By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
For three periods, the Cair Paravel boys went toe-to-toe with the top-ranked team in Class 1A Div. II – defending state champion Axtell – before finally fading 42-36 at home on Friday.
Sophomore Chase Hastert scored 18 points with three 3-pointers in Cair Paravel's 42-36 loss to top-ranked Axtell Friday night. [Photo by Barry Benteman/Special to TSN]
The Lions learned on Tuesday morning that, when another team canceled its visit to Cair Paravel, the opening would be filled by the 1A powerhouse. Axtell has recently won several football and track and field championships in addition to last year’s basketball crown.
Though Axtell lists an enrollment of just 42 students, its size advantage against the Lions was impressive. Despite being undersized, Cair Paravel coach Chip Kueffer encouraged his team to take the fight to the Eagles.
“Our identity has to be grit. We’ve got to be a gritty team,” Kueffer said. “For the last several years, we’ve been undersized, so we’ve got to make up for that. We’ve got to compensate for that difference in size. That means rebounding, defending. I think we got a lot of the 50-50 balls. I think we were first to the floor a lot of times.”
Cair Paravel came out unaffected by the Eagles’ glossy resume. After falling behind 5-0, the Lions struck back with an 8-0 run of their own. They led 14-12 after one period.
Cair Paravel extended the lead to 18-12 in the first minute of the second quarter. But the momentum swung again, with Axtell reeling off 12 straight points. The Eagles led 26-25 at halftime.
With the teams and crowds at a fever pitch, each team scored just three points in a wild third period. Axtell led 29-28.
That’s when Axtell’s size, depth and experience finally overwhelmed the Lions. The visitors’ stifling defense held Cair Paravel scoreless for more than six minutes, during which Axtell scored 11 points to build a lead the Lions couldn’t overcome down the stretch.
“We gave up too many second-chance opportunities, too many offensive rebounds,” Kueffer said. “(Axtell is) the real deal. Very well coached. They’ve got a lot of size, a lot of toughness. They’ve got a lot of muscle to them. They all guard. They put a lot of pressure on you and they speed you up.”
Lions’ sophomore Chase Hastert poured in 18 points in the first half, hitting three three-pointers in the opening quarter.
“We did well in the first half, so in the second half, we had their attention,” Kueffer said. “They did a good job keying on our guards and slowing us down.”
Leading Axtell was 6-foot-6 Logan Sandmann, who cleaned up around the rim and scored 14 of his 15 points in the first half. The Lions held the rest of the visitors to just 11 of 38 from the field.
“I think we can learn a lot from this game. I think this prepares us for postseason play,” Kueffer said. “(Axtell) is a really talented, tough, well-coached team. So, we’ve just got to take things away from it. There’s a lot that we did well today, so I don’t want them hanging their heads. I want them to be encouraged. But there are definitely some things that we need to address and do better.
AXTELL BOYS 42, CAIR PARAVEL 36
Axtell 12 14 3 13 -- 42
Cair Paravel 14 11 3 8 -- 36
Axtell (2-0) – Schmitz 2-6 2-3 6, J. Lybarger 1-8 2-2 4, Detweiler 5-9 1-4 11, Shaughnessy 2-8 0-2 4, Talbot 0-5 0-0 0, Sandmann 6-9 2-5 15, B. Lybarger 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 17-47 7-16 42.
Cair Paravel (3-2) – Hastert 7-17 1-3 18, Marichal 1-8 5-5 7, Durbin 3-5 0-0 6, Cleverdon 0-4 0-2 0, Fay 1-6 2-2 4, Kaberline 0-0 1-2 1, Gossard 0-3 0-0 0, Congdon 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 12-33 9-14 36.
3-point goals – Axtell 1 (Sandmann 1) Cair Paravel 3 (Hastert 3). Total fouls – Axtell 16, Cair Paravel 17. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None.
