Cardinal Ritter used a late three-pointer by Joey Gruber to defeat Decatur Central, 54-53.

Key Stretch

Decatur Central held a six to eight point lead much of the fourth quarter. In fact, DC was in the lead for most of the game. With less than 30 seconds to play, Miles Tracy was able to take the ball all the way down the court for a quick layup. After a Ritter timeout, Decatur Central turned the ball over while trying to get around a trap deep in the corner. That turnover gave the ball back to Ritter down two points. Ritter used an out of bounds play and ball reversal to get a clean look for Joey Gruber from three. He knocked it down to give Ritter the lead. Tyrone Tracy raced the ball down the court and was able to get to the lane but couldn’t finish the play. Miles Tracy grabbed the rebound with four seconds remaining. Although he missed both free throws, Decatur Central was only able to get a half court heave at the buzzer that was off the mark.

Standout Players

Miles Tracy and Nate Soltis each had a double-double in the victory. Tracy finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Soltis added 14 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Soltis had a really nice third quarter where he gave Ritter a brief lead.

Joey Gruber connected on three of four three-pointers. The rest of Ritter was 1-12 from deep. Gruber had a game-high 15 points including the biggest three late.

Tyrone Tracy and Kenny Tracy produced most of the scoring opportunities for DC. They either shot or created looks for others. Tyrone finished with 14 points on 6-11 shooting. He also had six rebounds and five steals. Kenny finished with 10 points and five rebounds.

Khiree Williams tallied 12 points for DC.

Surprises

Shelby Turner has returned from a torn ACL. He has some rust on the offensive end, but he created three steals and had a block on the defensive end. It is good to see him back. He didn’t look limited athletically at all. He’ll add a new dimension to this Ritter team going forward.

Next Up

Ritter plays Southport on the 22^nd. Decatur Central doesn’t play again until the 29^th in the Tri-West Tournament.

Stats

Tyrone Tracy 14 points (6-11 FG, 2-3 FT), 6 rebounds, 5 steals, 1 assist, 3 turnovers; Noah Ray 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist; Kenny Tracy 10 points (4-13, 2-7 3FG), 5 rebounds; Ryan Bostic 6 points; Khiree Williams 12 points (4-11 FG, 2-4 3FG), 5 rebounds; Ceddy Brent 7 points, Nate Dickson 2 points

Miles Tracy 13 points (6-11 FG, 1-3 3FG, 0-2 FT), 13 rebounds;  Shelby Turner 6 points, 3 steals, 1 block; Joey Gruber 15 points (6-8 FG, 3-4 3FG); Daion Daniels 0-6 FG; Nemo Jones 2 points, 4 rebounds; Tharran Cook 4 points, 6 rebounds; Nate Soltis 14 point (4-14 FG, 0-2 3FG, 6-6 FT), 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover