Olpe — Olpe coach Chris Schmidt said the mid-range game wasn’t part of Cole Krueger’s repertoire just two years ago.
“As a freshman, he tried to penetrate all the way to the basket,” Schmidt said. “He’s learning he can just go up in the middle of the lane and take that nice little jump shot.”
By stopping short, Krueger took his game to another level Friday night.
The junior dominated the inside, ending with a game-high 22 points and 10 rebounds to help Olpe to a 58-46 victory over Marais des Cygnes Valley in a battle of the unbeatens in Olpe.
Krueger scored most of his points by finding the soft spot in the middle of the Trojans’ matchup zone, finishing with soft jumpers and also fadeaways in the paint.
“Against a zone, you’ve got to be aggressive. You’ve got to attack it,” Schmidt said. “You’ve got to penetrate to make double teams to help someone else get open.”
Most of the time, the openings came for Krueger and teammate Alex Medenciy.
Krueger ended 10-of-13 from the field, hitting eight of his last nine shots.
Medenciy, meanwhile, found his shooting touch in the second quarter, knocking down three consecutive Olpe 3-pointers as the Eagles took a 28-13 halftime lead.
“You try to recreate the speed and athleticism from another team with your JV,” MdCV coach Thad Thurston said, “and that’s difficult.”
The Trojans suffered most from the loss of their big man in the middle Dennis Becker.
The 6-foot-6 forward was the Trojans’ only offensive threat early. He scored MdCV’s first eight points and was the focal point of his team’s slow-it-down, cut-and-screen offense.
“We’re not the most creative team offensively, but what we do, I feel like we do well,” Thurston said. “When he’s in the game and we focus on him, we’re very, very difficult to stop.”
Becker couldn’t get away from foul trouble, though. He picked up his third foul with 5:27 left in the second quarter, and his team only mustered three points the rest of the half.
After scoring Marais des Cygnes Valley’s first seven points of the fourth quarter, Becker fouled out with 4:31 left in the game and the Trojans still trailing 49-37.
“He’s a good ballplayer,” Schmidt said. “I think we’re fortunate that he was on the bench some tonight, because when he’s in, they’re a different ballclub.”
Olpe, which overcame a 24-point fourth-quarter deficit against Madison earlier this year, had a scare of its own in the final stanza.
After Becker fouled out, MdCV switched to an all-out, full-court press to try to make up the deficit.
It worked, even if it didn’t get the Trojans much closer.
Olpe committed 13 turnovers in the fourth quarter alone.
“That’s frustrating. We’ve got to be able to handle that,” Schmidt said. “I know we ran some other kids in and out, and that’s kind of what I talked about. Our bench has to get more consistent.
“We’ve got to have some kids step up, and right now, I don’t think kids are.”
With the press, MdCV scored the last nine points but still couldn’t get the deficit into the single digits.
“It’s not something I thought we could do against them,” Thurston said, “but it’s something we may play around with again.”
Medenciy contributed 14 points, while Josh Klumpe added 10.
Even with limited action, Becker paced MdCV with 15 points and seven rebounds. Chisom Spencer and Brandon Litch put in nine points apiece.
The Eagles were also helped by a huge advantage on the glass, out-rebounding the Trojans 37-19.
Olpe boys 58, MdCV 46
Friday at Olpe
MdCV 6 7 17 16 — 46
Olpe 11 17 17 13 — 58
MdCV (5-1, 4-1 LCL) — Dennis Becker 7-11 1-3 15, Chisom Spencer 3-11 3-6 9, Brandon Litch 3-8 2-2 9, Drew Woodruff 2-9 1-1 5, Michael Spillman 1-3 0-0 2, Bryan Phillips 1-2 0-0 2, Michael Schmidt 1-1 0-0 2, Matthew McGowin 1-1 0-2 2. Totals 19-46 7-14 46.
Olpe (7-0, 6-0 LCL) — Cole Krueger 10-13 2-4 22, Alex Medenciy 5-10 0-0 14, Josh Klumpe 2-6 6-10 10, Bradley Argabright 3-11 1-2 8, Bryant Duenas 1-4 0-2 2, Ethan Schneider 1-5 0-0 2, Nathan Hammond 0-1 0-0 0, Derek Vaughn 0-0 0-1 0. Totals 22-50 9-19 58.
