By Bud Milroy
Sports correspondent
A red hot Racine St. Catherine’s boys basketball team invaded Catholic Central last Saturday and bombed the Hilltoppers 76-37 in a Midwest Classic Conference meeting.
“If they continue to shoot like they did tonight they are going to be awful hard to beat,” said Hilltopper head coach Eric Henderson. “I thought our kids competed real hard in the first, but I think they got a little shell-shocked in the third quarter.”
St. Cat’s scored the first eight points of the game, hitting threes from each corner of the court with a bucket in the paint sandwiched in between. Rayce Wadsworth finally broke the ice for the Toppers with a nice drive down the lane.
Following another St. Catherine’s basket, Abel Wagner drew a foul on his drive to the basket and converted both free throws. Following a defensive stop, Wagner drove the lane again and converted a layup.
The third three-pointer of the quarter and a put back closed out the scoring in the quarter for St. Catherine’s as they led 16-6.
The ’Toppers played pretty evenly in the second quarter with the Angels. The threes continued to rain for St. Catherine’s as Shey Smith dropped in two more bombs giving them five in the first half.
The ’Toppers couldn’t match the success from beyond the arc but did match buckets within the arc as Tegan Miles, Keith Nielson and Spencer Wilker all picked up baskets in the quarter.
Colin Foote added a pair of free throws and Nielsen another but St. Catherine’s “won” the quarter 12-9.
The Hilltoppers had their best scoring quarter of the night in the third when they posted 16 points. Wilker and Wadsworth led the way with five points each for Catholic Central but it was no match for the outburst Jordan Fouse had in the quarter for St. Catherine’s.
The talented 6’6” senior, Fouse showed all his skills in the period. Scoring off of defensive steals (two) and drives to the basket, short jumpers (two), a pair of free throws and three 3-pointers for a whopping 19 points in the quarter. Combined with the nine points he recorded in the first half, he finished with 28 points and took the final quarter off.
With Fouse sitting the final frame, his teammates continued the barrage with a 24-point quarter. Jacob Letsch led the attack with four from beyond the arc as he tallied 14 points in the quarter.
For the night, St. Catherine’s shot 54 percent overall and a sizzling 50 percent (13 of 26) from beyond the arc. The ’Toppers managed just 35 percent from the field and 10 percent from three-point range (1 of 10).
Catholic Central was led in scoring by Wadsworth and Wilker, who both finished with seven points. Wagner, Foote and Miles each had six points.
St. Catherine’s had three player finish in double figures led by Fouse’s 28 points followed by Letch with 14 and Grant Zimmerman who chipped in 12 points.
Following a road game Wednesday at Shoreland Lutheran, the Hilltoppers will return home on Friday to host The Prairie School (7:30 p.m.)
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