds in limited playing time. Nate and Kyle also had six rebounds, while Kyle and Seth shared assist honors with four each.

Last night the Patriots went down to Kankakee to play the host Grace Crusaders. We defeated Grace three times last year, the first two pretty easily but the last one was a battle. That game was an eight-point win at the KTA tournament, where Grace did a good job neutralizing our inside game. Well, our inside game wasn't Grace's problem on Friday. Their problem was the same one faced by Southside and most of the teams HSRC has played this year - how to deal with that trapping defense. They certainly didn't figure it out in the first quarter. Seth opened the game with a three. Grace answered with a field goal but that was it for them in the quarter. Meanwhile the Patriots were racking up ten steals in the quarter which resulted in a lot of fast break points. Actually, when Grace could play half court defense, they weren't bad, but that didn't happen much in the first quarter. The scoring was balanced as the steals were coming deeper down the court, not as much from Seth's pressuring of the ball handler as it had been in the last couple of games. Josh had five, Nate and Kyle four and Seth that lone three to account for the Patriots' points in the 16-2 quarter. Grace settled down a bit in the second, while HSRC didn't play as much of that nasty defense. The result was an even quarter, both team scoring ten and each team taking turns scoring. Grace opened the scoring and then the lead went from fourteen to twelve to fourteen to twelve, etc., the rest of the quarter. Lucas, coming off the bench was the leading scorer with six on three from the field, the last of which went through as time expired. The third quarter looked like the first. Pressure defense, fast breaks, little scoring from Grace. When the dust had settled, HSRC had outscored the Crusaders 15-4 in the quarter and had scored the last seven points. The resulting twenty-five point lead meant the game was essentially over, and Coach Boss cleared the bench for the fourth. Caleb scored on a nice put-back in the quarter, and Peter scored for the first time this season, dropping through a three. Nate had the only other bucket for the Patriots, while Grace scored ten to trim the final margin to twenty-two, 48-26. Scoring was balanced, as Kyle led with 12, Josh nine, Nate and Lucas with eight and Seth with six. The team had twenty-three steals for the third game in a row; Kyle was the leader in that category with seven. Josh also had eleven rebounds.

If you thought this week was busy, just wait until next week. Luther East at Hidden Cove on Monday, then all three teams play at Victory on Tuesday. Thursday the elementary and junior high will play at Glenwood School, then the varsity close the week with two games on Saturday, Glory to God and Granger Christian. Keep checking the calendar and your emails for details and changes.

Recap of the week

It was a busy week this past week, the first full of week of play for the season. Between the three teams seven games were played, two by the varsity, three by the junior high team and two by the elementary team.

On Tuesday, the Patriots hosted the Patriots. No, it was not an intrasquad game. We played the Calumet Christian Patriots from Griffith, IN. Why are we the Patriots when a team we play regularly already has that nickname, you might ask. Well, let me tell you. Our original team was a girls team that started in 2006-2007. We didn't have uniforms and didn't have any money. Calumet was gracious enough to let us use some old volleyball uniforms for very little money. Of course their name was on them, Patriots, so we became the Patriots by default.

Calumet has been our rival over the last few years. One of the reasons for that is because there was a lot of young people that played volleyball for CCS and basketball for us, when Calumet didn't have a basketball team. We know a lot of people associated with the school. The first year we had a varsity boys' team, we played CCS's JV and lost. The next year we played Calumet three times and lost by a total of 95. Last year we gave Calumet their only conference loss of the year, but did lose to them the other two times we played, both by double digits. We have been up and down against their junior high team, beating them easily twice two years ago and losing by sizable margins last year. This year looks like the pendulum has swung back.

The shooting eye was sharp early as Henry, Matt, and Caleb each scoring on their first attempt of the match. Calumet played a very tight zone and out guys were hitting the mid-range jumpers. On the defensive side our zone was more active kept CCS off the board until late in the quarter. Caleb and David continued their barrage from the outside in the second quarter, hitting on six of nine between them in the period. Henry added a basket while the defense kept Calumet under control, only giving up a three. HSRC continued to build on the 20-5 half-time lead in the third. They slowed the pace and didn't shoot as much, but they still hit three buckets while shutting out Calumet in the quarter. By the middle of the fourth quarter two members of the elementary team, John, David and Will were on the floor. The lead got as high as 33 points before Calumet scored two baskets late for the 38-9 final. David had a career night with sixteen points on eight of sixteen shooting, while Caleb had ten points and eleven rebounds.

The high school squad started out pretty well, even though one starter wasn't out there because of a missed practice. The game was close but HSRC held the lead through most of the first quarter, ending the quarter with a 13-11 lead. Kyle had two early buckets for four points in the quarter. The second quarter was owned by CCS. They were a very explosive offensive team last year, and showed they can do the same this year, Their star, Darric Obinger, really got going in the quarter, scoring from three, two and the free throw line. He ended up with twelve of their nineteen in the second. Other than Josh inside, HSRC had trouble finding the basket and could only manage ten and so fell behind 30-23 by halftime. The offense finally showed life in the third, with Josh dominating inside and Lucas providing the driving and outside scoring. Josh hit all five of his shots for ten and Lucas contributed six in the 21-point quarter. CCS's lead shrunk gradually throughout the quarter and HSRC finally caught them with the last score of the quarter to go ahead 44-43. The defensive intensity seemed to build throughout the game and peaked in the fourth. The offense was good but was mostly generated by the defense. If the ball wasn't going inside to Josh, Calumet was fouling to stop fast breaks off steals. Josh again scored ten of the HSRCs twenty-three while the defense closed the door, allowing only seven shots and four points to give the home Patriots a 67-47 victory. HSRC outscored Calumet 44-17 in the second half. Josh led in scoring, breaking the varsity all-time record with 29 points (breaking Seth's record of 28 set in the first game of the 2011-2012 season) and added fifteen rebounds. Lucas had thirteen, Nate ten and Kyle added nine steals to his nine points.

On Thursday, all three Patriots teams went down to Kankakee to play Trinity. The Patriots had never defeated KTA except for a 42-26 win by our varsity team against their JV team a couple of years ago. Against their varsity we were 0-3. The elementary team took the floor first. David had to play down because of vacations and other conflicts, and even with him, the team only had five players. David continued with his hot shooting from Tuesday, hitting his first shot to open the scoring. On the defensive end, the guys did a good job keeping the ball out of the hands of their 6'2"(?) center. However anothe player did get a basket to tie it up. David again opened the scoring in the second. KTA scored from the line, then got another bucket before Joel scored. Their big center finally scored just before half to take a 7-6 lead. KTA only got one basket in the third. David got two to go down and Joel added another field goal and HSRC led by three going into the last quarter. KTA's #14, who the boys had held scoreless, finally found the range and scored six of their ten in the quarter. Our only score came from Joel and the elementary Patriots had their first loss of the year.

Junior high was similar to the elementary game. They were huge; we did a good job of neutralizing their size. Just not quite good enough. Each team was a little tentative in the opening quarter and it ended 4-4. Their defense continued to be strong, and the narrow gym didn't help our baseline shooting. KTA shot four of seven in the quarter while the lone point scored by HSRC was from Will at the line. Our defense was better in the third, but we continued to struggle against their size on the offense end. Matt and Henry scored to match the KTA third-quarter output. We made little run in the fourth. Caleb and Matt scored early, but KTA started hitting shots, especially from their big guys. The lead got as big as eight. Will scored late but that was it, and our one-game winning streak was over. 24-18, KTA.

