FLATONIA — Two of the best basketball teams in Fayette County went head-to-head Jan.
13 at Bulldogs Gym in Flatonia as Flatonia High School defeated Schulenburg High School by a fi nal score of 70-54. Schulenburg had an early lead that Flatonia eventually snatched and grabbed control of with their feisty defense and shot making in the second half.
“Schulenburg came out and they played a great first half," said Flatonia head boys basketball coach Chris Sodek.
“That’s a credit to their kids and their coaches. Coach Hoogendoorn’s a hell of a coach and I knew he’d have his guys ready like he always does. It more or less was us playing a little bit bet- ter defense, playing a little tough - er in the half court, then I think in the second half we were able to create some turnovers with our full court pressure. I give a lot of credit to Schulenburg, man. They came out and they played hard.
They’re a tough team. They’re good. I’m proud of our team for fighting through adversity and finding a way to win." Flatonia senior center Jaidyn Guyton was crucial in this game with a number of transition buckets and was able to use his size to his advantage, sinking 17 points for the night. “It starts off by us running other teams," Guyton said. "We steal it, then I just run down the court and they hit me." Schulenburg is still in very good standing with a solid winning record and another chance to get revenge on the Bulldogs at home next month. “I thought we did a great job early not letting their shooters have good looks," said Schulenburg head boys basketball coach Richard Hoogendoorn.
“I thought their pressure hurt us a little bit. We got to continue to get better. Our teams always get better late in the season. I’m sure we’re gonna see these guys two more times. I think we’re two of the best teams in the region. I think we’ll meet whenever we meet. I was proud of our guys.
Had some of the young guys really step up and play. Ignacio Hernandez came off the bench and had a nice game. We just got to continue to do what we do." The two teams traded baskets to start the game and Schulenburg barely snuck ahead with a 17-13 lead at the end of the first quarter, which included a three-pointer from senior shooting guard Kaz McBride and a few free throws, along with a layup, from senior forward Kenny Schramek.
Schulenburg kept their shoot- ing intact in the second quarter with another three from McBride to put it at 22-16 with six and a half minutes to play. Another three-pointer from the Short- horns a little later made it 29-21, then Schulenburg’s Hernandez scored four points in a row with two free throws and a layup to take a 33-23 lead. Flatonia caught fire towards the end of the quar ter on a scoring spree from senior guard Holden Kloesel with some free throws and two three-point- ers, one being a fadeaway at the buzzer near the wing to cut the deficit to 36-35 at halftime.
After trading punches again early in the third quarter, the Bulldogs stretched their advan- tage with seven straight points, most of them being from Kloesel and Guyton on layups, and two added free throws from senior guard Keyshaun Green to make the scoreboard read 52-42. Another tough basket from Kloesel with just under a minute to play in the quarter was the final basket of the period to put it at 54-44 in favor of Flatonia at the end of the third quarter.
A three-pointer from McBride in the corner made it 55-49 early in the fourth quarter, then a three from Green and a basket in the middle of the paint from a cutting Kloesel put Flatonia ahead 60-49 with about 4:18 to go in the ballgame. Once Shorthorns small forward Aaron Janacek hit a three-pointer in the corner to put it at 61-54, Flatonia junior forward Duke Sodek responded with a three of his own at the 1:22 mark to surge ahead 65-54, which would ultimately close the game out for the Bulldogs as Schulenburg was forced to foul, resulting in a 70-54 win for Flatonia.
