The Chants started off a big week hosting Wood River on Tuesday night. The Chants started slow on the offensive end falling behind 11-6. “We did not execute defensively in the 1st quarter and we had moments of defensive breakdowns that we haven’t had in awhile.” Coach Gates said. The Chants would rally to cut the lead to two in the 2nd quarter. The Chants would come in the 3rd quarter and take the lead from the Eagles 33-32 going into the 4th quarter. The Eagles would stretch the lead to four in the 4th and the Chants would respond and cut the lead to two on bucket by Quinton Ries. The Chants defense would be solid in the last few minutes but shots by multiple players did not fall. The Chants would force a late turnover and get the ball back with 20 seconds left. The Chants were unable to get the ball in the hoop on multiple attempts and would fall to the Eagles 43-42. “We played hard tonight but we did not execute well enough to get the win.” Coach Gates said. The Chants were led by Gage Smith with nine points. Quinton Ries had eight rebounds for the Chants.
The Chants traveled to Doniphan on Thursday night to take on the Doniphan Trumbull Cardinals. The game started poorly for the Chants with the Cardinals racing to a 9-0 lead in the first two minutes. The Chants fought back though and were able to cut the lead to 9-8 before being down 11-9 at the end of the 1st quarter. “We found ourselves in a hole pretty quickly but credit our guys for responding.” Coach Gates said. The 2nd quarter turned into a defensive affair with the Cardinals taking a 21-15 lead at the half. The third quarter would stay a defensive battle till the last minute where a two three pointers by the Cardinals would stretch the lead to 12 before the end of the 3rd. The Cardinals would keep stretching the lead and lead to the final of 45-25. “We played three really good quarters we just didn’t execute enough on the offensive end to win this game.” Coach Gates said. The Chants were led by Gage Smith and Quinto Ries with six points each.
On Friday the Chants traveled to St. Paul to take on the Wildcats. The Chants came out strong and battled with the Wildcats. The Wildcats would take a 12-10 over the Chants at the end of the 1st. The Wildcats would take advantage of some turnovers and stretch the lead to ten before the end of the half. After the half the Chants would get the lead down to single digits in the last minute of the 3rd but The Chants would be unable to get any closer. The Wildcats would win by a final of 50-33. “Our effort was great but we made some mental mistakes in the middle of the 3rd quarter that kept us from getting any closer.” The Chants were led by Johnny Deriso with 12 points and Reese Davenport with 10 points.