St. Elmo beats Patoka to advance in regional

ST. ELMO – Eagles coach Greg Feezel was not expecting his team to produce a 38-point blowout in the first round of the regional tournament on Monday.

But that’s what happened, as St. Elmo soared to a 67-29 win against Patoka.

“I was (actually) concerned, because we just got done playing Beecher (City), we hadn’t seen Patoka in a while and we had Altamont lurking,” Feezel said. “I thought, ‘I hope we don’t overlook (them).’”

It was pretty clear early on that the Eagles were focused on the task at hand, however, as St. Elmo scurried out to a 7-2 lead and led 20-9 by the end of the first quarter.

Three 3-pointers – two by sophomore Connor Beasley and one by junior Blaine Scholes – propelled the Eagles during an 11-0 run that lasted just 1:29 late in the first period.

In the game, St. Elmo made seven 3-pointers, marking the first time it had made more than five in a game since hitting eight on Dec. 18 in the championship game of the St. Elmo Holiday Tournament.

“I’m glad to see that come back,” Feezel said. “I hope it shows back up on Wednesday.”

St. Elmo played Altamont, a team which has defeated the Eagles twice this season, in the regional quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Patoka’s struggles continued into the second period, when the Warriors posted just four points.

Meanwhile, the Eagles meticulously continued adding baskets, spreading 11 points over the eight minutes to take a 31-13 halftime lead.

That lead should have been 12, however, as a 3-point attempt by Beasley was ruled a two-point basket even though both of his feet were clearly behind the 3-point arc.

“We stressed a lot about coming out with energy, and I think the kids did that,” Feezel said.

That energy did, at times, cause some turnovers for St. Elmo, but for every time the Eagles lost a few turnovers in a short stretch, they turned over Patoka just as many times, if not more.

That was defined late in the third period when St. Elmo stole three straight Patoka possessions, scoring six points to take a 46-17 lead with 1:32 left in the quarter. Two of those steals were by senior Kase Stolte.

Feezel said watching the game film from his team’s 65-37 win against the Warriors on Jan. 14 led him to change the team’s approach, which both caused and created more turnovers.

“I looked at the film from the first time we played them, and every time we ran the ball, it produced something,” Feezel said. “So I said, ‘Lets push it a little harder than we normally do.’ I think the boys (sometimes) got too going to fast.”

He expects the pace to be similar, but more defined, on Wednesday, because his players understand what is at stake.

“It’s their time to shine, and I think they are more focused now than they have been in a long time,” Feezel said.

Beasley and senior Garrett Buzzard both advanced in the 3-point shootout for St. Elmo. Patoka advanced freshman Johnnie Clift and sophomore Drew Back. They will shoot prior to Wednesday’s game.

Monday, Feb. 21
at St. Elmo Regional
St. Elmo 67
Patoka 29
Scoring:
Eagles – Scholes, 14; Beasley, 12; Stolte, 10; Jake Mansker, 9; Buzzard, 6; Ben Sperry, 4; Dylan Bullard, 3; Levi Maxey, 3; Patrick Schaal, 3; Garrett Bartels, 2; Blake Pruett, 2.
Warriors – Blake Budds, 10; Cody Allen, 8; Zach Thompson, 4; John Ishum, 3; Jake Orrell, 2; Zach Wadkins, 2.
Rebounding:
Eagles – Pruett, 6; Sperry, 6; Buzzard, 4; Mansker, 4; Beasley, 3; Bullard, 3; Scholes, 3; Stolte, 2; Maxey, 1.
Warriors – Budds, 7; Thompson, 7; Allen, 4; Clift, 3; Sawyer Potter, 3; Wadkins, 3; Orrell, 1.
Warriors  9–4–5–11—29
Eagles  20–11–19–17—67