KTA had lost their big man from last year who went to public school and others to graduation, but they still had their star guard, Chris Green and their excellent forward, Nick Campe. The suffocating defense held both of them in check. Between the two of them, they shot two of thirteen in the first quarter. HSRC's offense was somewhat better. Josh and Lucas continued their strong play from the Calumet game, and they scored all of the Patriots' ten in the first. The Patriots scored six in a row after the teams each scored two open the second and the lead was eight. It was still eight at 21-13 when KTA hit a three. Josh scored but the Eagles hit two free throws to close the half. After Josh opened the second half with a basket, Nate hit a three, his first of the year. Green hit a three to match it and after another KTA score, the lead was five again. The Patriots worked it into Josh for six straight points after the Eagles got to within three and that's how the quarter ended. As in the Calumet game, the fourth was the strongest for HSRC. KTA opened the scoring, but HSRC answered with six from Josh, Stan and Nate. KTA never got closer than eleven after that, and when Seth and Josh closed the scoring, the Patriots had the 54-35 victory. Per our records, HSRC held Green to nine points on 4-21 shooting and Campe to four on 2-15 shooting. Josh contined his excellent play, finishing with 26 points, 13 rebounds and 5 steals. Nate scored seven while pulling down nine rebounds and Seth added five assists.

A rematch with Portage's elementary and junior followed the next night. The elementary was still missing Connor and Gavin, and they missed them this evening. They did lead after one, 2-0. on a basket by Joel, but that was their only lead of the game. PCS has one player that is very skilled and he started hitting shots in the second. He hit two baskets and we were shut out. In the third we still couldn't find the basket. Their star got the only basket in the quarter and it was 6-2 after three. We continued to struggle on offense, while Portage hit a three by a girl on their team that had missed her first eight shots, many badly. Later a PCS basket made it an 11-2 game. Finally Nate and Brian scored but it was too little, too late in the 11-6 loss.

Portage's defense in the junior high game was dialed up in intensity from our first game with them. Their offense was also more fluid and active. and we had difficulty keeping them from penetrating our zone. Throw in a PCS three and the Pacer lead was 10-2 after one quarter. We had difficulty holding on to the ball in the second quarter. When we did get shots off, half went in, but we only got four off. We held Portage to seven, but we still had a eleven-point deficit to make up. The two points we scored in the third was not quite what we needed. We held PCS to four in the quarter, but they started the fourth very strong outscoring us 7-3 to go out to a 28-11 lead. Finally we caught fire. Drives by Henry, outside shots from Caleb and put-backs by Mark contributed to a 12-2 run and we were back in it. Alas, but Portage broke our pressure defense, scoring the last four for the 34-23 final score. Our shooting was solid and we outshot the hosts 46% to 33%, but we couldn't hold onto the ball in the face of their aggressive man-to-man defense. We turned it over 23 times but could only force six steals. Henry had nine points, with Caleb and Mark adding six Caleb also had eight rebounds and three steals in the game.

FOFCA is the opponent for the junior high and varsity team on Monday at 5:30 and 6:30. These are our home games and will take place at Hidden Cove in Bourbonnais. See you there.

Opening night

The transition from soccer to basketball is now complete. All three teams opened up the season last night at Portage Christian, and while only two of the three were victorious, all three teams were successful.

Our brand new elementary team opened up the night. Coach Feddes had worked hard with the boys to get ready for the season, but since organized basketball was a new thing for them, we didn't know what to expect. After a few minutes it was obvious that the boys had learned something. Since the boys were using a regular ball and shooting a ten-foot basket, the scoring wasn't frequent, but it did look like basketball out there. Portage opened the scoring, but Nate and Joel scored to put the Patriots ahead at the end of one. HSRC shut down the Pacers in the second quarter while Brian and Nate each made a basket to give the guys an 8-2 lead at halftime. Portage got the ball more often to their #2 in the third quarter as he as their best ball handler. He scored along with #22 while the Patriots couldn't find the basket in the quarter and the lead was down to two entering the fourth. The Pacers again scored four in the quarter, while the Patriots could only manage a basket from Brian, so the teams headed to overtime. Joel scored pretty early in the quarter and the boy shut out the Pacers in the extra period, so the first game and first victory for elementary team was in the books. Joel, Brian and Nate each had four points. Connor was a monster on the boards, pulling down eight. Brian had four rebounds and four steals.

Junior high struggled mightily with PCS last year. (Well, they struggled in general last year.)  Portage had three large players, much heftier than anyone on our team and near, at, or over six foot tall. They worked the ball into one of those players near the basket and there wasn't much we could do about it. All those player moved on to high school. Thankfully. It didn't take long to see that this year's games would be a lot more competitive. The Patriots really worked the 2-3 defense well and didn't give Portage much inside, allowing PCS only eight shots. On offense, Henry handled the ball well and Will showed how much he has improved since practice began. We got some good shots but they weren't falling. Henry and David scored early, and Will finally got one to go down late to tie it up at six. PCS subbed a lot in the second quarter and the new players were gunners, much more willing to shoot from the outside. They weren't very successful and the interior defense remained strong. Our problems increased on the offensive end because Portage went to man-to-mad defense, which we had not practiced against. We had a lot of turnover, but the shooting percentage increased a little. Matt and Will scored baskets in the quarter, equaling the output of Portage and the score was tied at 10 at half.

Portage started getting the range in the third quarter. Their #1 started hitting from the outside while we still struggled against the man-to-man defense. #1 scored all nine of their points in the quarter. The Patriots scored four on baskets by Mark and David but that was it for our guys and we trailed by five going into the last quarter. David hit another shot to open the scoring. #1 scored later to push the lead to 21-16. Henry was fouled in the act of shooting and split the two free throws. He got a basket a little bit later to make it 21-19.  There was less than a minute to go and Portage had the ball and it didn't look good, but they had trouble getting players out on the floor and were called for delay of game. Since they had already been warned, it meant a technical foul and we would get to free throws. Henry went up there and made the first, but he couldn't get the second to go. We then got the ball out of bounds but couldn't get a shot to go. PCS rebounded and we couldn't get the ball back before time ran out, so we went down to defeat, 21-20. Both Henry and David scored six. Will added four and Matt and Mark each got a basket. Caleb had eight rebounds and Will had seven. Caleb also had five steals while Henry and Will had three each.

The varsity team had played Portage Chrsitian in a summer tournament and it wasn't pretty. After one quarter HSRC led 27-2 on their way to a 40-6 win (games were only two eight minute periods). Tonight PCS had several players that weren't at the tournament and they were better competition. Seth opened the 2012-13 season scoring with a three which PCS matched quickly. HSRC then scored seven straight, culminating with a three by Kyle. PCS got their second three to cut the lead to four, but Lucas matched it, then scored on a two-pointer. Seth got another basket before the end of the quarter to make it 18-6 after one. HSRC really struggled on offense in the second quarter, although Nate scored early from the field, then split two free throws to stretch the lead to 21-6. PCS drilled two three-pointers to get back to a single-digit deficit. Kyle scored, then Josh split two pairs of free-throws to push the lead to thirteen at half, 25-12.

