Jordan Miller hit a three-point basket with less than 15 seconds to play to cap a Borgia comeback Monday night at St. Charles West, 53-52.
“It was a game of streaks,” said Borgia Head Coach Dave Neier. “They got a pretty good lead and then we would come back and make it close. They would hit some shots and stretch it out again. Fortunately, we got a good streak at the end. We got close and they missed.”
Neier said Casey Kuchem, who led the Knights with 20 points, set up the winning shot.
“Casey took a three-point attempt and hustled in and got the rebound,” Neier said. “He threw it out to Jordan.”
Miller, who scored 19 points in the game, hit the shot to put Borgia on top.
St. Charles West had the final chance, but Neier said Adam Meyer was in good defensive position to contest Davis Soderberg’s shot and John Baumstark pulled in the rebound.
Borgia improved to 5-3 overall with the victory. St. Charles West fell to 4-4.
Playing at home last Friday, the Knights lost for the first time in the Archdiocesan Athletic Association Large Division to Duchesne, 68-44.
The Knights close out the 2012 portion of the season Friday at Vianney. Freshman action begins at 4 p.m.
“Vianney is another place we’ve had trouble coming out with a victory,” Neier said. “They always are very well coached.”
St. Charles West
In Monday night’s game in St. Charles, Borgia trailed for most of the contest.
The Warriors led Borgia 16-12 after one quarter, 27-20 at the half and 40-36 after three quarters.
Borgia was down by 12 with less than six minutes to play, but narrowed the gap to just one point with a little under two minutes to play.
Neier cited contributions by a number of different players.
“Casey and Jordan shot extremely well,” Neier said. “Joe Helfrich made some big baskets. They were all big baskets. Kevin Birk came off the bench and had seven rebounds. He also had a big defensive play where he stopped their big kid from scoring an easy basket.”
Neier said the Knights had trouble handling the ball in the first half, but improved in the second half.
“We did a very good job taking care of the ball in the second half,” Neier said.
Duchesne
An eight-point run early in the second quarter helped the Duchesne Pioneers (3-0, 1-0) propel past Borgia Friday at the Ray DeGreeff Memorial Gymnasium, 68-44.
Borgia trailed 13-9 after one quarter and got back to within two on a pair of Kuchem free throws 27 seconds into the second quarter.
But Duchesne ripped a page out of Borgia’s playbook and went on a devastating eight-point run which changed the complexion of the game.
“In the first quarter, we looked like we had an opportunity to play with them,” Neier said. “We made too many mistakes and gave them too many opportunities. They shot the ball well.”
The Pioneers scored inside, outside and off of turnovers. In fact, Duchesne scored five points without Borgia even getting out of its own end.
By the time Alex Moss hit a three-point basket to end the string, the Pioneers were up by nine points, 23-14. The Pioneers responded to the Moss basket with a three-point shot of their own by Mike McDonald.
By the half, the Pioneers held a 13-point lead, 32-19.
Duchesne continued the onslaught through the third quarter and took a 50-30 lead into the final eight minutes.
“We’ve got to find a way to get to that level to give ourselves a chance,” Neier said.
Borgia’s bright spots were few and far between.
Three players tied for Borgia’s scoring lead with nine points. Sophomore Alex Moss was the only one to hit any three-point baskets and he went 3-4 from the free-throw line with a rebound as well.
“He not only shoots the three well, but he goes to the basket,” Neier said. “We need to continue to develop shooters. You’ve got to give a lot of credit to Duchesne for their defense.”
Also hitting for nine points were Baumstark and Kuchem.
Baumstark added three rebounds and two assists. Kuchem had four rebounds, three blocked shots and an assist.
Helfrich ended the game with seven points and four rebounds.
Miller scored six points with three steals, two assists and a rebound.
Tyler Breckenkamp added two points and a rebound.
Meyer and Zach Schweissguth scored one point apiece. Meyer had three blocked shots and a rebound. Schweissguth added a steal.
“We didn’t handle the ball well, but the kids never quit battling,” Neier said. “We’ve got to keep getting better as a team.”
Duchesne had three players reach double figures in scoring.
Ryan Tune led the Pioneers with 21 points while adding six rebounds, two blocked shots, an assist and a steal.
Sam Briscoe closed with 18 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals.
Drew Moore ended with 11 points, six rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Ryan Briscoe ended with eight points, three blocked shots, two rebounds and two steals.
McDonald scored five points with four rebounds.
Brad Pryor scored three points and added four rebounds.
Nate Friedel scored two points while adding four assists and a rebound.
