01-18-13
BY JACK BULLOCK
NASHVILLE – The Waterloo Gibault Hawks haven't won a Nashville Invitational Tournament title since they won three-consecutive titles from 1991-93.

After an overtime win over Breese Mater Dei on Friday night at the Assembly Hall the Hawks are on the verge of title number four.

In a contest that featured 16-lead changes, Gibault managed to rally in the overtime session to pick up its second win over the Knights this season while giving their long-time head coach a milestone victory.

Coach Dennis Rueter picked up win number 600 when his club outlasted Mater Dei, 57-52 in overtime to advance to the Nashville Invitational Tournament championship contest set for Saturday night at 8 pm.

Behind 20-points from Wes Degener and a four other players with eight points apiece, the Hawks made it to their first NIT championship game since 2004.

Degener was especially effective, as was his teammates, from the foul line in the matchup.

The 6-foot-3 junior nailed 11-of-12 free throws, including four consecutive in overtime to help put away the Knights.

Gibault Catholic hit 15-of-23 from the stripe.

“He is just such a good athlete (Degener) and we thought we had a good matchup and we wanted to put him into good situations,” explained Coach Rueter. “And he gets to the foul line a lot. He is hitting those free throws now, he struggled some earlier in the year.”

In a game where there wasn't much to separate the two teams, the foul line turned out to be the difference.

Coach Brian Perkes Mater Dei club wasn't nearly as efficient from the charity stripe, hitting just 7-of-16.

BMD was topped in scoring by Mitchell Langenhorst with 13-points while teammates Adam Etter and Eric Vandeloo added 11 and 10.

Back to the foul line, Mater Dei had a chance to close out a win over the Hawks in regulation but missed four free throws in the final quarter of regulation.

Gibault rallied with a couple of key scores by Brendan McFarland in the final frame.

McFarland was one of the players finishing with eight points and his runner in the lane with :37 left in regulation tied the game at 44-all.

Mater Dei had a last shot in the waning seconds but Jared Thole's 15-footer from the left side misfired.

The Knights had the look of a winner in the first minute of the extra time, getting a 3-point bomb from top scorer Langenhorst.

This lefty canned a 3-pointer from near the top of the circle for a 51-48 advantage.

But Gibault had the final say, getting four straight free throws from Degener and a couple of nice scores from senior's Matt Schreder and Jake Weiler.

Schreder, a 6-foot-1 guard who also netted eight points, canned his only 3-pointer to even things at 51-all with 2:34 remaining.

Six-foot-eight center Weiler took a great pass on the baseline from junior guard Nick Row for a lay in and a 53-51 lead.

Weiler also came up big on the defensive end moments later with a big blocked shot in the lane to change possession.

The Degener daggers from the foul line and three missed shots by Mater Dei helped the Hawks into the championship contest.

Both teams shot the ball well, with Gibault hitting on 19-of-40 from the field (47.5 percent) while Mater Dei hit 50 percent (21-of-42) in the entertaining contest.

The first quarter of this semifinal game featured eight lead changes as the two teams managed to trade baskets at will.

Degener hit a 3-pointer and scored on a fast break lay in off of a steal for a 9-8 lead.

After a Mater Dei score, Weiler scored his second bucket in the paint after opening the games' scoring.

His hook shot from in close closed the frame at 11-10 Gibault.

Mater Dei made its first offensive run of the night as Langenhorst scored on a drive to the basket and Thole made his only 3-pointer of the game for a 15-11 lead.

However the Hawks countered with a 3-pointer from Mitch Meyer, a shot from the left wing from Schreder and a McFarland drive.

Two free throws by Meyer gave Gibault a 21-18 halftime lead.

Coach Rueter's club appeared to put an end to the Mater Dei title hopes with an 8-2 run, featuring six-consecutive made free throws by Degener to give the Hawks a 29-20 lead.

Langenhorst led yet another comback for BMD, hitting a 3-pointer and scoring on a drive to the basket while being fouled by Row.

He missed the free throw but he had evened the score at 33-all heading into the fourth.

“We got up nine and we were thinking that we might get some separation on them and be in good shape but they (Mater Dei) came right back,” added Coach Rueter. “Boy they came right back and hit a 3 and got to the basket a couple of times and now you are back to a grinder again.”

Senior guard Adam Etter gave the Knights a quick lead to open the final stanza on a drive to the basket. His conventional three-point play gave some momentum back to his club.

Mater Dei could have put a bit more pressure on Gibault's final possession in regulation but Langenhorst hit just 1-of-2 free throws with :49.1 for a 44-42 lead.

McFarland's score evened the game and sent it into overtime, a session that Gibault finally put the game to rest.

Following Langenhorst in scoring for the 11-9 Knights was Etter with 11 and Eric Vandeloo with 10.

Meyer, Weiler, McFarland and Schreder were the quartet of eight for the Hawks (17-3) following Degener's big night.

Getting his 600th victory, Coach Rueter would like 601 on Saturday night but downplayed the win total's importance.

“It's no more important that 599. People get excited about it because it has zeros behind it but to me it is more about the relationships I've had with the players and what is going to be neat is that so many ex players are going to come by and say something to you and that is what makes it special,” said Coach Rueter, who reached this plateau in 32-years as a head coach at Gibault. “One of the big things about this win is that the kids get to play in another big game. I think that is what high school basketball is about, playing in big games.”

Mater Dei will face crosstown rival Breese Central in the third place game Saturday night at 6:30 pm.