Josh continued his strong play inside to open the second half, hitting a field goal. Seth then scored to give HSRC its biggest lead of the game, 29-12. After a PCS basket, Seth and Josh scored again. The game became a little more physical, and the next six points were scored from the line, four by the Patriots. Portage hit another three, their fifth of the game. Josh, working hard, again was fouled and made both free-throws to push the lead to twenty at the end of three. Portage hit only their second two-point basket to open the fourth, but Josh hit a basket, Nate two free throws, then Kyle and Josh each split a pair of free-throws  to complete the six-point run. Portage hit their third and last two-pointer of the night. Josh scored, then Portage hit two free throws. Caleb split two free throws, then a bit later scored on a nice drive after a head fake to give the Patriots their largest lead of the game at 52-26. Portage hit a late three, their sixth, but it was far too little and the game ended 52-29, HSRC. I counted at least five missed layups, and other offensive miscues kept the Patriots' scoring down. If they can get those problems straightened out, with that defense, the Patriots will be hard to stop. Josh led the team with fifteen, eight from the foul line. Kyle and Lucas had ten each and Seth had nine. The Slager brothers' rebounding dominance continued, Josh getting eleven and Kyle ten. Kyle had seven steals as well. Seth dished out four assists and Nate had two blocks.

Our first home game is Tuesday, November 27 versus Calumet, the conference regular season and tournament champs last year. The games, junior high and varsity, will take place at 5:30 and 6:30 at The Oaks, a Mokena Park District facility at 10849 La Porte Ave. We hope to see all of you there, wearing your Patriot spirit wear.

Closing out a successful season

A celebratory mood was evident last night at the season-closing soccer banquet at Family of Faith Church. After a 9-3 season, the players, coaches and parents had reason to celebrate. But as Coach Goudzwaard pointed out, winning is great, but honoring God as a team was the best success.

First, a short recap of the final three games. After the loss at Glenwood which broke the seven-game winning streak, the Patriots took the field against Southside Baptist. I was not able to attend, but the report was that even though Southside had five ninth-graders on the team, HSRC played them at least evenly, if not outplayed them. However, the offense had some difficulty finishing, and a couple of shots from Southside seemed to have eyes and found the net, and the Patriots suffered their third loss of the season, 2-0.

The following Monday Glenwood came out to our field, and this time the result was different. At about the fourteen minute mark, Noel through the ball in about thirty yards up the sideline from the Glenwood goal. Henry fought hard to get position and got the ball out to Sam in the middle and he found the net. Glenwood answered immediately, pushing the ball down the field after the kick-off, got a shot off that Mark knocked out, but controlled the rebound and buried then next shot to tie it up. The game went up and down the field from there, but neither team could finish until at about the twenty-six minute mark, HSRC had a free kick from just inside the midfield line. Noel crushed a arcing kick, which the goalie misjudged slightly and the ball went off his fingers and into the net. Certainly the longest goal of the year and it gave the Patriots the lead going into the half. Glenwood came out on fire to start the second and within three minutes had taken the lead. The defense was caught out of position on the first one but the second one was a nice shot off of an excellent centering pass. The Patriots regrouped and stopped the bleeding at that point, and about the forty-four minute mark, Noel scored off of his own rebound to tie it up. Eight minutes later, Quinn and Henry did a nice job controlling the ball and bringing it down the field. Noel eventually scooped it up and buried a shot to put HSRC in the lead. The defense and midfield did a good job down the stretch and the Patriots ended up with their eighth win of the season, 4-3.

Next up was the conference tournament, which turned out to be only three teams as Granger dropped out. Since we had beaten Victory and Portage, we had the bye and waited to play the winner of the semifinal between those two teams. Victory won, so we would be seeing them for the second time of the year. Victory scored first, but the Patriots answered quickly with three goals, I believe two from Noel and one from Sam. (I didn't take notes during the game as I couldn't hold the umbrella and write at the same time.) The play was quite even throughout the game, but VCA had trouble getting good shots off, and HSRC was able get free to score. Victory opened the second half with a score, but HSRC quickly answered with three more of their own to essentially put the game out of reach at 6-2. Each team scored one more time, but the Patriots walked off the field as conference champions. Mr. Waters, Portage's AD, presented us with the championship trophy and the team then posed for pictures. Noel had his highest scoring game of the year with five and Sam got the other two.

The banquet was fun (and tasty!). Coach Goudzwaard recapped the season, and then he and Coach Dorn were presented with gifts from the team, and their wives were presented with flowers. Each team member received a Certificate of Participation, and Coach G spoke about each one. The awards followed: Blessing received the best first year player award; Caleb received defensive player of the year; Sam received offensive player of the year; and, without a lot of suspense, Noel received the most valuable player award. Coach Dorn then closed the most successful season in HSRC's history, at least as measured by wins and losses, with prayer.

Winning streak comes to an end

The Patriots winning streak reached seven before it was abruptly ended this past Monday by the Glenwood School team, 3-0 on Glenwood's home field.

Glenwood's team was quite a contrast to the teams we have been playing recently. They were big, skilled and fast. On top of that, they had a very good, very active goalie. They were quite a bit different then they were last year. Last season we split our two games with them, but we were missing key players in the first matchup, and handled them quite easily the second time we faced them when we had a full squad. They are much better this year. Despite all that, the teams played to a 0-0 halftime score. Early on, in fact, HSRC Monee was the dominant team. The boys kept the ball down in Glenwood's half of the field, but Glenwood was able to prevent the Patriots from getting off decent shots, and the shots that were taken were wide or over the goal. One attack early was exciting - Sam passed over to Quinn who returned the ball with a sliding pass and Sam just missed wide. Toward the end of the half, Glenwood starting getting good offensive opportunities which mostly started with their goalie. After the goalie corraled the ball, his teammates would streak down the field and he would get the ball to one of them. The Patriots were caught on their heels and Glenwood would end up with a good shot. Glenwood kept up the pressure in the second half, with good shots coming off of good outlets from their goalie. About six minutes into the second half, one of their quick strikers got behind our defense and found the goal. At the forty-seven minute mark, Noel got off a shot that was only saved because of the quickness of the goalie. Henry had an opportunity with the rebound but couldn't quite control it. Glenwood's goalie finally grabbed the ball and on the ensuing counterattack, Glenwood scored again. Despite desperate efforts by the the offense, we couldn't dent the scoreboard and Glenwood scored one more before time ran out. One item of sportsmanship to note: Henry cut his lip early in the game and had to go out for a while. Glenwood had the ball when this happened, and when play started up again with a free kick by Glenwood, they intentionally kicked it out of bounds to give the ball back to HSRC. A very gracious move.

The three games prior were victories over Zion Lutheran of Beecher 4-1, St. Paul Lutheran 4-0 and Cornerstone 6-0. I was not able to attend the Zion game, but reports are that they were a very small and very young team. Coach Goudzwaard was able to switch players around quite a bit, so players that usually played defense were able to move up front. Henry played goal for a while as well. Our players understood the vast difference in abilities between the teams and backed off the intensity quite a bit. My understanding is that Zion appreciated that and both teams had a lot of fun. The Cornerstone game was at their home field and was the second time we had played them. They were fast but not very skilled. Noel started off the scoring with blast from a free kick about fifteen minutes into the game. Not a minute later Henry scored off of a corner kick from Noel. A minute after that Sam scored on a nice feed from Henry. And about three minutes later Quinn was given credit for a goal that Cornerstone put into their own net. Coach G flipped positions in the second half and there was no scoring until with about five minutes to go, he put everyone back in their normal positions and Henry and Noel scored a goal each in quick succession to make the final 6-0. The St. Paul game was more evenly played, but again, the opponent had difficulty getting off a decent shot and our offense was better. Noel and Sam each scored in each half to account for our four goals.

