NOV. 29, 2016 NIGHT ONE OF THE ROLLA “DUKE” HERBERT TOURNAMENT CONCLUDES (Audio)

(Crystal City) The Rolla “Duke” Herbert Basketball tournament kicked off in dramatic fashion tonight with two games going down to the wire on AM 1400 KJFF.

The first game saw the Jefferson Blue Jays (1-0) top the Herculaneum Blackcats (0-2) 52-49 for their first win of the 2016 season. The Blue Jays held the lead for the majority of the game but Herculaneum rallied back in the third quarter thanks to forward Matt Coffman’s play. Jefferson’s stifling defense proved to be too much for the Blackcats though as they held them off down the stretch and hitting some key free throws to hold on.

Jefferson head coach Nic Zenker gave props to Easton Null for his scoring on the court to come away with the victory…

Blackcats head coach Jason Jarvis said free-throwing continues to be a struggle for his team…

The second game of the night saw the host Crystal City Hornets (1-3) take on the St. Louis Patriots. Crystal City knocked off the Patriots 68-60 behind a monster performance from junior forward Brady DeGeare. DeGeare scored 40 points and went 19-23 from the free throw line while securing 13 rebounds for another double-double.

The two teams were tied at ten at the end of one before the Hornets took off in the second quarter and led by 12 points after the third quarter. However, the Patriots battled back and after they had to play with just four players due to three of their six players fouling out. The Patriots got down to four players with two players left and trailed by ten before slashing the deficit to just four. DeGeare was calm, cool and collected from the line to clinch the victory for the Hornets after the Patriots went down to three players after their fourth player fouled out.

Hornets head coach Sean Breeze was happy with DeGeare’s continued performance on the court…

The Crystal City junior chatted briefly with KJFF about what needs to continue for his team in the tournament…

Semi-final coverage of the Rolla “Duke” Herbert Tournament takes place tomorrow afternoon beginning at 6:30 as the Blue Jays battle Saxony Lutheran and Crystal City will face the St. Vincent Indians directly following the first game. Those games can be heard on mymoinfo.com and on 1400 AM KJFF.