HTC boys can't keep pace with Falcons in rematch

FORT MADISON - Holy Trinity’s boys basketball team matched the speed of West Burlington for the first 17 ½ minutes of Thursday’s game at Shottenkirk Gym.

But it wasn’t a pace the Crusaders could maintain, as West Burlington pulled away in the second half for a 61-45 win.

Holy Trinity (8-4 overall, 5-3 SEI Superconference South Division), playing its first game in 13 days because of all the postponements caused by the recent snow and cold weather, led 26-25 with 6:25 left in the third quarter after a 3-pointer by Luke Hellige. But the Falcons (11-0, 9-0) scored the next nine points, closing the quarter with a 17-5 run.

“We were talking in the locker room after the game — it’s like practicing at the Donnellson speedway, and then trying to go to the Indianapolis 500,” Holy Trinity coach John Hellige said. “You can keep up with them for a while, but the speed and the aggressiveness, we just didn’t match it in the last quarter and a half, for whatever reason. Maybe it was the break, maybe we were tired, whatever it was. We weren’t getting 50-50 balls, we weren’t getting rebounds, they got their hands on everything.”

Holy Trinity got to within 42-33 eight seconds into the fourth quarter before West Burlington scored the next seven points to keep a double-digit lead for the rest of the game.

The Crusaders always had an answer for the Falcons in the first half. A 12-2 run late in the first quarter and early in the second quarter put Holy Trinity up 16-12. But the Crusaders couldn’t get away, and the two teams were tied at 21 at halftime.

Hellige said West Burlington’s defense kept the Crusaders from getting into a rhythm.

“We try to run our sets,” he said. “Obviously they’re well-coached, so when the sets break down, you have to improvise. You’ve got to cut back-door, you’ve got to set a screen, you’ve got to make something happen. Tonight we weren’t able to make something happen when our sets failed.”

Luke Hellige had 21 points and Conner Gehling had 18 for the Crusaders. Hellige had all 10 of Holy Trinity’s third-quarter points, and no other Crusader scored until Maddox Rung scored inside with 1:29 left in the game.

“We’ve got guys who can step up,” John Hellige said. “Layne Rung has hit some big shots for us all year long, Adam (Sobczak) can score, Maddox can score, so I’m not worried at all. I think when the game is on the line, the guys lean on Conner and Luke a little bit. But those guys should realize they can score as well.”

Braden Martin led West Burlington with 18 points. Kobe Davis had 12 points, and Quincy Collins had 11.

Holy Trinity plays host to New London in Friday’s Homecoming game.

“The good thing is, we won’t see West Burlington in the postseason,” Hellige said. “They’re (Class) 2A, we’re 1A. I hope they make a deep postseason run, represent southeast Iowa, represent the conference. We’re done with them for the year, so now we can focus on teams like us that we’ll see in the postseason.”