Today the team has an early game at Southside Baptist of Oak Lawn. One more regular season game remains after that, a home-field rematch against Glenwood next Thursday, then the conference tournament the next Saturday. Come on out next Thursday to our final home game and support the Patriots!

Winning streak now at four

The Patriots continued their winning ways tonight, downing the Portage Christian Pacers for the second time this year, this time at home. The final score was 7-1, and though the score was somewhat lopsided, the ability level of the two teams was not that significantly different, except for their offense. They didn't really have anyone who could finish, and we have several.

I arrived about fifteen minutes into the game and was informed that were down 1-0. After watching for a couple of minutes I wondered how Portage scored because we were dominating the play. After a couple of shots that were off the mark, HSRC got on the board, Noel scoring after being fed by Henry. Four minutes later, Noel rocketed another one, this one from about ten yards out, which hit the bottom of the crossbar and deflected in to give the Patriots the lead. Just before half, Quinn centered one nicely to Sam who found the net, and the Patriots led at halftime, 3-1.

Opening the second half, HSRC picked up where they left off with Sam pressuring the PCS goalie. Sam was stymied on a shot only a minute into the half, but his next shot from about ten yards out deflected off the goalie and went it. The pressure continued, with the ball remaining on Portage's side of the field most of the time. About the sixth minute Noel found Henry out in front and he buried it to put the Patriots up 5-1. Following the kickoff, PCS had their best offensive opportunity since they scored their goal, but the hard shot hit the side of the net. The Patriots came right back with a carbon copy of their fifth goal, Noel feeding Henry in front who didn't waste it. Coach Goudzwaard then rested his best players, and moved the other to defense. Still, at about the sixteenth minutes, Sam, after getting close but not being able to get off a shot, finally found himself free in front and chipped one over the goalie for the hat trick, and the final goal of the game.

So far we have beaten Victory and Portage in the conference. We won't face Granger, the only other school in the conference with a junior high soccer team, until the tournament, so we won't know really how good they are until we see them in the conference tournament. However, the way the team looks, we probably have a decent chance to come home with the conference championship.

To date, HSRC has outscored its opponents 24-8 through five games. Noel has eleven of the goals, Sam six, Henry five, Quinn one and Caleb 1. I don't have assist totals, but I know that Noel has at least four, Henry two and Quinn has at least one.

Next game is Thursday, at home, against Zion Lutheran at 4:00. Note the earlier time. See you there.

Solid home win

The weather was perfect, and the Patriots nearly so in their 4-1 victory this afternoon against the Victory Christian Academy Lions of Valparaiso. The team went down to defeat against the Lions in last year's opener, 6-4 in the only previous meeting between these two teams, so this was HSRC's first victory against Victory.

I got there just in time to witness the first goal. The Patriots were pressuring the VCA defense, making some nice passes but were not able to get a decent shot off. Finally Noel found Sam free just to the left of the goal and he punched one in to the left of the goalie. Not literally punched, of course. Kicked it, actually. Anyway, the Patriots continued their solid, unselfish play. The players without the ball were finding open space and those with it hit them with nice passes. The defense played their positions, and usually when the ball did get down to our end, Caleb ended up getting it and booming it out of the zone. Five minutes after Sam scored, Noel crushed a shot from outside the penalty area, probably twenty yards out, and the goalie had no chance. 2-0, Patriots.

Victory was very active, but we matched their hustle throughout the first half. They also had some skilled dribblers. The two differences I noted were that they really didn't have any finishers, no forwards with a hard and accurate kick. The other was Mark outplayed their goalie by a significant margin. Toward the end half Noel missed on a shot, then a couple of minutes later Quinn got one off that was saved. The Patriots kept coming, and just before half, Noel snuck one in just inside the near post to give the Patriots a 3-0 halftime lead.

In the second, just a few minutes into the half, Henry dribbled past a couple of defenders and shot one past the goalie for a 4-0 lead. That would be all the scoring for the Patriots, as they became noticably tired as the game went on. They weren't quite as disciplined as they were earlier, especially on defense, and the Lions had a few more scoring chances. About ten minutes in, one of their forwards was taken down in the box and was awarded a penalty kick. However, the shot was not very strong and almost directly at Mark, and he made the save. We did have some opportunities in the remaining minutes, but all of our shots went wide or over the net. With about five minutes to go, the biggest player on VCA's team got free and scored, ruining the shutout. It was too little, too late, though and the Patriots got the victory, 4-1.

They are now 2-1 on the season. Tomorrow is another home game, this one against Cornerstone of Chicago Heights. See you there.

Not a bad start

The junior high Patriots soccer team opened the season yesterday against Illinois Lutheran at our home field at Family of Faith Church. Last year the Patriots lost by a wide margin to IL's A team. This year IL brought a mix of their A and B team and the result was the game was a lot closer.

The play started out mostly at our end, with IL buzzing around our goal but never able to get a shot on goal. I counted four shots in the first seven minutes that either went wide or high. Our defense did a pretty good job keeping the opponents from getting an uncontested shot.  Illlinois Lutheran moved the ball around quite a bit and kept possession, while our guys were trying to do a little bit too much indivdually. Around the eleven minute mark IL got a shot on goal but Mark made a nice save. However, shortly thereafter an IL shot deflected off either a defender or another attacker, and it went in. Not more than two or three minutes after that, Mark came out to challenge an attacker, who was able slip the ball past him to give Illinois Lutheran a 2-0 lead.

The momentum shifted a little at that point, and HSRC was able to get off a couple of shots. Noel's went wide. Henry got open a little later at a sharp angle and his shot was covered by their goalie. IL came right back and cranked up the pressure. IL had three shots on goal in the sequence, but Mark was up to the task. saving them all, a couple of them tough ones. Noel then got free and was brought down in the goal box. Penaly kick. Noel buried it for the Patriots' first goal of the year. 2-1 Illinois Lutheran was how the first half finished.

The Patriots came out after halftime quite aggresively, getting off several shots, one on goal, but that was saved. IL came right back and their second shot of the half found the net, 3-1 IL.IL followed the goal with a flurry of pressure, getting off four shots that missed, then when they got one on goal, it went in. 4-1. The momentum changed quickly. The ball was tapped to Noel on the ensuing kickoff, and he dribbled through defense and scored to make it 4-2. After an IL shot, the Patriots shot one over the net. The quickly recovered possesion, and after some impressive passing, Quinn got his first goal of the season and it was 4-3. Both teams were able to pressure the opposing goalies, but neither could got one past, and that was how the game ended. A solid start and something to build on.

Our next game is Thursday, September 6 at Portage Christian School. Game time is 4PM. Come out and support the Patriots!

Summer basketball fun

We haven't had much opportunity for the basketball teams to get together formally in the summer in the brief history of the HSRC Patriots. This past Saturday, however, the boys' varsity team had the opportunity to participate in the inaugural VCA Summer Slam hosted by Victory Christian Academy of Valparaiso.

When we received the invitation in the spring, we thought that this would be a great opportunity if the team was available. This would provide some continuity from season to season and would provide off-season work that the whole team could do together. The first obstacle we had to overcome was practice facilities. Coach Boss wanted the team to get together for at least a couple of practices before the tournament, but the school we usually use for that purpose does not allow use of its facilities when school isn't in session, so that was out. Thankfully, George Schaaf, who has an indoor basketball court at his home just a short distance from Family of Faith Church, was generous enough to allow us to use it for a couple of hours on the two Tuesdays prior to the tournament.

