MTZ Boys Basketball now 19-1
Lyncoln Koester goes up for a block in a 72-69 loss against Metamora at Metamora.
By BLAKE FAITH
Staff Writer
Despite playing by the grit of their teeth and on the road, the 3A No. 5 Mt. Zion boys basketball team fell for the first time losing to No.4 Metamora 72-69. Lyncoln Koester with a game-high 26 points, Jc Anderson with a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds and 14 points from point guard Sam Driscoll in maybe the best game of his career so far.
“Well, it was a test and we took the test and we know where we’re at now.” Head coach Dale Schuring said. “We know what our grade is and what we have to work on and what, what we’re good at and what we have to get better at. That’s why you play these right? Obviously, we’re disappointed in the loss, but, it’s not the state tournament, so who cares.”
The Metamora defense caged Anderson in the first quarter and went on a 9-0 run that helped give them a 15-14 first quarter lead. Driscoll got Anderson going with an assist inside that Anderson finished at the rim to put the Braves up 16-14. Koester than grabbed his own miss and finished at the rim to put the Braves up 18-15.
Driscoll once again found Anderson inside to out the Braves up 20-15. Matthew Zobrist nailed a mid-range jumper to end the Braves run and then Anderson grabbed the offensive rebound and made the putback layup to put the Braves up 22-17.
Anderson finished the quarter with 10 points and a buzzer-beater three-pointer from Ashton Grieves put the Redbirds up 29-28.
The third quarter belonged to Driscoll. Driscoll answered Colin Cout’s opening quarter layup with a finish of his own, driving through the heart of the Redbirds defense to narrow the deficit to 31-30. The Redbirds went up 40-34 and Brayden Trimble found Driscoll on the right-wing as Driscoll raised up and buried the three-pointer to cut the deficit to 40-37.
The Redbirds went on another run and took a 49-39 lead after Zobrist nailed three free-throws after failed on a three-point attempt. Trimble found Driscoll who drove through once again, finished at the rim and was fouled for a chance at a three-point play. Driscoll nailed the free-throw to cut the Redbirds lead to 49-42.
The Braves chipped at the Redbirds lead behind a three-pointer from Owen Owens, a Trimble blocked shot and a driving layup by Koester that cut the deficit to 51-47. Cout nailed a three-pointer and Driscoll once again answered Cout, burying the three-pointer from the left wing to keep the Braves within four points.
Early in the fourth quarter, Koester nailed back-to-back shots to tie the game at 56-56 with 6:49 left in the game. The Braves were down one point after Koester scored once again and Anderson made a steal and missed the layup at the rim. Anderson then went down to the other side, made a stop and grab and then finished off the offensive putback to put the Braves up 62-61.
The Redbirds regained the lead off a Zobrist three-pointer and looked like they were pulling away with the win. Koester got to the free-throw line and nailed two free-throws and then made a layup to get the Braves within six with about 30 seconds left in the game. Koester then nailed a three-pointer as the clock expired as Metamora held on to win 72-69.
“My trainer told me that we gave up an 11-0 run, a 9-0 run and a 10-0 run. So we gave up a 30-0 and we ended up losing by three. So, we’re fine and we are going to be fine. Its a tough one, but we’re going to work. We have to come with energy tomorrow. We played a tough game tonight. High level competition the whole way. It’s can we bounce back from that and then play our normal game with the energy and effort that we do and if we can do that, I think we’ll be okay tomorrow.”
The Braves defeated Tolono Unity 62-38 to improve to 19-1 overall and 5-0 in Apollo Conference play. This week the Braves will face Teutopolis and Mahomet-Seymour.
