 01/15/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
NASHVILLE - When you look at the schedule that the Breese Mater
Dei Knights have navigated this season, it is a wonder that they
have as good of a won-loss mark as they've produced.
Coach
Cody Arentsen and his crew took on another challenge on Monday
night, playing the host Hornets at the 41st annual Nashville
Invitational Tournament.
And
they passed the test and advanced to the semifinals because
they did two things exceptionally well.
Defense
and free throw shooting.
The
Knights forced the hosts into a pathetic performance offensively
and BMD canned the foul shots late in the game when Nashville
sent them to the line.
The
defensive effort helped get them the lead and the foul shooting
etched the win in stone.
The
Knights improved to 10-11 on the season with a 46-37 triumph
over the Hornets.
Mater
Dei will now face St. Louis (MO.) KIPP, who beat Florissant
(MO.) Gateway Legacy Christian, 41-39 in a game played in Missouri
on Monday due to road conditions.
Senior
guard Drake Wagner paced the Knights with 18-points and senior
teammate Nick Lampe added 11.
This
pair combined to hit 14-of-15 of the team's free throws, with
Lampe nailing all seven of his tosses with Wagner nailing down
six consecutive foul shots in the final 1:27 of the game.
By
the time Wagner missed from the line in the final moments, the
outcome was settled.
Nashville
saw its mark fall to 12-9 despite a fourth quarter rally that
got the Hornets to within 37-31 with 2:38 left.
Coach
Stote Reeder's club was led by sophomore Maddox Ritzel with
13-points and senior John Blumhorst with 10.
Juniors
Ty Schoenherr (eight) and Isaac Blazier (six) rounded out the
scoring for the Hornets who struggled offensively on Monday.
Nashville
hit just 11-of-43 field goal attempts, just 2-of-20 from the
3-point line.
Mater
Dei hit just 12-of-28 themselves but they managed to hit 5-of-10
3-pointers, it turned out to be more than enough to move the
club into the final four.
“A
lot of times it wasn't pretty tonight but we guarded hard and
rebounded well enough in the first half to get us that cushion
where we could survive their runs in the second half,”
said Coach Arentsen. “The first half is where we won the
game. We did a good job guarding them on 3's.”
Wagner
hit three of the long range shots, including a pair of back-breaking
3's in the third quarter that stamped out a couple of Nashville
come-back attempts.
Another
important scorer for the Knights on Monday was 6-4 senior forward
Garrick Winkeler.
His
nine-points were as important as the rest of the club.
Winkeler
hit the other two 3-pointers for Mater Dei before fouling out.
Nashville
had chances late but they hit just 3-of-10 shot in the fourth
quarter, 0-of-5 from the arc.
The
Hornets had just one lead in the game, coming on a 3-pointer
by Blazier.
However
the Knights countered with a 9-2 run to close out the quarter.
Senior
Luke Haake, junior Elliot Rakers and junior Luke Brefeld scored
two-points each in the game.
All
three of the baskets came during the first quarter run and all
three were in the lane.
Rakers
scored on a hook shot in the paint, Haake converted on a nice
drive inside and Brefeld grabbed a rebound for a score that
closed the quarter at 11-5 Knights.
Mater
Dei increased their advantage by halftime by continuing to defend.
Nashville
wasn't much better in the second quarter, hitting just 3-of-12
shots, 0-of-4 from the arc.
Wagner
scored seven points in the second quarter, including his first
of his long range 3-pointers.
Winkeler
added a 3-point bomb from the top of the arc on an assist from
Lampe who drove into the lane before dishing it back out to
his teammate.
That
closed the half at 26-12 Knights.
Coach
Reeder's team found a way to get some points as they got to
the foul line in the third quarter.
The
Hornets hit all six of their foul shots and they also got a
rebound score from Blumhorst.
Winkeler
answered with a 3-pointer in the final seconds after Mater Dei
milked nearly a minute off of the clock to close the third quarter
for a 34-22 lead.
The
Knights put the game away late from the foul line as Nashville
was forced to foul.
Nashville
held a slight 24-23 rebounding advantage with both Ritzel and
Blumhorst grabbing six rebounds each while Rakers hauled down
nine-rebounds for BMD.
The
win was the second one over the Hornets as Coach Arentsen and
his squad beat Nashville 54-50 at the Wesclin Thanksgiving Tournament
back in November.
“We
made our free throws late. We got the ball in the hands of Nick
and Drake late in the game and they made their free throws,
which is what we expect from our senior guards,” said
Coach Arentsen. “Now we have to get back to the drawing
board and find out about KIPP.” |
The Cougars, the top-seeded team in the NIT and the top-ranked
team in both the Associated Press state-wide poll and A Baseline
View rankings, made quick work of Metro-East Lutheran in the opening
game of the tournament.