The tournament format was for the five participating teams to play each other in a round robin format. Time and stamina constraints would prevent the teams from playing full games, so the games were only two eight-minute halves each, or essentially a half of a regulation high school game. The four other teams were Calumet Christian, Christian Haven, Victory Christian and Portage Christian.

Our first game was against Portage. PCS had a lot of turmoil last year and also had a lot of seniors. From the group they put on the floor yesterday, it appears that this resulted in a complete turnover of players from last year, so their team was quite young. This contrasted with our senior-laden experienced team, so it wasn't much of a contest. We only had one bench player, so we couldn't send in our own young players when it was apparent our starters were too much for them. At the half it was 27-2. The guys slowed things down in the second half, but the lead continued to grow, and the final was 40-6. Kyle had fifteen points and eight rebounds, and Josh had fourteen and nine.

Our next opponent was Christian Haven. They appeared to have improved from last year, losing by only one to the defending conference champion Calumet in an earlier game. However, they could not solve our intense zone defense. A slowly played first half resulted in a 12-5 halftime lead for the Patriots. The second half saw the pace pick up, but the shooting percentage went down. The result in the second half was the same, and the Patriots came away with a solid 27-11 win. Kyle had eleven points and Josh led the team with seven rebounds

By the time the third game rolled around, it was apparent that this would be for the tournament championship. Both Calumet and HSRC were undefeated at that point. Each team's last game looked like a win, so this looked like the game for the title. We scored first when Josh was fouled on a bucket. He completed the three-point-play. CCS scored the next two buckets, and that was reflective of the whole tone of the game. CCS scored five straight at one point to open a four point lead, then answered a Josh free throw with another field goal and they led 15-10. However, Nate, Seth and Josh each scored in a 6-0 HSRC run to close the half, giving us a 16-15 lead.
Josh opened the second half scoring but CCS scored six in a row to take a three point lead. Kyle and Nate answered to put HSRC back up. Neither team lead by more that two after that. The teams exchanged baskets until, at 28-26 CCS, Peter hit a three (his only score of the day). Alas, CCS answered that with a three with about 10 seconds left. We threw the ball away with about two seconds left, but then intercepted CCS's inbounds pass. Seth's 30-footer just missed and CCS had the victory, 31-29. Josh won scoring honors with ten while he and Kyle shared high rebounds with six each.

The final game was somewhat anticlimactic, with the championship out of reach and the opponent another team with significant turnover from last season, the host team, Victory. Nate S, Seth, Josh and Kyle all scored to lift the Patriots to a 9-0 lead, but VCA fought back pulling to within 12-9 at half. VCA scored a basket to open the second half. Josh and Kyle scored to push HSRC's lead back up to to five. VCA hit a couple of free throws, but then Josh really began to exploit his height advantage. He scored eight of the Patriots' final ten points while the defense held firm, giving up only one more basket the rest of the way. The final score was HSRC 26, VCA 15. Josh led in both scoring and rebounds with thirteen and nine.

I will try to post all the stats later.

A very strange third place

But we'll take it.

The last two years we have been the Washington Generals of the Illinois state homeschool tournament. Our average margin of defeat for the four games we have played over that time was forty-three. So this year, with the team we have, we were hoping to lower that number. Significantly. And they did, but it was a little hollow, as most of the state teams stayed away this year, our two games included one against a 14U (freshman) team. (Not a middle school team - someday I will rant about age classifications and the way they are (mis)used in the home school arena.) We will still lay claim to third, because the other teams were invited but chose not to come.

Our first game was against the host team, Crossroads Crusaders. The Crusaders could be the reason why the other teams didn't attend. They are a perennial powerhouse, and though they were down a little from last season, they are still a formidable team. Their star player, David Hellstrom, will be playing Divsion I basketball in college next year, with Army being rumored as his destination. The difference between Crossroads and other teams we have faced this year with great players is that Hellstrom has many very good players around him. During warmups, we were wondering if he was playing. When the warmups came off, we then realized he was there, but had cut off his longish hair which he had when Coach and I went out to scout them a couple weeks ago. Maybe getting ready for West Point? Crossroads was missing their big center, but the rest of the team was there. Last year when they played us, they didn't have at least four of their starters even dressed.

Our guys were extremely tight at the outset. It didn't look very different from the last two years as the Crusaders scored the first thirteen points of the game. Our guys, when they weren't getting the ball stolen, were giving up offensive rebounds. HSRC had a total of five shots and one rebound. Yes, we had more turnovers (eight) than point and rebounds combined. Lucas and Seth scored consecutive baskets to slow Crossroads a bit, but they hit a two and three to close the quarter and led 18-4 at the end of one. After Crossroads opened the second with a basket, Nate converted a three-point-play, and Seth hit a long three after another basket by Crossroads, and it was a twelve-point game. Any hope that this was going to get us back into it was quickly extinguished. Crossroads scored ten of the last eleven points in the half, Lucas scoring our lone point, and the lead was 32-11 at the half.

The Crusaders again opend the scoring to begin the quarter. Lucas and Josh then hit shots to pull back to within nineteen. Again, any flicker of possibly getting back in the game was doused, with Crossroads going on a 12-1 run to open up a thirty-point lead. Once more the guys rallied, this time going a run of their own, with Josh hitting a two and a three and Seth closing out the scoring in the third with a three of his own to pull the Patriots to within 46-24. For the third time, we were deflated, this time by ten consecutive points by the hosts. Josh and Kyle scored, but Crossroads soon stretched the lead to thirty-five. Josh, Lucas and Seth contributed to a 10-4 run to close the game, about in the middle of which the Crusaders pulled all their starters. Seth had twelve points to lead the team and Josh contributed eleven.

 The final score of 67-38 looked bad, but the Patriots were able to take some positives away from the game. They overcame their initial nervousness, especially on defense, and played decently after the first quarter. They held Crossroad's big star to about his scoring average, and most importantly, gave the boys a chance to his their second big goal of the year - holding opponents to an average of under forty-five points per game. To do that, they would have to hold their opponents in the third place game to forty-three points or fewer.

That opponent turned out to be Crossroads' 14U team, who only participated because only three teams had their varsity teams there. They had lost to the Illinois Impact, the third varsity team there, in the other semifinal, by about twenty points. They were a big team, but didn't seem to have a great ball-handler, and didn't shoot very well. They liked to play at a frenetic pace, which caused some concern about the defensive goal mentioned above. In the first quarter the Crusaders did seem to set the pace, but it seemed to suit us pretty well, especially Lucas. He scored eleven in the quarter on drives and jumpers, hitting one three and four twos. The shooting woes we observed that Crossroads had in the semifinal continued into this game. They only shot 25% while we were shooting 55.6%, which enabled HSRC to enjoy a 23-11 lead after one. The game slowed down a little in the second, and Crossroads started shooting better. Kyle and Josh got their scoring going, but the Patriots couldn't get the lead above twelve until just before the end of the half, when Kyle and Josh scored baskets to give HSRC a 33-19 lead, and the lead was still fourteen, 35-21, at the half.

