ERIE, Ill. —
Erie coach Ryan Winckler said he thought lack of recent practice time was really affecting his team after the Cardinals lost to Mercer County 51-41 on Wednesday night to drop to 0-2 in the Warkins Cardinal Classic.
“I didn’t think that we played as hard as we need to again,” Winckler said. “We had a little bit better effort than Saturday (a loss to Stockton). But we’re just making poor decisions that we shouldn’t be making our 15th game in. Our second or third game we were making these decisions, but then we started to dial it in and do what we needed to do. The last two games, we’ve kind of reverted back to the beginning of the season.”
He was quick to point out that most teams hadn’t been able to practice much recently but thought his team really needed to put that work in.
“We need to fix some of the glaring things we’re doing wrong right now,” Winckler said. “Otherwise, we’re going to continue to really struggle.”
Erie never led and trailed Mercer County by as many as eight points in the first half and early in the third quarter. A fast-break layup by Brandon Butcher gave the Golden Eagles a 30-22 lead a minute into the second half. But then the Cardinals made a move.
Rhett Stover, Jacob Johnston and Connor Saad converted consecutive layups in transition, and then Saad drilled a 3-pointer to tie the score at 31 with 4:27 to play in the third quarter.
Mercer County responded with a 10-2 run, fueled by four of Tanner Matlick’s game-high 21 points.
“We were making good decisions, but then we started to make bad decisions,” Winckler said. “I wish there was a magic thing I could point to. But it really is just decision-making on the basketball court. ... We have to do a better job of decision-making and understanding the situations of the game.”
Winckler said the Cardinals shot too many jump shots for the second time in as many games at the Classic. Erie has attempted just 11 free throws in its first two games.
Johnston led the Cardinals with 15 points and eight rebounds.
MERCER COUNTY 51, ERIE 41
MERCER COUNTY — Austin Hyett 1-3 0-1 2, Tanner Matlick 9-10 3-8 21, Brandon Butcher 3-6 1-2 7, Zach Aldinger 3-6 4-6 11, Tyson Nylin 3-7 0-2 6, Brett Bieri 0-2 0-0 0, Trenton Higgins 1-4 0-0 2, Darrin Harrison 0-2 0-0 0, Brad Sabel 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 21-42 8-19 51.
ERIE — Jacob Johnston 6-19 3-4 15, Connor Saad 2-11 0-0 5, Jordan Chandler 3-8 0-0 6, Rhett Stover 4-10 0-0 10, Owen McConnell 0-2 1-2 1, Kenneth Cole 2-4 0-0 4, Koby Kuhnen 0-0 0-0 0, Kyle Coleman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-54 4-6 41.
Mercer County 14 14 11 12 — 51
Erie 8 12 13 8 — 41
3-point goals — Mercer County 1-8 (Aldinger 1-2, Bieri 0-1, Higgins 0-1, Nylin 0-2, Harrison 0-2); Erie 3-17 (Stover 2-6, Saad 1-5, Chandler 0-1, Johnston 0-5). Total fouls — Mercer County 12; Erie 15. Fouled out — Saad. Rebounds — Mercer County 37 (Matlick 12, Nylin 6); Erie 34 (Johnston 8, Stover 7, McConnell 7). Turnovers — Mercer County 19; Erie 17.
Local Sports
Lack of practice time hurts Erie boys
- Local Sports
-
-
Clinton wins River City Classic title
Clinton trailed Davenport North by two points with 10 seconds left in the championship game of the River City Classic on Saturday afternoon, but sophomore Brady Ernst came to the River Kings’ rescue.
-
Clinton has three champions, finishes second
Clinton had three champions Saturday and finished second as a team at the Dubuque Invitational wrestling tournament.
-
Day's wait pays off for Clinton track teams
Clinton High's boys and girls both had successful nights Friday at their state-qualifying track and field meets in Dubuque.
-
Camanche boys, Northeast girls win track titles
Camanche and Northeast both enjoyed good days on the track in boys and girls competition at state-qualifying meets, with the Camanche boys winning the title and Northeast's girls tying for top honors.
-
Irish's Evers advances to district golf meet
Connor Evers of Prince of Peace placed third Friday at the Iowa Class 1A Calamus Sectional golf tournament, giving him a spot in the district meet with hopes of qualifying for state.
-
Erie's Johnston is Herald's Player of the Year
Erie's Jacob Johnston heads the Clinton Herald's All-Area Boys Basketball First Team and is the Player of the Year.
-
Lawrence named Coach of Year
Clinton High's Nick Lawrence is the Herald's Coach of the Year in boys basketball.
-
Northeast girls claim track title
Northeast finished first and Camanche was third in girls competition Saturday at the Tri-State Small School Invitational indoor track and field meet at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.
-
Trojan trio leads way in Big East
Preston dominated the All-Big East Conference awards in boys basketball, with Dan Beck receiving Coach of the Year honors and Colton Bormann, Chase Zaruba and Logan Wilhelm all getting named to the first team.
-
Prep bowlers finally get chance to bowl at state meet
The weather-delayed Iowa bowling state tournament takes place Monday in Des Moines, and three area teams enter with high hopes in Class 1A.
- More Local Sports Headlines
-