3-point goals — MdCV 1-11 (Litch 1-4, Woodruff 0-5, Spencer 0-2), Olpe 4-11 (Medenciy 4-9, Argabright 0-2). Rebounds — MdCV 19 (Becker 7), Olpe 37 (Krueger 10). Turnovers — MdCV 13, Olpe 22. Total fouls — MdCV 15, Olpe 15. Fouled out — MdCV: Becker.
Olpe girls 69, MdCV 12
The Olpe girls turned the ball over just four times in their 57-point thumping of Marais des Cygnes Valley.
Eagles coach Jesse Nelson said there was a reason for his team’s near mistake-free play.
“It could have been that we were shooting it before we could turn it over,” Nelson said with a laugh.
Though many shots came early, they actually didn’t fall very often for the Lady Eagles.
Olpe, which shot an astounding 86 times, made just 30 of those shots (35 percent).
“When we shoot well, we’re so much better, but I thought that we were maybe a little quick to shoot all night long,” Nelson said. “Two more passes would have gotten us a great shot each time.”
Olpe also took control with its defense, as MdCV made just 6 of 44 shots (14 percent). The Lady Trojans also turned it over 31 times.
The Lady Eagles led 16-2 after the first quarter. In the frame, Olpe held MdCV to 1-of-8 shooting and forced 10 turnovers.
“The first quarter we gave a lot of heart and effort. Truthfully, it’s probably one of the best quarters we’ve played all year,” MdCV coach Donald Dyke said. “I was happy with our offense. We ran through (our offense) rather than forcing.
“Olpe’s just Olpe. Olpe’s a good team.”
Megan Woods dominated the boards for Olpe. The senior had 13 rebounds in the first half alone, finishing the game with 12 points and 15 rebounds.
“In the last two years, she’s had times where she’s come on very strong and then maybe disappeared for a couple weeks, then has come back,” Nelson said. “She’s on a roll right now where I think that she’s just getting better every time and playing like a senior should.”
Katie Moyer paced Olpe with 16 points, while Kylie Haag and Kathryn Flott had 15 each.
Cheyenne Russell was the highlight for MdCV, scoring 10 of her team’s 12 points and also pulling down 10 rebounds.
Olpe girls 69, MdCV 12
Friday at Olpe
MdCV 2 4 4 2 — 12
Olpe 16 20 27 6 — 69
MdCV (0-6, 0-5 LCL) — Cheyenne Russell 5-12 0-1 10, Destiny Lemmon 1-9 0-0 2, Emily Rose 0-7 0-0 0, Jamie Rice 0-6 0-0 0, Jessica Schmidt 0-4 0-0 0, Heather Schuyler 0-2 0-0 0, Teria Ashlock 0-2 0-0 0, Jessica Bell 0-1 0-0 0, Cassie Phillips 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 6-44 0-1 12.
Olpe (7-0, 6-0 LCL) — Katie Moyer 6-17 0-0 16, Kylie Haag 7-13 1-1 15, Kathryn Flott 7-20 1-1 15, Megan Woods 6-11 0-2 12, Jill Cole 3-6 0-0 8, Brianne Davis 1-4 0-0 3, Erica Brinkman 0-6 0-0 0, Angela Bartley 0-5 0-0 0, Tanna Bell 0-1 0-0 0, Kelsey Camien 0-1 0-0 0, Katelyn Henderson 0-1 0-0 0, Natalie Kuhlmann 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-86 2-4 69.
3-point goals — MdCV 0-4 (Rose 0-2, Schmidt 0-1, Lemmon 0-1), Olpe 7-22 (Moyer 4-14, Cole 2-5, Davis 1-2, Flott 0-1). Rebounds — MdCV 32 (Russell 10), Olpe 52 (Woods 15). Turnovers — MdCV 31, Olpe 4. Total fouls — MdCV 5, Olpe 7. Fouled out — None.