South Tama senior Clayton Rosenberger breaks away from the Independence defense for a layup in last Friday’s matchup with the Mustangs. South Tama defeated Independence 61-38. News Herald Photo/Allison Graham

By Allison Graham

Sports Editor

“mailto:agraham@tamatoledonews.com”>agraham@tamatoledonews.com

It was a full house for the first STC boys basketball home game following winter break. Fans came out to fill the gym to watch some good basketball and also for the 2nd annual STC Alumni Night and Pep Band Alumni Night. The STC Trojans did not disappoint giving fans a resounding 61- 38 victory over the Independence Mustangs on Friday, January 6.

Starting for the Trojans were Gabe Shields, Clayton Rosenberger, Lane Koch, Riley Davenport and Keith Keahna. Starting for Independence were Mason Wood, Sean Geertsema, Clifford Baldwin, Zachery Snyder and Thomas Reiff. Friday also saw the return of two Trojans who have been sidelined this season, Jessup Yazzie and Adonis Lasley.

South Tama sophomore Keith Keahna looks inside to pass off the ball. The Trojans defeated Independence 61-38 on Friday, January 6. News Herald Photo/Allison Graham

After Independence scored first off a free throw by Reiff, South Tama was off to the races. The closest the Mustangs managed to get was late in the first quarter. Independence closed the seven-point lead by the Trojans to just one point (12-11). But Nathan Lasley, Koch and Rosenberger quickly extended that lead back to 18-11 going into the second quarter.

In the second quarter the Trojans worked to create an even bigger gap in the score with Keahna scoring six from the field and four from the line. Keahna, a sophomore, has continued to excel as the season progresses. On Tuesday, he racked up 14 points, was 4-4 from the line and tied Koch for defensive rebounds with 5.

In the second half of action it was more domination by the Trojans. South Tama held the Mustangs to the same amount of points scored in the first half (19). The Trojans even outscored their own first half performance and went on to take a 23-point victory.

The fourth quarter the Trojans scored their most points of the game with Rosenberger racking up 14 to tie with Keahna. Davenport also had a season high 13 points, 7 of which were in the fourth. In the last minute of play Courage Tyon scored a basket as well as senior Hunter Filloon who came off the bench giving Trojan fans something to cheer about in the waning moments of a blowout victory.

The Trojans defense has been largely unmatched this season in the WaMaC conference. STC Head Coach Burdette Brown has said it many times already that South Tama’s defense is what creates their offense. That statement could not have been more true on Friday. The Trojans had an impressive 16 steals and 22 defensive rebounds.

South Tama senior Riley Davenport shoots for two, having his season high in scoring for the season with 13 pts. STC defeated Independence 61-38 on last Friday. News Herald Photo/Allison Graham

While fans just enjoy a good win, the focus for Brown is on teamwork.

“Instead of worrying about points and anything else, we just want to make the other guy better,” Brown said. “Do our one-fifth. Tonight, we made everybody better. We had a lot of assists, and a lot of great passing.”

The Trojan boys team will be home tonight (Friday, January 13) to take on Benton.

Quarter Scores

STC Q1 18, Q2 12, Q3 12, Q4 19

Independence Q1 11, Q2 8, Q3 8, Q4 11

STC Stats

Pts – Keahna 14, Rosenberger 14, Davenport 13, Shields 8, Lasley 6, Filloon 2, Koch 2, Tyon 2

FGM/FGA – Keahna 5-8, Rosenberger 6-8, Davenport 4-7, Shields 3-5, Filloon 1-3, Koch 1-1, Lasley 0-1

3PT/3PTA – Shields 2-2, Rosenberger 2-3, Yazzie 0-1, Lasley 0-1

FTM/FTA – Tyon 2-2, Davenport 5-5, Keahna 4-4

Off Rebounds – Rosenberger 1, Koch 1, Davenport 1

Def Rebounds – Koch 5, Keahna 5, Davenport 3, N. Lasley 2, A. Lasley 2 Ward 1, Rosenberger 2, Tyon 1, Betz 1

Asst – Davenport 7, Shields 4, Yazzie 1, Ward 1, Wilkerson 1, A. Lasley 1, Keahna 2

Stl – Rosenberger 4, Koch 3, Davenport 3, Lasley 2, Yazzie 1, Ward 1, Shields 2

Blk – Ward 1, Koch 1

WaMaC west conference standings

South Tama 6-3, 4-1

Marion 6-4, 3-2

Center Point-Urbana 5-4, 3-2

Vinton-Shellsburg 6-5, 4-1

Benton 5-5, 4-1

Independence 3-5, 1-3

Williamsburg 2-7, 1-4

Clear Creek-Amana 1-8, 0-5