Goessel boys win two
By DELBERT PETERS
Contributing writer
The boys' high school team played Ell-Saline on Friday night as the last regular season game. Although the Cardinals are in the league, this game did not count for league standings. Goessel won 60-49.
Ell-Saline was one of the top teams in the Heart of America league with a 9-3 record.
Goessel fell behind 12-6 with some early game turnovers, but found a way to break away for easy lay-ups and pulled within two points at the end of the first quarter 14-16.
Goessel took the lead 19-18 on a Clinton Plenert jumper and then held the Cardinals to only three points in the second quarter for a halftime score of 28-19.
Ell-Saline scored the first four points of the second half, but Goessel soon settled down and an Aaron Stehman three-pointer gave Goessel a 38-29 lead.
The Cardinals, sensing that the Bluebirds were on target began taking chances and sent the Bluebirds to the free throw line 20 times in the fourth quarter.
Jeremy Voth scored 10 straight Goessel points, all on free throws to give the Bluebirds a rather comfortable lead of 50-39 with less than four minutes to play.
Ell-Saline could not get the Bluebirds to collapse.
Voth ended the night with 28 points, Jesse Goertzen and Plenert had 10 points each, Kent Peters had seven, Stehman had four, and Nick Peters had one.
Goessel ended the regular season with an 11-9 record.
The Bluebirds, number three seed, hosted the Wakefield Bombers in the first round of the 1A Regional tournament on Monday. Goessel scored nine points in the first minutes of play with steals on a full-court press, that set the tone for the rest of the game.
Although, the Bluebirds connected on only four three-pointers for the fame, the inside game was working well again.
Goessel led at the quarters, 19-9, 32-17, 58-25, and won by a score of 66-38.
Voth led in scoring with 26 points, Goertzen with 15, K. Peters, with 12, Stehman with five, Josh Schmidt and Peters with three, and Ben Schmidt with two.
Goessel now advances to semifinal play at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at St. Xavier High School in Junction City. The winners will play at the same place at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.
