Bulldogs surge in second half, top Chiefs

ST. IGNATIUS - It was a tale of two halves last Thursday as an injury riddled Ronan Chiefs team fought hard for a first-half lead, but the second-half emergence of a more focused St. Ignatius Bulldogs team proved to be too much for the visiting Chiefs.  

Led by junior forward Stuart Grant’s outstanding all-around performance - 21 points, seven rebounds, four assists – the Bulldogs turned a 26-29 halftime deficit, into a decisive 57-43 win in front of a packed St. Ignatius gymnasium.  Taking advantage of intermission to reformulate their game plan, a more attentive Bulldog team dominated the second half. “[At the half,] we talked about staying in-tune and organized and competing better on the defensive end,” said Bulldogs coach Steve Pelletier.  

With St. Ignatius enduring frequent coaching turnover, first year head coach Pelletier admits his young players can often deviate from the game plan.  “We have to make sure our kids are sticking to the system and executing the system, with all of our coaching changes and our new system, that can be difficult, we have to remind our kids [to stay focused].”  

The Ronan Chiefs played well in the first half, despite losing significant players due to injury just minutes in the game.  Both senior starters Carston Baertsch and Dallas Jore sustained ankle injuries and did not return after halftime.  

“We had five guys missing, that was the biggest difference between halves,” said Ronan coach Steve Woll, who was making no excuses for his team’s second-half struggles.  “I told our kids, they have five guys on the court and so do we.”

Despite making zero excuses, the injuries to Coach Woll’s team played a significant impact in the game.  Junior Varsity and underclassmen played significant minutes for the Chiefs, resulting in a lot of inexperience on the court.  

“It was a great learning experience for our young players,” said Coach Woll.

“With the lead, we tried to slow the game down, [in the second-half] they started doubling the ball, taking charges, and we got tentative.”    

The turning point in the game came with just seconds before the half.  For the first 15 minutes and 57 seconds, the undersized and undermanned Chiefs were successful dictating the pace.  Coach Woll’s slow-down, half court offense put the Bulldogs out of rhythm.  Aggressive drives produced easy buckets for the Chiefs, who – with three seconds before the half – were holding on to a six-point lead.  But a Stuart Grant three-point buzzer-beater cut the Chiefs lead to three.  The momentum Ronan built during the first two-quarters, seemed to dissipate going into the locker room.  

“Huge hoop Stuart made at the end of the second-quarter,” said Coach Pelletier.  “He has good range and he hit a big three.”  

St. Ignatius (1-3 in league, 3-7 overall) would continue their winning trend with a 52-33 victory over Troy on Saturday.  The Bulldogs were led by Stuart Grant’s 19 points and Nikko Alexander’s 18 points.  In the Bulldogs’ two victories this week, Grant and N. Alexander have been instrumental.  In the two games, the two upperclassmen have scored 65 percent of their team’s total points, combining for 71 out of the 109 points scored by the Bulldogs. The victory gives the Bulldogs two wins in a row, their first winning streak of the season.  Ronan (0-4, 3-6) lost to Plains Saturday 47-54 and are still searching for their first league win.