The St. Vincent Indians (3-1) proved Friday that they’re equipped with more than one weapon, using a measured offensive attack and solid defense to defeat visiting Oak Ridge 81-39 Friday in Perryville.
The BlueJays (1-5) held St. Vincent’s lone senior and leading scorer, Max Wheeler, to 11 points — all in the second half — but that proved to be no real obstacle for the Indians.
“They took [Wheeler] out of the game, and we showed that we’ve got other people that can put the ball in the hole also,” said St. Vincent coach Bruce Valleroy. “If you’re going to take Max away from us, we’ve got other weapons. If you don’t take Max away, we still feel like we’ve got other people.”
Wheeler came into Friday’s game averaging 22 points per game.
“He might have not had the best scoring game tonight, but I thought overall he played a great game defensively in the paint for us, and he didn’t force anything,” Valleroy said. “He might only have got one or two shots up the first half. It did not bother him the whole night or anything. He is what we call a total team player for us. Tonight was not his night to score, but we had some other people that did."
St. Vincent built an 18- 12 lead in the first half and were up 40-25 at the break, aided by five of the team’s 16 three-pointers. Freshman Liam Nations made 7 three-pointers and finished with a team-high 21 points, followed by sophomore Cain Clifton, who made 5 three-pointers and finished with 19 points. Colden Prost, a junior, made 4 three-pointers in the first half and finished with 16 points.
“We had total balanced scoring tonight for us,” Valleroy said.
Oak Ridge was led by sophomore Hayden McFall, who finished with 16 points, the lone BlueJay to score more than 6 points.
“We really love our defense right now,” Valleroy said. “We’re really stepping up, getting in people’s faces, making it tough for them to drive to the basket. As long as we can continue to do that, I think we’ll be okay.”
Four games into the season, Valleroy said he’s pleased with his team’s progress.
“We feel like we’re getting better every day,” Valleroy said. “We come in this gym every day wanting to work harder and wanting to improve, and our kids are growing every day. Our freshmen are just moving up the scale, our sophomores are moving up, and our juniors and seniors are being leaders and showing by example.”
The Indians were scheduled to travel to Chaffee on Dec. 16, then head to Sparta, Ill., for the Sparta Shootout on Dec. 20.
ST. VINCENT 57, SAXONY LUTHERAN 35
CRYSTAL CITY — The St. Vincent Indians held Saxony Lutheran to single digits in the first and second quarters on the way to a 22-point victory in the third-round of the annual Rolla “Duke” Herbert Boys Basketball Tournament on Dec. 6.
Max Wheeler once again led the Indians with 22 points and 16 rebounds, while Colden Prost finished with 11 points. For Saxony Lutheran, James Hope led the Crusaders with 11 points in the loss.
ST. CLAIR 60, ST. VINCENT 55
CRYSTAL CITY — Max Wheeler had 20 points and 12 rebounds for St. Vincent on Dec. 5, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a second-round loss to the St. Clair Bulldogs (2-1) in the annual Rolla “Duke” Herbert Boys Basketball Tournament on Dec. 5.
Colden Prost and Liam Nations had 9 points each for the Indians. Carson Roemer led St. Clair with a game-high 30 points.
ST. VINCENT 72, HERCULANEUM 64
CRYSTAL CITY — Max Wheeler scored 24 points and Colden Prost 23 to lead the St. Vincent Indians to a season-opening victory over Herculaneum (3-3) in the opening round of the annual Rolla “Duke” Herbert Boys Basketball Tournament on Dec. 2.
The Indians trailed 15- 12 after the first quarter, but rallied to take a slim 36-31 lead at the half before taking a 55-43 lead after three quarters. Herculaneum outscored the Indians 21-17 in the fourth, but weren’t able to get over the hump.
Tanner Duncan led Herculaneum with a game-high 32 points, followed by Ben McLaughlin with 20.
