The St. Louis Cardinals 7th grade team played the South Ripley Raiders on Thursday night in the finals of the SEI Tournament 47-29. Both teams were looking to cap off their very successful season with a chance to cut down the nets. The Cardinals had a little more riding on the game as they were also looking to avenge an earlier season loss against the very talented South Ripley Raiders team.
The game started with the Cardinals controlling the tip, and for the most part, the rest of the game. The Cardinals, known to play good defense, turned in one of their best defensive performances of the year, as they shut down the Raiders in the 1st quarter not allowing them to score. They also came out shooting well as Andrew Oesterling and Wil Freeland both knocked in shots from 3 pt range to help put the St. Louis up 14-0 at the end of the quarter. The second quarter was played fairly even and the half ended by the score of 24-11.
The Raiders came out in the third quarter and hit their first 5 out of 6 shots but the Cardinals were able to answer the call highlighted by a 3 pointer in the corner by Riley Schebler. The Cardinals outscored the Raiders by a point and the 3rd quarter ended 37-23. The fourth quarter came down to playing good defense and making free throws for the Cardinals, which they did, as they outscored the Raiders 10-6 and were 8 for 10 from the line. The game ended with the Cardinals winning by the score of 47 – 29.
The scoring for the Cardinals consisted of Wil Freeland with 7, Riley Schebler 7, Andrew Oesterling 17, Leyton Ratcliff 8, and Sam Voegele 8. Defensively the team was led by Schebler and Oesterling on the perimeter and Sam Voegele controlled the boards again as he pulled down a season high 14 rebounds.
The Cardinals finished the season 23-2. The championship win brings back the trophy to St. Louis for the first since 2005 when the SEI tournament started. Congratulations should be given to both South Ripley Raiders and St. Louis Cardinals for a great season.
Courtesy of Cardinals Coach Jim Oesterling.