Max Wheeler scores 24 as St. Vincent returns to .500 with home win

The St. Vincent Indians evened their record to 4-4 with a 78-28 win over Liberty Christian on Thursday, Dec. 21st at St. Vincent High School in Perryville, Mo.

"We never played them before but we knew it would be a battle throughout," said St. Vincent forward Max Wheeler.

Wheeler was a key component to the Indians' success. The sophomore phenom dominated the court scoring a total of 24 points while leading his team to their blowout of a victory. Seniors Payton Strattman and Jacob Schremp each scored nine points.

“I thought we did pretty good,” Wheeler said. “We pulled through at the end.”

All of Strattman and Schremp's scoring came in the first half, as the Indians took a 24-8 first quarter lead and went into halftime up 45-15.

The highlight of the game came from Wheeler in the third quarter, where he put up 15 of his 24 points in that period alone. Teammate Parker Ellis was the only other St. Vincent player to score, bringing in six more points, as the Indians outscored their opponent 21-13 to take a 66-28 lead entering the fourth quarter.

St. Vincent cruised to victory in the final period. Liberty Christian was held to zero points while the Indians scored 12. Quinton Doza scored five of his seven points while Gavin Hotop pitched in his only basket.

The Indians started the season 1-3 but have won three of their last four games, including a 59-42 victory over Marissa in the Border War Shootout last Saturday. St. Vincent looks to continue newfound winning ways at the Valle Catholic Tournament, starting on Dec. 27.

Wheeler said they plan on taking the season one game at a time, and the tournament is the next big thing for them.

"We got a tournament coming up," Wheeler said. "Hopefully we can win that and keep going."