By GARY R. RASBERRY
grasberry@dailystandard.com
ST. HENRY — With the conference schedule getting
back underway this Friday, one could say that St. Henry had
a fine tuneup on Saturday.
The Redskins did the damage with defense rather than offense
in handing Ansonia its first loss of the season in a 56-37 drubbing
at Redskins Gymnasium. The win is the sixth straight for the
Redskins in putting them at 6-2 on the season while Ansonia
drops to 9-1.
St. Henry had to fight off the Tigers for three quarters before
finally being able to put together enough to make the cushion
of victory a lot softer for the Redskin faithful in attendance.
“It was a battle,” said St. Henry coach Joe Niekamp.
“I thought both teams played with a lot of intensity and
both were aggressive. It was a hard-fought game.”
The main thing St. Henry needed to watch for on defense was
the Ansonia pair of Jack Steinke and Adam Barga, who combined
for 47 points in the win over Fort Recovery last week.
Steinke, a six-foot guard, had plenty of pressure on him throughout
the game, finishing with just 14 points but getting the upperhand
on the Redskins by hitting a two-handed dunk in the first half.
“Steinke and Barga combine for a lot of their offense,”
said Niekamp. “Steinke is just a super athlete. He’s
a tough guy to handle and to find someone who can match up.
I thought we had an excellent effort, especially when Bryan
Post was on him. In the second half he was able to really cut
down on (Steinke’s) penetration. We were able to slow
that down.”
The 6-5 Barga was hounded all evening by either 6-6 Steve Sutter
or 6-9 Kurt Huelsman in the game. Barga did score 13 points
but was just 6-of-15 from the field. Huelsman came up especially
big, blocking five of Barga’s shots.
After scoring 70 points or more in the first five games of the
winning streak, the Redskins had to deal with a potent defense
in the Tigers’ matchup zone. The Redskins weren’t
able to use their size advantage as the zone collapsed when
either Sutter or Huelsman got near the ball. St. Henry countered
with some strong cutting moves to the basket and some outside
shooting.
“They always had an answer,” said Ansonia coach
Chad Cramer. “They’re a very disciplined basketball
team. When they needed to, they got good looking shots. They
have a very nice team.
“Our little guards (5-11 Greg Wentworth and 5-9 Kevin
Harrod) work hard up front. We try to be as active as we can
be, getting in the passing lanes and going after the ball. I
can’t fault our kids’ effort tonight,” continued
Cramer.
Sutter and Nate Stahl led St. Henry with a pair of 11-point
games while Ross Niekamp came off the bench to add 10. Huelsman
played a strong all-around contest and finished with nine points,
10 rebounds and seven blocks.
St. Henry re-starts Midwest Athletic Conference play on Friday
with a road trip to Fort Recovery.
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