Crossroads opened up hot in the second half, scoring six of the first seven points of the half to get to within nine. That was the end of their hope. The Patriots cranked up the pressure on defense, resulting in a lot of steals and breakaway layups, mostly by Seth and Kyle. The resultant 15-2 run opened up a 51-29 point lead. Crossroads scored five, but the Patriots closed out the quarter by scoring the last six points, including a nice put back by Ben. Either Peter or Ben was in the whole quarter because Josh had picked up his fourth foul last in the first half. Now the score was 57-34. The Patriots couldn't give up more than nine points in the fourth, otherwise Coach was going to look like Clay Matthews soon. Midway through the quarter the score was 65-36. It looked good, but Crossroads scored five quick points. They were really going to have dial up the defense. Which they did. Josh scored seven in a row, but then he fouled out. Crossroads hit both free throws. About three minutes remained in the game, and the guys couldn't give up another point. We scored two baskets, then fouled Crossroads in the act of shooting. Uh-oh. But wait! They missed both foul shots! All the guys needed to do now was hold the ball. However, an unnamed player couldn't help himself and put up a shot Thankfully Crossroads gave the ball back. Now only a minute and a half to go. This time the team figured out the keep-away game, and were still holding the ball as time ran out.. 78-43 HSRC. Yes, we finished in third. But more importantly: Total points given up for the year: 1,529. Points equalling 45 points per game: 1,530. Goals met. Hairlessness to follow.

Kyle was the leading scorer with 25, but Lucas was right behind with 21. Josh had eleven rebounts. Kyle also led the team with six steals, with both Lucas and Seth adding five each. Seth and Kyle led with four assists apiece.

I will follow up with a post or posts about the all-star game (March 16) and the banquet (March 17).

Summing up the conference tournament

It's interesting how third place can feel so disappointing and great at the same time. After the end of last season, finishing in the top half of the conference seemed like an impossibility. Then, after the regular season this year, defeating every conference team we played except for First Baptist, handing Calumet its only conference loss, we felt we had as good a chance as anyone to win the tournament. So, the predominant emotion after a poor performance and an eighteen-point loss against Calumet in the conference semifinals (Western division final) was disappointment. Despite that loss, the boys had to play one more game, the consolation game against Granger Christian. They did have some motiviation besides the natural desire to win every game, in that a win would mean a trophy. After a slow start, the Patriots outscored the Knights in the second half 34-20 and won 50-40, taking the game, third place and a trophy. In addition, Kyle was named to the all tournament team.

I was not able to get to the semifinal game until just before halftime. I had received a text update that the score was 6-6 after the first quarter, which meant that the defense was clicking, as it usually was. I walked into the gym, saw that the score was 23-12. It took a second to figure out who had the 23 and who had the 12. We were on the wrong side. Word from the HSRC fans that I talked to was that the guys were making poor passes and having difficulty hanging onto the ball. Calumet was getting fast break baskets off the turnovers, resulting in seven-for-thirteen shooting. Since we weren't even getting a chance to get a shot off, we only took six shots in the quarter. Calumet kept up their hot pace in the second half, scoring the first four points and stretching the lead to seventeen. Finally Seth knocked down a three and Kyle got fouled going to the basket on the next possession and hit both of his free throws. The guys couldn't maintain the momentum, however. Calumet answered with seven straight points to give them their largest lead of the game to that point at nineteen. Lucas seemed to decide to fire up the team with strong drives to the basket at that point. On his first, he got fouled and hit both of his free throws. After a CCS basket, Lucas hit two more shots to pull HSRC to within fifteen, but CCS got the last basket of the quarter to go up 40-23 at the end of three. Lucas kept it up after the quarter break, getting the first two points of the quarter. Josh followed this up with a three-point-play, and when Nate split two free throws, the guys were only down eleven. Lucas hit two free throws after a Calumet basket to maintain the eleven point deficit. Around that time, however, Josh fouled out and the uphill battle became even more steep. CCS hit back-to-back baskets which Peter, subbed in for Josh, answered with a basket to make it 46-33, but that was as close as we would get. CCS hit a field goal, then completed a three-point-play. CCS eventually moved the lead out to twenty. Seth hit a late three, but the game was already over. Final: CCS 58, HSRC 40. Lucas was the scoring leader with 14. Seth had nine and Josh eight.

The Patriots had beaten their third-place game opponent just a week before, 44-30, taking a 28-6 lead and coasting to victory. This game was a little tougher. GCS had just been crushed in their semifinal game in which they had no hope, and it seemed they weren't as down as our guys were to start. Besides Nate having a little success in the post, the rest of the team seemed in a daze, at least offensively. Meanwhile GCS kept working the ball into their post player, who also hit from the outside. The Patriots trailed 9-4 after one. Kyle opened the second with a three and then followed a GCS basket with two free throws. The teams traded baskets, then Granger hit three to go up five. Kyle scored again, but GCS hit two before Lucas closed the half's scoring with a basket to make it 20-16 at halftime. The team went to the full-court press which has worked for them so well this year, and this game was no exception. GSC did score six of the first eight points of the half before the press began to take effect. HSRC scored ten in a row, with Seth, Kyle, Josh and Lucas all contributing to the run. Granger got the lead back briefly, but Josh and Lucas scored to close the quarter and to give the Patriots a three-point lead 32-29. GCS hit a three to open the fourth, but that was the last tie. Lucas, then Kyle hit short baskets, and then after a GCS two, Lucas and Kyle each scored again. GCS got back to within two, but HSRC scored the last eight points of the game, the last six on free throws, and our first conference tournament trophy was won. Kyle had nineteen points, Lucas had twelve, Josh nine and Nate had eight. Josh led with eleven rebounds, and Seth had four assists and five steals.

To get to the Saturday games, the guys had to play a quarterfinal on Tuesday, at FOFCA against the host team. The Patriots had defeated the Screaming Eagles three times previously and the quarterfinal win made it four. This game was back and forth until the fourth quarter, when FOFCA began to experience foul trouble. The Patriots only led by two after three quarters, but outscored the Screaming Eagles 14-6 in the fourth to win 49-39. HSRC held FOFCA's big center to just thirteen, seven under his average and also contained their all-conference point guard, limiting him to eleven. Kyle had fourteen points to win scoring honors; Josh added thirteen and Seth had twelve. Kyle had eleven rebounds. Josh had a strange rebounding line: eight offensive but just one defensive rebound. Lucas led the team with four assists and Josh led in the steals category with five. The other highlight of the evening was the announcement that HSRC has three players named first-team all-conference: Josh, Seth and Kyle, while Nate was second-team. Congratulations to them!

Our last games of the year will take place next Friday, in what is left of the Illinois state home school tournament. We open at 4:00 against the Crossroads Crusaders and then play at either 6:30 or 7:45.
The conference all-star competitions are tentatively scheduled for Friday, March 9, but that is subject to change. Watch your email.

Wild weekend of basketball

Five games in one day. That's a lot of basketball. Even if they were played by two teams.

On Saturday, the junior high team traveled to Portage Christian for the conference tournament, the final game(s) of the year for the younger guys. Only six of the ten schools in the conference had teams at the tournament, with two schools only having high school only and two not sending teams. Our first game was against Victory, the team against which we had broken our losing streak just two days before. That game was on our home court, and we would not have that advantage in this game.

We started stronger that we did on Thursday. VCA was missing their point guard, so they tried to work it inside to their big guys. We defended well, and Caleb Y. and Charles each hit two baskets in the first quarter to give us an 8-5 lead after one. VCA picked up its defense in the second, and behind their inside scoring and one three, took the lead going into halftime, 15-13.  VCA kept working the ball in to their big #23, and we had a little trouble with him. He scored all six of their third quarter points, and we could only manage five, three on free throws. Our defense really stiffened in the fourth. Caleb and the two wings on defense collapsed on the post players, and all they could manage in the quarter was a free throw. Charles kept driving to the basket and was rewarded with a bucket and two free throws. Caleb Y. also scored and at 22-22, neither team could score in their final possessions, and we went to OT. VCA scored first in the three minute period, but Caleb Y. tied it up, and that was it for the scoring in the first overtime. Again, VCA scored first, but Charles came through with two drives to the basket, the last with just a short time to play. The Patriots held firm on defense and on to the semifinals we went. 28-26, Patriots. For the second time all year, Caleb Y. did not lead in scoring. Those honors went to Charles, with a season high 14. Caleb added 11. Mark, Caleb D. and Charles each had six rebounds, and Caleb Y. had four steals.

