Steeleville Elementary beats CGS boys

Chase Newby scored a game-high 18 points, and Steeleville Elementary put together a strong third quarter to defeat Chester Grade School, 56-26, on Tuesday in boys basketball action.

Lane Lazenby also added 11 points for the Braves, who started the third quarter on a 14-1 run to lead 38-14 on a layup by Zachary Mevert.

"We play a lot harder when we do our diamond press," said Steeleville coach Dan Harriss. "We get laid back on our heels when we're not pressing, this was our 10th game in two and a half weeks.

"We'll have 12 games in three weeks basically and I know (the players) are dragging a little bit, but we're getting there, we've got to improve each game, though."

Chester's Amene Donnell scored on a driving layup with 1:07 left in the third for the Jr. Jackets' first field goal of the second half. At that time, Steeleville had a 41-16 advantage.

The Braves took a 43-18 lead into the final quarter.

"We limited our turnovers," Harriss said on what he liked the most about his team's performance. "We only had seven turnovers for the game and we've been way up there the last several games.

"At the end of the third quarter, we had 19 baskets and 13 assists, I like that."

Donnell led all Chester scorers with seven points, while Devin Adams contributed six and Hayden Gendron had five.

Gendron gave the Jr. Jackets their first and only lead of the game with an early free throw, but Steeleville responded with a 7-0 run.

The Braves extended their advantage to 16-7 in the second quarter on a free throw by Austin Park and held a 24-13 lead at halftime.

"Chase Newby, he can control a game if we can get the ball to him and be aggressive," he said. "He's still learning. A lot of people don't realize he's still in seventh grade.

"So, he's still learning and getting stronger."

Newby had 12 of his points at the break.

"We rely on him quite a bit," Harriss said. "If we can't get him the ball, then we have difficulty sometimes scoring because our shooting needs to improve outside."

In the B game, Steeleville also defeated Chester, 23-13.

The Braves were scheduled to host St. Bruno of Tamaroa on Wednesday before traveling to Prairie du Rocher on Thursday. Steeleville will return home Monday for a pair of B and C games against Trinity Lutheran starting at 5:30 p.m.