Tall Pirates prevail over Saxony Lutheran

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Saxony Lutheran basketball coach Sam Sides has become accustomed to his team being outsized by opponents.

So when the Crusaders lined up Saturday against a Perryville team that was an average of 4 inches taller per man, it was nothing unusual.

The host Pirates emerged with a 55-49 win over the Crusaders in a game that was part of the sixth annual Heartland Hoopfest at the Perryville Park Center.

Perryville started a front line that included 6-foot-4 sophomores Jared Thieret and Bryce Weibrecht. Thieret and Weibrecht scored 16 and 12 points, respectively, as they were able to dominate the paint against a Saxony Lutheran squad whose tallest player is 6-1 senior Trevor Mabuce.

But the Crusaders kept the game from becoming a rout by playing scrappy defense and outrunning the slower Pirates.

"We have to go out and put pressure on them," said Sides about his strategy when playing against bigger teams, which he said will be the case almost every game.

Offensively, Sides said Saxony has to rely on outrunning opponents because "we can't score inside the paint."

But he applauded his team's fight as they bounced back from Thursday's loss to Jackson with a different attitude.

"I thought we played a little scared against Jackson," Sides said. "We talked about it as a team."

After falling behind 13-7 after the first period, Saxony started the second period with a 6-0 run to grab a brief lead. Perryville regained the lead, but Saxony tied the score at 18-18 midway through the quarter. A Crusader scoring drought allowed the Pirates to take a 28-20 halftime lead.

Perryville expanded its lead to 11 early in the third period, and even though the Crusaders twice pulled to within seven points of the lead, they never threatened the Pirates in the second half. The Pirates led by as many as 14 and cruised home.

The hot shooting of 5-9 junior Brayton Klaus was a bright spot for Saxony. Klaus scored a career-high 24 points, including three 3-point baskets, to help keep the Crusaders in the game. Mabuce and Kris Cook each had nine points for Saxony.

Perryville consistently took the ball to the basket against their shorter opponents and had 24 free throw attempts, but the Pirates only made 12 attempts.

Saxony Lutheran is idle until Jan. 4 when they host Chaffee, while Perryville faces Ste. Genevieve on Tuesday.

Perryville 55, Saxony Lutheran 49

Saxony Lutheran 7 13 14 15 -- 49

Perryville 13 15 17 9 -- 55

SAXONY LUTHERAN (49) -- Brayton Klaus 24, Trevor Mabuce 9, Trent Steffens 2, Kris Cook 9, Clay Roth 5. FG 17, FT 9-16, F 22. (3-pointers: Klaus 3, Mabuce 1, Cook 1, Roth 1. Fouled out: Matt Wills)

PERRYVILLE (55) -- Andrew Martin 4, Zach Wolk 2, Ryan Kassinger 1, Jared Hotop 3, Ross Moldenhauer 8, Wade Lawrence 7, Bryce Weibrecht 12, Jason Thieret 2, Jared Theiret 16. FG 20, FT 12-24, F 17. (3-pointers: Hotop 1, Moldenhauer 1, Lawrence 1. Fouled out: none)