Tough Weekend For Whitnall Basketball

Two weeks ago was a disappointing time for those who follow basketball in the Whitnall community. Three different teams with a common goal: get to the finals of their tournament. Unfortunately none of these teams were able to accomplish this.

Starting off Thursday night, the Whitnall boys varsity basketball team took on the Pius Popes at Greenfield High School. With the outside shooting led by Luke Mentkowski and Ian Ray, the Falcons were able to keep up with the Popes.  The Whitnall offense wasn’t enough to get a win. Carrington Love, Pius’ point guard, was too much for the Whitnall defense. Love led the pick-and-roll offense that Pius ran almost flawlessly during the game. His ability to drive to the hoop and beat the defender was a key part in the Pius victory. The Whitnall student section
was one of the biggest and loudest sections seen in a while. The class that the fans had was also reflected on the Whitnall players.  All Whitnall players played cleanly, without any attitude problems, and were very respectable. Whitnall’s program is one of the best in the area.

Saturday had a similar outcome to it for two CYM teams from the Whitnall area.  St. Matthias and St. Marys both made it to the final four of the CYM tournament at St. John Vienny. With the rivalry these two teams had, both were hoping to see each other in the finals. This matchup would have been one of the most entertaining tournament games in a while.

Both teams needed to win only one more game for this dream to come true. The first game was played by St. Matthias as they took on St. Eugene. St. Matthias,
led by Greg Stribling and Jake Damro, started off strong in the paint getting
rebounds and second chance points. The first half of the game was neck and neck. The second half is when St. Eugene pulled ahead.  St. Matthias wasn’t able to stop the fast break offense of St. Eugene. In the end it came down to the wire.  St. Eugene’s made their free throws and St. Matthias didn’t. The final score was St. Eugene winning, 42-34.

The following game was St. Mary's turn to verse St. Boniface. Within the first six
minutes of the game, St. Mary's was winning, 12-0. Joe Kelnhofer was a big time
scorer in the game hitting many deep 3-pointers.  Slowly but surely St. Boniface was creeping back.  Since the game had a continuous clock until the last two minutes, time seemed to slip away.  With only a minute left, St. Marys found themselves up only 34-33. St. Boniface ran down the court wasting some time and hit a layup with 6 seconds left. As St. Marys inbounded the ball, the clock wind down to 1.2 seconds and they called a timeout which they didn’t have. This meant St. Boniface would get two free throws and the ball.  In the end St. Boniface won, 36-34.

Every team in the Whitnall area finished off their seasons within the same weekend.  The fans of these teams were disappointed, but each team should be proud of their accomplishments. The Whitnall boys were conference champs, St.
Matthias was division champs, and St. Marys had an outstanding season. The community is proud of all the boys on these teams.

Editor's note: As part of a partnership with Whitnall High School, Greenfield Patch through the end of the school year. All blogs and announcements have been approved by the student's teacher.