Fighting fatigue, injuries, Chiefs pick up pair of weekend losses
<p>Ronan's senior captain Carston Baertsch pulls up for a jumper in the first quarter of the Chiefs 57-55 loss to Hamilton. </p>
RONAN – A dramatic fourth quarter comeback fell short Friday, as Ronan was defeated 57-55 at home to Hamilton while on Saturday, a stagnant Chiefs offense produced another home defeat, 41-51, to District 6-B rival Loyola Sacred Heart.
The two-point loss – a game in which Hamilton was leading 48-34 after three quarters – was inevitably turning into a blowout win for the Broncs. But a resilient Ronan team, led by Tim Woll, who scored 10 of his game high 16 points in the fourth quarter, charged back. Ronan outscored Hamilton 21-9 in the final quarter and the game wasn’t decided until a Chiefs last-second desperation three banged hard off the glass as the buzzer sounded.
“We dug deep in the fourth,” said coach Steve Woll. “Our bench got us back into the game, but we just fell short. Our kids are showing a lot of resilience.”
The Chiefs held Hamilton to just 33 percent shooting, while Ronan shot considerably better at 47 percent. But the Broncs hauled down 17 offensive rebounds – just one fewer than Ronan’s rebounding total– and took control of the game inside. Despite both teams shooting 67 percent from the line, Hamilton converted on eight more free throws than the Warriors and the Broncs 12 point lead heading into the fourth proved too much for Ronan.
Looking to bounce back from a tough home loss Friday, Ronan battled fatigue and illnesses Saturday as Loyola outlasted the Warriors 41-51 in Ronan. Knotted up at 20 apiece at the half, Loyola outscored Ronan 31-21 in the second 16, as the Warriors seemed to run out of gas.
“I saw a little fatigue out there,” said Coach Woll, who was forced to rely on junior varsity kids to play big minutes.
“Carston [Baertsch] was sick and Kollin [Wroblewski] didn’t play, so we were undermanned.”
But that’s not unfamiliar territory for Coach Woll, who has been playing less experienced players all season due to an onslaught of injuries. But the resourcefulness shown by the Warriors is ultimately beneficial for the team in the long run.
“A lot of our young kids are getting playing time with the game on the line and they’re gaining experience,” said Woll.
With the two home losses this week, the Ronan Chiefs fall to 0-6, 4-10 and will look for their first district win Thursday when they host Powell County.