The Worleys are now attending Hillsboro and playing for the Hawks so the Owls tipped off the Jefferson County Activities Association large-schools schedule at the Tigers (8-4) on Friday night without the twins. Windsor (8-7) started hot offensively but couldn’t maintain its shooting touch and fell to Festus 65-57.
Windsor head coach Todd Dutton said he’d prefer not to talk about the absence of two starters who’d been on his team for three years.
“I don’t think that’s fair to say to my eight players. That’s the past,” Dutton said. “I’ve been coaching a long time and have seen just about every situation that you could. It’s about the boys, working hard and making this a good season and learning. Things are going in a good direction and we’ve got to keep it rolling.”
Festus senior Kobe Branscomb made a 3-point basket with 1:20 left in the game to give the Tigers a 61-55 lead. Tigers head coach Jason Therrell said it was the play of the game.
“Poor Kobe, he really struggled from the 3-point line at the Park Hills Tournament, but he hit the biggest shot of the game that put us up by six points in the fourth quarter,” Therrell said. “It was telling that he didn’t hesitate to take that shot. He’s a senior, we needed something, and he delivered.”
Branscomb led all scorers with 18 points. Once the Festus offense started clicking in the second quarter, senior Savez Thomas took control of the interior on both ends of the floor. Therrell said he isn’t sure how tall the lithe Thomas is – “somewhere between 6-2 and 6-4” – but when Thomas extends his arms fully over his head, it covers a lot of air around the basket. Thomas averages 13 points per game and is tied with Branscomb as the Tigers’ top rebounder.
“Savez had energy and put back in some offensive rebounds,” Therrell said. “We just could not get a shot to fall. That’s not a new development. We’ve had that problem for a few games now. When that happens, you’ve got to find ways to score. Aquille (Mohammed) came in and did some good things that helped us a lot.”
Mohammed came off the bench to contribute nine points.
Therrell said Mohammed is a physical player because of his athleticism.
“On the defensive end, he could really be a stopper for us. But tonight his offense helped us out quite a bit,” Therrell said.
Sophomore point guard Collin Reando scored 13 points for Festus. Reando and freshman Cole Rickermann form one of the youngest backcourts in the league, but both are already excellent varsity players and superb ball handlers. Rickermann scored eight points on Friday.
“He can really shoot the ball,” Therrell said of Rickermann. “I’ve told him he’s out there because of his all-around game. Cole’s been playing basketball for a long time, he’s smart and is always in the right spot on defense and for the first seven or eight games, he hardly ever turned the ball over.”
Losing the Worleys subtracts 25 points per game from the Windsor offense, but seniors Justin Van Etten and Connor Hartmann have the ability to shoulder the offensive load. Hartmann scored a team-high 17 points, and Van Etten had 15. Both players drew Therrell’s praise for their play.
“Windsor deserves a lot of credit tonight for how hard they competed,” Therrell said. “That Van Etten is a load for us to keep off the boards. We could not find an answer for him. (Connor) Hartmann and their guard (Sonny Amabile) do good things. They put us on our heels in the first quarter. In the second quarter, we talked about playing better defense and we only allowed six points.”
Dutton said part of the Owls’ game plan was to keep Van Etten out of foul trouble, but that didn’t work out.
“Give Festus credit for playing well and doing what they wanted to do,” Dutton said. “They were aggressive on defense. We wanted to get the ball to Van Etten without so many turnovers. They kept our shooters from getting open shots.”
Junior Grant Siegel sank consecutive 3-point baskets for the Owls early in the third quarter and finished with eight points. Junior Norman Alford was the third Windsor player in double-figures with 10 points.
“(Siegel) is a shooter and he starts because he’s been playing well,” Dutton said. “We just try to use our eight guys the best we can. For us to win, it has to be a team effort.”
Festus beat Crystal City and Park Hills Central in the first two rounds of the Bob Sechrest Jr. Tournament over the holiday break, but then lost the next two games to tournament champion Farmington and conference rival Hillsboro.
The Tigers host the Hawks (10-4) on Friday and the Worleys could be in the lineup for the first time on their new team.
“Whatever is going on with that situation is no concern of ours,” Therrell said. “Hillsboro beat us at Park Hills without (the Worleys), so we’ll have our hands full either way.”
The Tigers traveled to St. Clair on Monday night and won 60-59 to improve to 9-4.