Saints Win Three Straight
By Brent Huelsmann
The St. Ann Saints boys basketball team picked up three wins this past week as they defeated TSJ/ILS in the Feeder School Shootout at NCHS as well as defeating St. Libory and Hoyleton/Grand Prairie earlier in the week.
The Saints got the week started with a 51-34 win over the Hoyleton/Grand Prairie Thunderbolts on November 7. The Saints started quick in the win as they took a 17-6 lead after one quarter of play. In the second, St. Ann kept the pressure on as they outscored the Thunderbolts 17-5 in the frame to take a 34-11 halftime lead.
In the second half, the Thunderbolts would outscored the Saints but it was too little too late as they could not complete the comeback. The Thunderbolts outscored the Saints 10-8 in the third, and 13-9 in the fourth but could not overcome their first half struggles.
Kaden LInkey led the way for the Saints with 13 points in the win. Harrison Zgonina added 10 points, followed by Tommy Herzog with eight points. Evan Kujawa and Thomas Wojtowicz each scored six points while Adam Anderson chipped in four points. Kassidy LInkey and Bryce Wojtowicz each scored two points in the win.
St. Ann was back in action on November 9 as they took on St. Libory. The Saints used a huge first quarter to defeat St. Libory 49-32. St. Ann came out on fire in the first quarter, as they put up 22 points in the first alone. The Saints held a 22-11 lead at the end of the first. In the second, the Saints continued to build their lead as took a 32-17 lead into the break. In the second half, the Saints were able to keep St. Libory at bay as they cruised to a 49-32 win.
Kaden Linkey led the way in the game with 21 points for the Saints. Herzog added 19 points followed by Kujawa with five points. Zgonina scored four points in the win for St. Ann.
In their final game of the week, the Saints took on the TSJ/ILS Titans at the 21st Annual NCHS Feeder School Shootout, held at Assembly Hall. The Saints did not trail in the game as they took the win 33-25.
In the first, St. Ann rushed out to a 6-1 lead over the Titans, eventually extending their lead to 11-1 early in the second quarter. At the break, the Saints led TSJ/ILS 14-5.
In the third quarter the Titans made a run, but only got as close as 17-13 as Kaden Linkey hit two huge threes at the end of the third to push the Saints lead to 23-13 going into the fourth. In the final quarter of play, the Titans would fall behind by as many as 16 and would close the gap to as many as eight, which would be the final margin as St. Ann took the 33-25 win.
Kujawa led the way with 11 points in the game, followed by Kaden Linkey with 10 points. Herzog scored seven points in the win, while Anderson added three points. Thomas Wojtowicz rounded out the scoring with two points.