We had played Portage just recently, losing by ten, but PCS played their bench much of that game. We knew we weren't going to get that kind of mercy in the conference tournament. Portage has at least five players taller than our tallest player, and their were two or three of them in the game at all times. We tried to run to offset some of that size advantage, but they kept making their shots, so we couldn't get the fast break going. Caleb Y. couldn't get much going against the huge PCS inside players, and it was 14-1 PCS after one. More of the same in the second. One free throw, this time by Caleb Y., was our only scoring, and we had no answer for their offensive rebounding and inside game. Portage led 25-2 at halftime. As has happened a few times earlier, the guys came out more relaxed in the second half, and PCS played with less intensity. Caleb mixed in some outside shooting with his post work, scoring eight, and with a basket by Henry we put ten on the board in the quarter. Portage scored eight, so they took a 33-12 lead into the fourth. For some reason, they kept their big men in the game until halfway through the quarter. Caleb Y. and Charles continued to carry our scoring load, tallying seven between them, but PCS scored twelve and finished with a 45-19 victory. Caleb Y. led with thirteen points, ten rebounds and three steals. Charles added four points and Henry two.

Our opponent in the third place game was Calumet, the team with players that played for HSRC last year. The game started fifteen minutes after the completion of the prior game, and our guys were tired. For the first time all year, we played poorly on defense, and allowed CCS to score nineteen in the first. quarter. Calumet's defense was somewhat passive as well, but our exhausted guys could only manage eight, four by Caleb D. The defense did pick up a little in the second, allowing only seven. HSRC got balance scoring in the quarter, getting one from Henry, a three from Matt, a basket and two free throws from Caleb Y. and a free throw from Charles. We trailed by nine going into the third. Henry scored our only field goal in the quarter, and Caleb Y. added a free throw for our only points of the quarter. Calumet scored ten mostly inside points in the fourth, and it looked like the game was out of hand with CCS leading by sixteen going into the last quarter. CCS played their bench much of the quarter, and our guys seemed to realize that this was their last quarter of the season, most likely. Caleb Y. was very active on offense, scoring eight. Matt and Henry started scoring from the outside, Matt hitting a three and Henry hitting two free throws to go with his field goal. The CCS lead kept shrinking and shrinking, but time ran out and CCS took the third place trophy with a 39-35 win. It was our high point game of the year, but it wasn't enough. Caleb Y. had sixteen points and twelve rebounds in a fine conclusion to a great year. Henry had his high-point game of the year with eight. Matt had six on two threes, Caleb four and Charles one.

Coach Carolyn and I then flew to Mishawaka, just in time to see the last quarter of the varsity's second game of the day. The Patriots' eight-game winning streak came to an end in that one, as their shooting woes returned. HSRC shot only 21% in the 41-33 loss. In the earlier game, the Patriots defeated Granger 44-30, but the guys only shot 29% in that one. Per some observers, the Patriots played an intense half on defense, which was evident in the stats, as they allowed only six points on three of sixteen shooting, but then relaxed in the second half. That also was evident, as they gave up 24 after the break. Their shooting went south also the second half. They only shot 36% in the first, but that percentage plunged to 21% in the second. However, it was enough for the win. Seth had 22 points to lead the team in that category, and Kyle had nine rebounds.

In game two, the Patriots faced possibly the best and certainly the hottest team in the conference. First Baptist of Mishawaka had not lost since December 16, when Calumet Christian gave them their only conference defeat of the year. As I mentioned, I only saw a little more than one quarter of this game. The game was tight, slow-paced, and marked by poor shooting from both teams. Neither team had greater than a two-point lead in the first, and it ended at 8-8. FBM scored eight of the first ten in the second, but the Patriots trimmed the resulting six point lead to four by halftime. FBM scored the first two baskets after the half to go up 22-14, but HSRC chipped away at the lead to get it down to three 24-21, which was the score when I arrived. That was the score at the end of the quarter. FBM again opened the quarter scoring, this time getting a basket before the Patriots put together a six-point string. FBM popped in a three to go back on top, and they never trailed again. Two more baskets were scored by the Tigers before HSRC scored again. FB again scored to regain the six-point lead at 35-29. Nate hit two free throws to pull the Patriots back to within four. FB scored again, but Kyle was fouled on a drive and hit two free throws. Time was running short so the Patriots were forced to foul to get the ball back, but the shooting froze up at this point and FB hit their free throws and ended up with the 41-33 win. Josh had eleven points and ten rebounds to lead the team.

Conference tournament begins for us on Tuesday, at FOFCA against the host team at 5:00. If we win, we are guarenteed two games on Saturday at Victory Christian. Come out and cheer for your Patriots!

Finally

I'm going to lead off this post with the story of the junior high team - my team. Why? Because I'm quite sure you are very bored with [yawn] another story about the varsity winning. That's not news. Breaking a fifteen game losing streak is news.

YEEEEAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!

The boys did it last night, winning for the first time this season, beating Victory Christian Academy 28-27 in, needless to say but I'm going to say it anyway, a thriller.

The Patriots have been improving, but after having played what might have been their best game of the season against FOFCA on Monday and coming up short by twelve, it seemed like their best might not be good enouch. And when the guys fell behind 7-0 after one quarter, it looked like more of the same. However, the team was playing hard. It was just that they had not played against a man-to-man defense all year, and it took a little while for them (and me) to adjust. The plays we tried to run, pick and roll, weren't working, mostly because of the small court, so we switched to just setting picks, getting open and taking shots. Henry responded. Boy, did Henry respond. With a series of pump fakes, drives and pull-ups, he scored seven points in the quarter by himself. Caleb Y. got on track, scoring once inside and splitting two free throws in the quarter, and the two of them with great ball handling by Charles and Matt and solid team defense, pulled the Patriots to within two at halftime.

Caleb Y. continued his good work inside in the third, aided ably by both Charles' drives and Matt's jumper. The game went back and forth in the quarter and ended tied at 19. Charles opened up the fourth with a beautiful drive for a basket. Caleb continued his steady play, scoring on a couple of baskets and Charles added two free throws late. With just a little time left, we pulled out to a 27-23 lead. Their bomber, #1, then hit his third three of the game to pull it to with in one. With 6.1 seconds left, Caleb was fouled. He split the two free throws for a two-point lead. The boys had been struggling with defense in the quarter, fouling them often. Thankfully #12, the recipient of most of the trips to the line, did not shoot well, making only two of eight. When VCA stormed down the court after the made free throws, we did it again, fouling their best outside shooter, #1, with 0.6 seconds remaining. Since we were in the double bonus, that meant he would have two free throws. Up went the first, and down right through the rim. 28-27. Up went the second....and it bounced off! The buzzer sounded in the mad scramble for the rebound, and we had our first win.

For only the third time this season, Caleb Y. didn't scored half or more of the team points. He did end up with twelve to lead the team, though. Both Charles and Henry finished with seven each and Matt hit a basket. Caleb Y. also had nine rebounds, six steals and two blocks.

