Saturday, February 1st, 2014
Redskins knock off Cardinals on the road
By Bruce Monnin
NEW BREMEN - St. Henry used a pair of first-half runs to build a 32-20 lead over New Bremen by halftime and the Redskins pulled away in the second half to post a 61-42 Midwest Athletic Conference victory over the Cardinals on Friday night at Cardinal Gymnasium.
The Redskins used a combination of effective perimeter shooting, an 82-percent showing at the free-throw line and a stingy defense to surge past the Cardinals.
"We had several different guys step up and hit big threes, whether it was Evan Prenger, Mitchel Stammen or Caleb Bender in the second half. That's what it takes, a team effort," explained St. Henry coach Eric Rosenbeck. "New Bremen has been scoring in the 60s, 70s and even 80s the last five or six games. For us to hold them to 42 is a great credit to our kids and their work ethic throughout the week."
It took both teams a while to warm up in the first quarter, as they combined for a total of 17 turnovers in the opening period. The Cardinals (8-8, 4-3 MAC) used an early three-pointer by Nate Herriott (the only perimeter shot that New Bremen hit all night) and some free throws to claim an early 6-2 lead, while the Redskins struggled against the Cardinals' extended zone defense. St. Henry (9-7, 3-3 MAC) then responded with the final 13 points of the first quarter, including a string of six points from Jason Jacobs.
"New Bremen is a good ball team and they're very well-coached. The adjustments came from our kids, going more at guys' hips and attacking more," added Rosenbeck.
The Cardinals closed their deficit to just five points at 17-12 early in the second quarter but the Redskins' Ryan Mikesell answered with seven straight points of his own to re-establish St. Henry's advantage. The Redskins' lead hovered near 12 points for the rest of the half and St. Henry went into halftime with a 32-20 advantage.
The two teams battled back and forth throughout the second half. Mikesell consistently slashed to the basket and finished with a game-high 19 points while Ben Homan controlled the paint on the other side of the floor for New Bremen with 16 points. While those two nearly matched each other in the scoring column, the Redskins had more contributions from the rest of their team. St. Henry was 7-of-21 from three-point range and 18-of-22 from the charity stripe.
The Redskins are back in action tonight, hosting Celina. The Cardinals are also in action tonight, with a road trip to Botkins.
