Chiefs continue early-season climb
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.
Marcus Hungerford hit two three-point shots followed by a layup to get the Chiefs rolling against 7-B opponent Eureka at home Saturday evening. After just over three minutes, Hungerford had tallied 10 points, and he finished with a game-high 20 points to help Ronan win big, 73-61.
“I thought we got off to a good intensity,” head coach Steve Woll said. “We addressed that before the game and tried to have a better team effort.”
There was a clear disadvantage in the size of Eureka’s players against Ronan; however, the Chiefs used speed to keep the tempo high all game, easily driving into the paint for lay ups.
“The higher the speed, the better the chance it gave us, because we had a deeper bench,” Woll said. “Not many teams have as deep of a bench as we do, and that was our goal.”
Ronan jumped out to a one-point lead after the first eight minutes of play, and outscored the Lions 27-18 in the second to lead by 10 at the half.
Robbie Gauthier finished with 12 points, while Brady Oakland and Robert Faoa both contributed eight.
On Friday, Ronan hosted Florence, where the Chiefs fought back from an early deficit.
But Oakland missed a possible game-tying three-pointer at the final buzzer as the Falcons edged the Chiefs, 47-44.
The Falcons jumped out to an early 16-11 lead after the first quarter, and trailed 31-22 at the half.
The Chiefs rallied in the fourth quarter, outscoring Florence 14-9, but it wasn’t enough to pull out the win.
Hungerford led the Chiefs with 17 points, while Edmond Dupuis and Gauthier added seven each.
“Our goal is to get better each week,” Woll said. “They’re getting experience and confidence, which is huge. We have a pretty inexperienced varsity team.”
Woll plans to work on cutting down on turnovers and improving offense, while also focusing on rebounding and defense.
“It’s a total team thing,” he said. “The kids are binding together. That’s where we are, and that’s what we’re doing.”
The Chiefs played Loyola at home on Dec. 20 and will resume their season Jan. 5 against Deer Lodge on the road.
SUMMARY
Florence 47, Ronan 44
Florence 16 15 7 9 - 47
Ronan 11 11 8 14 - 44
FLORENCE - Chantz Hotsinpillar 11, Riley Philips 4, Mike Finlay 7, Aaron Ward 13, Sage Hansen 2, Ryne Baerlocher 5, Rhett Baerlocher 2, Bradley Schaff 3.
RONAN - Robbie Gauthier 7, Edmond Dupuis 7, Marcus Hungerford 17, Brady Oakland 5, Robert Faoa 1, Zachary Wagner 5, Marley Tanner 2.
Ronan 63, Eureka 61
Eureka 20 18 12 11 - 61
Ronan 21 27 16 9 - 73
EUREKA - Tanner Peterson 12, Ryan Holder 15, Tanner Blankers 13, Chris Ibach 3, Bryton Guckenberg 12, Mark Good 4, Caleb Curtiss 2.
RONAN - Robbie Gauthier 12, Marcus Hungerford 20, Marley Tanner 4, Brady Oakland 8, Jalen Bell 3, Caston Baertsch 6, Dallas Jore 7, Timmy Woll 3, Robert Faoa 8, Zachary Wagner 2.