Breese Mater Dei (52) – Etter 3 0 5-8 11, Thole 1 1 1-2 6, Deiters 0 0 0-0 0, Lampe 1 0 0-0 2, Vandeloo 5 0 0-0 10, Kampwerth 1 0 0-2 2, Langenhorst 3 2 1-3 13, Hitpas 4 0 0-1 8, Toennies 0 0 0-0 0, Pollmann 0 0 0-0 0. 2FG-18, 3FG-3, FT-7-16, PF-19.
Waterloo Gibault Catholic (57) – Meyer 0 2 2-4 8, Degener 3 1 11-12 20, Neff 0 0 1-2 1, Row 1 0 0-0 2, Schreder 2 1 1-2 8, B. McFarland 4 0 0-1 8, Toal 1 0 0-2 2, Weiler 4 0 0-0 8.
2FG-15, 3FG-4, FT-15-23, PF-16.
Fouled Out – Hitpas - Mater Dei.
Technical Fouls – None.

TEUTOPOLIS 52, BREESE CENTRAL 45
Using a huge third quarter defensive and offensive effort, the Wooden Shoes dethroned the four-time defending champion Breese Central Cougars in the second semifinal game on Friday night.

Head coach Andy Fehrenbacher's club has made the most of their stay in the NIT, winning both of its games in the bracket format and will now play for the championship.

Getting 17-points from 6-foot-6 senior forward Kyle Pruemer and some key long range shots from guards Devin Falbe and Derek Smith, the Wooden Shoes exacted some revenge on the Cougars who spoiled T-town's homecoming earlier in the season.

Teutopolis broke free from Coach Stan Eagleson's Central squad with a 17-4 third frame, forcing six turnovers in the process.

“At halftime we talked about cutting down on their (Central) dribble-drives and I thought we did a better job in the second half of attacking the rim,” added Coach Fehrenbacher. “We got higher percentage shots and got some shots to fall.”

Pruemer, who is a match up problem for a lot of teams because of his size, stepped out and hit a 3-pointer in the third quarter and scored twice in the lane as the 'Shoes turned a 28-24 halftime deficit into a 35-30 lead which forced a Central timeout with 2:45 to go.

Smith hit a pair of shots from near the arc, his second one before the buzzer put T-town up 41-32 heading into the fourth quarter.

“I'm awfully proud of our guys. This was another great ballgame that we have been involved in this season. Coach Eagleson, what else can be said about him, he always has his teams ready to play,” said Coach Fehrenbacher. “We played them earlier and they got us (49-42 on November 30) and I know our guys were ready to go and really excited to get to play them again.”

Central, who had shot the ball well in the first half, missed too many shots and opportunites in the second half as they fell into the third place contest.

After hitting 7-of-8 field goal attempts in the second quarter to build the lead, Coach Eagleson's club faltered offensively in the final 16-minutes.

For the game they were 18-of-39 but only 5-of-17 in the second half.

“The third quarter was just atrocious. We had a four-point lead and we scored four points in the quarter. We had turnovers and we quit moving. We made bad decisions with the ball. That was the difference,” explained Coach Eagleson. “If it is one kid making poor decisions, that is pretty easy to rectify. But as a group we moved to the wrong places and had two guys standing in the same spot offensively. T-town came out and executed very well to start the third quarter. You just can't do that (six turnovers) against a good team.”

Getting key points from the bench from senior Luke Jackson, who led the Cougars with 15-points, Central led at intermission.

Jackson hit two of his 3-pointers in the second quarter and teammate Austin Rickhoff scored nine of his 11-points in the first half.

Rickhoff helped trigger a second quarter run with a couple of inside scores as part of a 8-0 run.

Jackson's second trey with :12 left closed the half with Breese Central in good shape for Coach Eagleson's 600th win.

But Teutopolis played the part of spoiler with the big second half.

Reserve junior guard Reed Hardiek, along with Falbe, were part of a strong bench showing as the Wooden Shoes used their subs well in wearing down the Cougars late.

Falbe, a 5-foot-11 senior guard, opened the fourth quarter with a pair of baskets and Hardiek hit 4-of-5 free throws in the final minutes.

Following Jackson for Central was Rickhoff and junior guard Jacob Timmermann with 11-points each.

The Shoes improved to 16-3 with the win with Smith (12) and Falbe (11) following Pruemer in scoring.

“He is tall and has good size. But with his size he has great hands and good court awareness. He can take a guy inside or he can step outside,” said Coach Fehrenbacher about Pruemer. “He is one of the leaders of this team.”

T-town finished at exactly 50 percent from the field on the night, 20-of-40 overall.

The Wooden Shoes out rebounded Central, 26-16, which included 10 offensive rebounds.

Teutopolis will face top-seed Gibault at 8 pm Saturday night.

“They (Gibault) are an awfully good team. He (Coach Rueter) is a fine coach so I know he will have his guys prepared. They have a really good team but we are excited about our team,” finalized Coach Fehrenbacher. “We will show up and will be ready to play.”

Also Saturday besides the Mater Dei-Central clash for third place; Freeburg and Wesclin will matchup at Noon for the seventh place game, followed by Mascoutah and Nashville for the consolation championship at 1:30 pm.

Teutopolis (52) – Smith 4 0 4-5 12, Waldhoff 3 0 0-2 6, Will 0 0 0-0 0, Hardiek 0 0 4-5 4, Falbe 4 1 0-0 11, Schultz 1 0 0-0 2, Mette 0 0 0-0 0, Pruemer 6 1 2-3 17.
2FG-18, 3FG-2, FT-10-15, PF-12.
Breese Central (45) – Meyer 0 0 0-0 0, Timmermann 2 1 4-5 11, Imming 0 0 0-0 0, Becker 2 0 0-2 4, Perez 0 0 0-0 0, Rickhoff 4 1 0-1 11, Scheer 2 0 0-1 4, Jackson 3 3 0-0 15.
2FG-13, 3FG-5, FT-4-9, PF-20.
Fouled Out – Becker - Breese Central.
Technical Fouls – None.