Stopped short, Crickets fall to Regis boys

In a matchup of two Division 4 top ten teams, it was Eau Claire Regis coming away with a big conference win against the host team, victorious over Fall Creek with a tight 66-61 final.

Both teams were ranked in the first basketball poll of the season with Regis at no. 3 while Fall Creek was positioned a bit lower, no. 6, among all Division 4 schools.

The visiting Ramblers came out impressive. After a 6-6 tie, Regis ran off 14 straight points to end the first quarter with a 20-6 lead. Drake University Div. 1 recruit, Billy Wampler, scored 15 of his game high 38 points for the Ramblers in that period.  

However,  the Crickets held their own and kept fighting back to cut the margin. At the half, they were down just four points as they outscored the Ramblers 18-8 in that second quarter to get back into the game. 

Though a setback caused more problems for Fall Creek when top defender Brayton Meyer had to leave the game after colliding with another player while diving for a loose ball and sustaining a head injury. Without Meyer, the Crickets faltered, though the team rallied to slow down the high flying visitors.

Regis gained ground once again as they built the lead back to double-digits in the third quarter. The stubborn Crickets kept within striking distance with balance scoring, but Regis  outscored the home team by three and led by seven with just eight minutes to go in the game.  

The fourth period culminated to a combined total of 44 points scored. 

Fall Creek senior Matt Anderson scored 15 of the team’s total 23 in the final period of the match. Anderson’s 3-point shot with just under six minutes to play tied the contest at 48. The home crowd was very excited. The Crickets even had a chance to take the lead, but missed which opened the door for Regis.  As Wampler again made a long three point basket and Logan Rohrscheib also made a three to push the lead back to six points in the Ramblers’ favor. 

Fall Creek could not overcome strong free throw shooting by the Ramblers as they made 14-17 in the final period and went 18-25 for the game while the Crickets had a season low shooting from the charity stripe, making just 4-10. Fall Creek had chances as they missed on two short attempts with 1:30 on the clock. They could not overcome the Ramblers and suffered their first defeat of the season.

Anderson led the way with 24 for Fall Creek. Braden Walbeck drilled three long range shots and ended up with 15 total points while Cody folkers had six before fouling out late in the game. Meyer had five before leaving the game. 

Fall Creek continues a tough schedule before their holiday break. They hosted Chippewa Falls - McDonell on Tuesday night and will face the Stanley-Boyd Orioles Friday, Dec. 19 before the time off.

---------------------------------

Follow us on Twitter or check out our Facebook page for more updates!