Oh, yeah, the varsity. Their game was pretty exciting, too. The Patriots defeated the Lions, 69-66, in a very strangely streaky game. More on that in a bit. This was the first time HSRC beat the Lions when #24 was playing, a big, talented, but enigmatic guard that transferred to VCA from Calumet High (not Calumet Christian) for his senior year. He is the second leading scorer in the country per Maxpreps, averaging over 37 points per game, but he often has poor shooting nights. The last time we played them, he was on in a big way, scoring 56, about 40 of which came after halftime. That resulted in a twenty-four point loss, our biggest losing margin of the year. Tonight he was not on. Even though he scored 33, he shot under 33%. Per our book, the rest of the team shot 50%. Early on, he was distributing the ball and not shooting much. He kept find #44 open underneath, who took advantage, making all four of his shots. Their point guard, #1, was also finding the basket, scoring six in the quarter. Kyle had the hot hand for the Patriots, hitting from long and mid-range, scoring seven. Brother Josh also hit a three, and Lucas scored a couple of baskets as well. The streakiness didn't start until later - neither team led by more than three, and VCA led 16-14 going into the second. Kyle hit consecutive threes to open the quarter and Seth, Lucas, then Seth again followed with baskets. The twelve straight points were answered by nine from the Lions. Nate scored, but VCA closed the scoring in the half with two buckets to take a two point lead into the break.  #24 took over in the quarter, taking nine of their eleven shots.

HSRC opened the third with nine straight points to go up by seven. Josh and Kyle scored, then Seth hit a three and a two to make it 37-30. VCA answered with eight of their own. Josh, Seth and Lucas contributed to the next streak, scoring nine again. The Lions got six of the last eight points, with Josh's bucket interrupting their string, and the Patriots led 48-44 going into the final quarter. For VCA,  #1 and #44 got back in the game in the quarter, but #24 struggled with his shot, hitting only two of nine. Nate, Seth and Kyle contributed to the six-point run HSRC had to open the fourth, and then after a VCA basket, Kyle scored again. Ten point lead, Patriots. Of course VCA answered with a run. A three was followed by a foul on #24 while shooting a three. He hit them all, then on their next possession, they were fouled again and hit two more free throws. Two point lead, Patriots. Lucas got the Patriots back on track with two baskets, then after a VCA score, Josh hit two free throws and Kyle followed with his fourth three point basket of the game. Nine point lead, Patriots. Seven straight for the Lions, including a three. Two point lead, Patriots. Lucas then hit two free throws followed by an inside bucket from Josh. Six point lead, Patriots. VCA hit one more three before they ran out of time. Three point win, Patriots.

As usual, scoring was pretty balanced. Kyle had 20, followed by Lucas with eighteen, Seth with fourteen and Josh had thirteen. Nate tied the team record with seventeen rebounds. Nate, Seth and Josh each had three assists, while Lucas, Seth and Josh each had two steals. Nate added two blocks.

The Patriots are now 18-9, 9-3 in conference. They travel to Mishawaka tomorrow to their last two conference games, these against eastern division teams. 9AM CST vs. Granger Christian, then 4PM CST against the hosts, First Baptist of Mishawaka. The junior high team plays Victory Christian at 10AM at Portage Christian in the first game of the conference tournament. If we win, we play at 1PM vs. Portage. Travel safely, and see you tomorrrow.

The defense is not resting

The Patriots continued their streak of holding their opponents under forty points, as they extended their winning streak to six with victories over Luther East on Saturday and Families of Faith Christian Academy. HSRC's record is not 17-9, 8-3 in the conference and 5-3 in the West division. That last record earned the Patriots the second seed in the conference tournament. Calumet Christian has the top seed with only one loss in the conference - to us in December.

The affair against Luther East was a brutal one. Thankfully, no one got hurt, as the Patriots were missing three players, Dan because he sprained his ankle at practice the night before, and Peter and Ethans were unavailable, which left only Ben on the bench. The open court defense was strong at the start, nabbing eight steals, but the shooting defense was not great, as Luther East shot four for nine. Our offense was completely out of sync. Because of the pressure defense, however, the guys did get off twenty shots but made only three and trailed 9-6 after one. The shots stopped falling for LE in the second, but they took better care of the ball. They only shot three for eleven. The Patriots's shooting woes continued. The again only made three shots, this time out of seventeen. Because two of the made shots were threes (by Seth) and Josh hit a free throw, the Patriots narrowed the lead to one at 16-15 at half. HSRC came out on fire in the third quarter, both offensively and defensively. Josh, who only had five in the first half, really took over in the session. He scored inside and out, from the free throw line and from the arc. Yes, a three-pointer. He scored eleven of our sixteen in the quarter. He also shut down their best player, holding him to one basket out of six attempts. LE managed only a free throw in addition to that basket and when Josh's three closed out the scoring, it was 31-19, Patriots. LE got as close as six in the fourth, but Josh scored two straight baskets and Nate followed with a score, and the game was no longer in doubt. Final score: Patriots 43, Luther East 32. Josh dominated the stats, scoring 24 and pulling down 16 rebounds. Seth was the next leading scorer with ten. Kyle led the team with four assists and six steals.

Monday night we went out to Channahon to play Families of Faith in the huge, beautiful, brand-new gym. This was the third time we played the Screaming Eagles, having defeated them easily in the early-season Victory tournament and struggling a bit to beat them at Hidden Cove later in December. Again the team had a hard time putting the ball in the basket. Only Lucas shot well in the first, scoring five on a two and a three, on three shots. The rest of the team shot one for twelve. On the other end, the defense was consistent. FOFCA hit only two of ten, both threes, and trailed 9-6 after one. The second quarter was very even, each team hitting four field goals. The difference was that one of ours was a three. As in the Luther East game, the third quarter was the difference. The Patriots came out in a full-court man-to-man press and suffocated the Eagles. Possession after possession for the Eagles ended in either an errant pass or a Patriot steal. When FOFCA finally scored, HSRC had scored fifteen straight and essentially put the game out of reach. The Eagles did narrow the lead to thirteen by the end of the quarter, but the Patriots matched them basket for basket to open the fourth until the Patriots scored six in a row midway through the fourth, which included Ben's first basket of the year, to give them an eighteen point lead, and the final was 49-33. Kyle led the team in scoring with seventeen. Josh had his fifth double-digit rebounding game, finishing with fifteen. He also had five steals to lead in that category. Seth had five assists and Nate had three blocks.

The junior high team had arguably their best effort of the year, but still lost 30-18 to FOFCA in the preceding game. Poor shooting continued to be their downfall. The strong effort wasn't rewarded on the scoreboard in the first half, as FOFCA led 22-9 at the break. The defense was very effective in the third. Caleb Y. shut down their big guy and the perimeter players also played strong defense. Caleb scored four inside and Charles had a nice drive for a score for our six points in the quarter. Alas, the eight-point quarter-end deficit was as close as we could get the rest of the game. We could only manage three in the fourth, all by Caleb Y., and FOFCA scored seven. Even though we lost, the guys hustled and played smart. Caleb Y. scored twelve of our points, with Charles adding four and Henry two. Both Calebs had eight rebounds and three steals each.

Tomorrow night we take on Victory Christian Academy, both the junior high and varsity, in our last home games of the year. The junior high will be playing Victory again in the conference tourney opener at Portage Saturday at 10. Meanwhile the varsity heads out to First Baptist of Mishawaka for a double-header: Granger at 9 (10 local time) and First Baptist at 4 (5 local). As always, hope to see you there. Go Patriots!!