The Kewanee Boilermakers came up short against Newman Central Catholic on Tuesday night. Full report from Coach Matt Clark and the Kewanee Athletics Department.
Kewanee High vs Sterling Newman
Tuesday, January 17
Game Time: 7:00PM
Location: Kewanee High School
Final Score:
Newman – 53
Kewanee – 45
Kewanee High played host to Sterling Newman High School Tuesday night in a TRAC East Conference matchup. Kewanee entered with an 8-7 record while the Comets countered with a 16-5 record. Kewanee was looking to make it back to back wins after their Friday night victory over Hall. The game marked only the third home contest on the season for the Boilers as they have been on the road much of the first half of the season.
They first quarter had the Boilermakers struggling to find a good look at the basket and when they did it was a struggle to knock down shots. Junior guards Blaise Lewis and Brady Clark were the only Boilers to get in the scoring column in the quarter with Lewis hitting a three pointer and Clark a driving bucket. Turnovers and difficulty rebounding on the defensive end plagued the Boilers in the opening quarter while Newman ran out to a 14-5 lead.
What was a struggle for the Boilermakers in the first was not that away in the second quarter. Kewanee would begin to dig in defensively forcing Newman into tougher shots and would use that to convert some open shots on the offensive end. Lewis would keep Kewanee close in the quarter as he heated up from distance connecting on four three point attempts. Newman would still hold a 30-27 lead at the break but Kewanee showed some toughness at both ends of the court to take some momentum into the break.
Quarter three was a defensive struggle as both teams would limit easy opportunities for the other. The Boilermakers hot shooting cooled in the quarter as each team would end the frame with just 8 points making the score 38-35 in favor of Newman.
Kewanee would continue their struggles offensively in the final quarter but wouldn’t give up as the Comets had a 7 point lead with about 3:30 left in the game. The Boilers would turn to a full court trapping man defense in an attempt to create Newman turnovers. The strategy was successful as Kewanee cut the lead to 48-45 with 45 seconds remaining, but an ill timed technical foul on Kewanee’s head coach would cost any chance for the Boilers to battle back for the victory.
Kewanee was led in scoring by Blaise Lewis with 19 which included 5 three pointers. Brady Clark would tally 16 while fellow junior Will Rumbold chipped in 4 points. Rounding out the scoring was senior Jaiden Little with 4 and sophomore Davontae Jordan had 2.
The loss drops the Boilers to 8-8 overall as they look to get back on track tomorrow night as they travel to Granville, IL to take on the 16-4 Putnam County Panthers, start time is set for 7pm.