Contributing writer
The Goessel High School Bluebirds boys’ basketball team placed second in the Bluebird Classic last week, with wins over Central Christian and Elyria Christian, but they finished with a loss to Burrton.
Central Christian
Goessel fans witnessed a basketball game with 16 3-pointers on Dec. 6. The Goessel boys opened up a 4-0 lead on Central Christian in their first game of the tournament, but two 3-pointers by the Cougars and a lay-up gave the visitors an 8-6 lead. Shane Goerzen, a 5-1 junior, nailed a 3-pointer for Goessel and the Bluebirds had a 9-8 lead at the end of one quarter.
Two 3-pointers to open the second quarter by Central Christian gave them their biggest lead of the night, 14-9, that quickly evaporated behind a basket by Trey Schmidt and nine points from Braden Unruh. Goessel led at the half, 20-17.
Goerzen single-handedly broke up a Cougar fast break and canned two 3-pointers as Goessel’s lead swelled to 10 points at the end of the third quarter.
The fourth quarter was a matter of running time off the clock for the Bluebirds and taking a high percentage shot. Nic Buller was on the receiving end of several assists as he scored six points and Davis Cook knocked in four points in the fourth quarter to stay ahead of the Cougars by a final score of 46-37. Central Christian connected on 11 3-pointers to Goessel’s five.
Leaders for the Bluebirds were Unruh with 13 points, six rebounds, and four assists; Schmidt 10 points and five assists; Goerzen with nine points and two steals; Buller eight points; and Cook with six points and seven rebounds.
Elyria Christian
The Goessel coaches were able to empty the bench as the Bluebirds coasted to a 62-33 win against Elyria Christian.
The Bluebirds took the opening tip for a lay-up by Schmidt and went ahead, 7-0, before the Eagles got on the scoreboard. Goessel closed out the first quarter with Unruh getting fouled on a 3-pointer that went in and the free throw and also a Goerzen 3-pointer. Goessel led 16-7 at the end of the first period and then outscored the Eagles, 9-2, to take a commanding lead.
Elyria trailed at halftime, 29-13, but scored the first four points in the second half on steals that went for lay-ups. Goessel’s defense helped the offense by coming up with 16 steals for the game. The Bluebirds’ lead mushroomed to 54-30, and in the fourth quarter both teams emptied the bench, giving everyone a chance to play. Goessel won by a final score of 62-33.
Several seniors scored their first varsity points of the season with Peter Voth dropping in seven points, Drake Sterk adding three points and Stephan Goertzen hitting a layup for two points. Leading the scoring for the Bluebirds were Cook with 14 points and nine rebounds; Unruh 11 points; Buller with 11 points; Schmidt with eightpoints and four steals; Goerzen with three points and four steals; and Ben Wiens with three points.
Burrton 49, Goessel 31
In the championship game of the Bluebird Classic, the Goessel boys got behind and just could not make up the deficit to the Burrton Chargers.
Burrton jumped out to an 8-1 lead, but the Bluebirds would get as close as five points in the second quarter, only to see the Chargers build their lead to 20 points in the third period. It was fairly balanced scoring by the Bluebirds, but just not enough scoring as the Chargers finished the game with an 18-point lead, 49-31.
Leading the way for Goessel was Unruh with seven points and five rebounds. Voth followed with six points, Buller and Cook each had five points, Goerzen and Schmidt each hit one 3-pointer, and Sterk ended with two points.
The Bluebirds are now 3-1. Goessel played a home game on Tuesday with Moundrige and will play at home Friday with Wakefield, before having several weeks off for the semester break.