In a match-up of Notre Dame signees, JR Konieczny and St. Joe were able to get the best of Blake Wesley and Riley, 81-73.

 

In the first quarter, it did not look like it was going to be close. St. Joe used a three-quarter court trap to terrorize Riley. The Wildcats were barely able to cross half court on many of their first period possessions. With its defense causing havoc, St. Joe jumped out to a 19-3 lead. 

 

Blake Wesley was held to three points in the first quarter as the trap and face-guarding kept the ball out of his hands. He changed that in the second period as he took the ball straight to the basket. He was not waiting back behind the zone any longer. As Wesley kept slashing to the basket, St. Joe's lead dwindled. He scored 13 points in the second quarter to cut St. Joe's lead to 32-29 at the half.

 

Early in the second half, Wesley was still dominating. By the 5:30 mark of the third, Riley had a six-point advantage. Along with Wesley, Jackson Copley started to make some corner threes to balance Riley's offense a bit. Now, St. Joe's had to answer. 

 

The Indians used a variety of players to punch back. Seniors Will Terry and Jack Futa started to score inside and outside. On the defensive end, Connor Litka was a menace all night. He created many of the Riley turnovers. Litka finished the game with seven steals. 

 

Konieczny ended the third with a bucket to tie the game. To begin the fourth, Futa carried the offensive load to push St. Joe's to a six-point lead. From there, Konieczny took over the game. He scored the next 13 points for St. Joe's. Behind that effort, the Indians opened a double-digit lead. 

 

Wesley scored down the stretch to keep Riley fighting, but Konieczny and St. Joe's were too much. St. Joe moved to 3-1 with the 81-73 win. Riley is now 4-1.

 

St. Joe (81) - JR Konieczny 25 points, 9rebs, 3asts, 3turns, 2stls; Jack Futa 19 points, 6 rebs, 1ast, 2turns, 2stls; WIll Terry 14 points, 5 rebs, 3asts, 1 turn, 1stl; Cole Hatkevich 7 points, 1reb, 3asts, 2turns, 3stls; Connor Litka 8 points, 2 rebs, 2asts, 3 turns, 7 stls; Jake Quinn 2 points, 1ast; Declan Walsh 2 points, 1 rebs, 5stls; Adam O'Dell 1 point, 1rebs, 1turn; Jake O'Dell 3 points, 1ast

Riley (73) - Blake Wesley 38 points, 11rebs, 1ast, 4turns, 2blks; Phillip Robles 1reb, 2asts, 5turns, 2stls; Jackson Copley 16 points, 9rebs, 3 turns, 1stl; Davyion Anderson 4pt, 4rebs, 1ast, 3turns, 1stl; Tyson Lee 6pts, 3rebs, 1ast, 2turns; Aazjeon Williams 1rebs; Isaiah Robinson 5pts, 3rebs, 3turns, 2stls; Doug Adams 1 reb, 2asts, 1turns; Klay Coleman 2pts, 1turns; Damarion Spann 1pts, 2rebs