This story is sponsored by Total Electric
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – When Stevens Point Pacelli’s 6-foot-7 sophomore Jaydon Awe picked up his fourth foul with 7:48 to go and the Cardinals leading by five points, Marshfield Columbus Catholic was energized.
After failing to score consistently inside due to the presence of the Cardinals’ big man, Columbus immediately got the ball in the paint and scored six quick points. Awe re-entered and the Dons then turned to sharp-shooter Blake Jakobi, who nailed three-straight 3-pointers to give them the lead as they coasted to a 68-56 victory in the nonconference boys basketball matchup Thursday night at Columbus Catholic High School.
Jakobi’s barrage from beyond the arc, which was followed by another 3-pointer from Charlie Moore, sparked a 25-8 run during the final seven minutes to propel the Dons (3-0) to the double-digit victory.
“They were switching off every screen and we were able to get (Lucas) Kreklau the ball,” Columbus Catholic coach Joe Konieczny said. “On the perimeter, I didn’t think we handled it very well. We didn’t flash to the basket, didn’t move the ball really well and we shot it kind of poorly. We got a win tonight, and maybe we could have done some things better tonight, so we feel fortunate.”
The lead changed hands multiple times in the first half as neither offense was able to get on track.
A 3-pointer by Jakobi put the Dons ahead 28-24 with 2:17 to go before halftime, but the Cardinals (1-1) responded when Peyton Flees drilled a 3 and Logan Mayer scored in the final minute as the teams went into the break tied at 29-29.
Awe, Camden Schurk and Bennett Eckendorf scored in a 7-0 to start the second half for the Cardinals, who led for the next 10 minutes.
Schurk had two more baskets and Awe, who had 21 points and 10 rebounds, added another as Pacelli took a 48-43 lead with 9:08 to go.
Awe picked up three fouls in a span of four minutes, sending him to the bench with his fourth and the Dons were able to respond quickly.
Lucas Kreklau and Grant Olson scored inside, and Kreklau made two free throws after being fouled going to the hoop, to put the Dons up 50-49.
Logan Martin responded with a basket for Pacelli before Jakobi made 3-pointers on three-straight trips down the floor to put the Dons in control at 58-52 with 4:36 remaining.
The Dons closed the game by making 7 of 9 free throws in the final 2½ minutes to ice the win.
Jakobi finished with seven 3-pointers and a game-high 23 points. Kreklau added 18 in the win.
“We have to figure some things out from a depth standpoint,” Konieczny said. “Grant (Olson) coming back tonight helps us a lot. Now, as a coaching staff we have to figure out a rotation.”
Columbus Catholic will host two more tough nonconference games next week against Auburndale on Monday and Chippewa Falls McDonell on Thursday, Dec. 8.
“We told the boys when the season started that we didn’t create this schedule to build up win totals or go undefeated,” Konieczny said. “We are playing some teams that can knock us off. The whole point of this is to see how good we can become through some tough tests, and tonight was the first step.”
Dons 68, Cardinals 56
Pacelli 29 27 – 56
Columbus Catholic 29 39 – 68
PACELLI (56): Andrew Van Order 2-11 0-0 5, Logan Mayer 5-10 0-0 12, Camden Schurk 5-13 0-0 10, Jaydon Awe 10-18 1-1 21, Bennett Eckendorf 1-4 0-0 2, Brock Birrenkott 0-3 0-0 0, Logan Martin 1-4 1-2 3, Peyton Flees 1-1 0-0 3. FG: 25-64. FT: 2-3. 3-pointers: 4-22 (Mayer 2-4, Flees 1-1, Van Order 1-8, Awe 0-1, Schurk 0-1, Birrenkott 0-2, Eckendorf 0-2, Martin 0-3). Rebounds: 30 (Awe 11). Turnovers: 6. Fouls: 20. Fouled out: none. Record: 1-1.
COLUMBUS CATHOLIC (68): Emmitt Konieczny 3-10 2-2 8, Charlie Moore 1-7 4-7 7, Blake Jakobi 7-12 2-2 23, Grant Olson 1-3 2-4 4, Lucas Kreklau 6-11 4-4 18, Cy Becker 0-0 0-0 0, Alex Edwards 3-6 0-0 8. FG: 21-49. FT: 14-19. 3-pointers: 12-31 (Jakobi 7-11, Edwards 2-4, Kreklau 2-6, Moore 1-5, Konieczny 0-5). Rebounds: 30 (Jakobi 7, Kreklau 7). Turnovers: 10. Fouls: 8. Fouled out: none. Record: 3-0.