Warriors rally in fourth to down Bulldogs in MAAA opener
STE. GENEVIEVE – The Valle Catholic Warriors trailed the West County Bulldogs for the first three quarters of play, but after drawing to within three to finish the third, the Warriors bolted into the lead early in the fourth and they never took their foot off of the gas as they rolled to a 63-54 win of the two team’s opening conference game.
The Bulldogs tried to keep pace from the perimeter where they scored three of their game’s 10 three-pointers, but each time the Warriors answered on their end of the floor to stay just out in front.
Valle finished the third quarter on an 8-2 run to pull to within three at 41-38, and they continued the momentum to score the first eight of the fourth. Andrew Basler started the fourth quarter scoring with two free throws and he followed it up by converting a three-point play on Valle’s next possession. Daniel Bergtholdt converted a second three to make the score 46-41.
West County’s Parker Forshee connected for his fifth three-pointer to tie the game for the first time at 46-46, and give him 19 points in the game, but Tyler Shuh matched it with a three for his first points and the Warriors’ only three-pointer.
Valle succeeded in staying in front as they made good on 10 of their 13 free throws in the quarter, and Bergtholdt assaulted the basket to score 11 of his game-high 30 points, including an emphatic slam dunk to the delight of the Valle fans. The Warriors were 15-21 at the line, and West County was 2-5.
Tyler Bohnenkamp drilled a three, and Clayton LaBruyere scored his fourth three, but the Bulldogs defense was unable to stop Bergtholdt and the Warriors from scoring on nearly every possession as they pushed their lead to as high as 12 points.
Forshee started the scoring in both the first and second quarters with a three-pointer, LaBruyere did the same for the Bulldogs in the third. West County pulled out to a 9-3 lead in the first six minutes of the game, but the Warriors battled back to finish the quarter at 12-11. Austin Bradley scored five of his game’s 10 points in the quarter for West County.
The Bulldogs pulled away again in the second quarter as Forshee connected for two threes and LaBruyere scored his first of four in the game to finish with 12 points. The Warriors were only able to make two baskets in the quarter with both by Bergtholdt.
Bergtholdt began his scoring run in the third quarter after LaBruyere’s three to score six times in the quarter from inside the paint as the momentum squarely shifted in the Warriors’ favor.
West County (6-2) will be back at it this evening, but on their home court, as they entertain the Herculaneum Blackcats in a non-conference game. Valle Catholic (2-1) will host Bismarck on Friday for their second conference game of the season.
West County 12 13 19 13 – 54
Valle Catholic 11 5 22 25 – 63
SCORING:
West County – Parker Forshee 19, Clayton LaBruyere 12, Austin Bradley 10, Josh Barnett 8, Tyler Bohnenkamp 3, Devin Culkin 2. 3-point FG – Forshee 5, LaBruyere 4, Bohnenkamp. (FT 2-5).
Valle Catholic – Daniel Bergtholdt 30, Andrew Basler 9, Chris Cabral 8, Connor Basler 5, Tyler Shuh 5, Nick Oberle 4, Cole Wood 2. 3-point FG – Shuh. (FT 15-21).
Daniel Bergtholdt (10) slams one down in the fourth quarter to finsh with 30 points in the game for Valle Catholic to go along with his 12 rebounds.
West County’s Josh Barnett (22) scores a five-foot shot in the third quarter. Barnett finished the game with eight points and nine rebounds.
West County’s Clayton LaBruyere (4) attempts a shot from the key in the third quarter. LaBruyere made four three-pointers to finish with 12 points for the Bulldogs.
