Fourth Quarter Run Pushes Cougars Past Trinity

The Cougars basketball team earned a close 56-54 AAA Conference victory over the Trinity Catholic High School Titans last night at Lutheran High School. 

“The whole game we were trying to focus on the boards,” Cougars’ head coach Michael Holtmeier said. “In the first game they killed us on the boards—and in their second opportunities and second shots. I think we were consistent on that throughout the whole game. Trinity probably still out-rebounded us, but we competed.” 

The Titans defeated the Cougars 50-48 on Dec. 17. 

Trinity held a 42-39 advantage at the end of the third quarter. The Titans led throughout the entire third quarter, but Lutheran would go on to outscore the Titans 17-12 in the fourth quarter. Matt Niewald’s free throw at the 6:34 mark in the fourth quarter tied the contest up at 44 points. The contest remained close in the fourth quarter, as it was tied up at 44, 46, and 54 points.

Niewald’s basket with 35 ticks left on the clock gave Lutheran a 56-54 lead. Trinity’s next possession came up dry.

Titan coach Mark Decker also felt Lutheran’s performance on the boards made a difference. 

“They got some key rebounds in the second half and that made a difference for them,” he said. “We also got some chances on shooting and didn’t knock them down. I think we were one-for-five on free throws in the second half. We missed some easy ones. You can’t say we didn’t get some good looks.”  

The Cougars had three players in double figures: Kyle Graham (15), Niewald (12) and Logan Kluesner (13). 

“If they would have had more rebounds they would have more chances to score,” Niewald said. “We rebounded the ball for some fast break points.”   

Trinity also had three players in double figures: Desoto Dickson (13), Greg Rodgers (12), and Tyler Jones (12). 

The contest was close in the first few minutes of the first quarter, as it was tied up at two and four points. Ryan Liefer’s basket at the 6:20 mark ignited an 8-3 Cougar run and Lutheran held a 13-7 lead at the 3:40 mark. The Cougars led 18-14 at the end of the first quarter. 

The Titans would make the second quarter their quarter. Mike Theirmet’s free throw at the 7:22 mark kicked off a 10-0 run and Trinity held a 24-18 advantage at the 3:36 mark. The Titans continued to control the lead in the second quarter and led 33-26 at halftime.

“In the second quarter things got out of control,” Holtmeier said. “They had a five basket run. We were confident that if we came out in the second half and controlled the tempo and limited their second chances that we would be in the game.”  

Lutheran improves to 6-9 overall and 4-1 in the AAA Conference with the win. Trinity drops to 7-8 overall and 1-3 in the league.