LITTLE RIVER WINS GOESSEL BLUEBIRD CLASSIC

NOW 4-0 ON SEASON        

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By Staff

          The Little River boys duplicated the girl’s team by winning all three games in the Goessel Bluebird Classic to earn the tournament championship trophy..

          It took a win over Hutchinson Central Christian, 59-21, followed by a 24-point victory over Elyria Christian to put the Redskins in the championship game with Canton/Galva where they prevailed by 11.

          The Redskins will now play on the road Tuesday at Moundridge before closing out the pre-Christmas schedule with a home game battling Wakefield on Friday, December 19.

          Here is a summary of the three victories at the Goessel Bluebird Classic:

MONDAY, DEC. 8 – vs. Hutchinson Central Christian at Goessel Bluebird Classic

Little River boys opened their 2025/26 season with much success as put a 59-21 thumping on Hutchinson Central Christian Monday at the Goessel Bluebird Classic tournament.

The Redskins jumped out to a 21-8 lead by the end of the first quarter and extended the advantage to 21 points at 31-10 by the time they reached the halftime break. Not letting up on the offensive pedal, Little River put another 17 points on the board in the third quarter and 11in the fourth while holding Central Christian to just 11, giving them the final 38-point win.

Ten Redskins put points in the scorebook with Nash Look being the only one to make double digits with ten though Blayne Baldetti came close with nine.

Jaren Garrison led the team in rebounds with seven as the Redskins out rebounded Central Christian 31-13 and forced the Celtics into turning the ball over 17 times.

SCORING = Redskins won 59-21.

Redskins = 21-10-17-11 = 59; Central Christian = 8-2-5-6 = 21.

TEAM STATS =

Little River = 2FGs – 21/32; 3PTs – 1/13; FTs – 14/17; Assists – 11; Rebounds (off/def) – 12/19=31; Steals – 9; Blocked Shots – 2; Turnovers – 6; Fouls – 10.

Central Christian = 2FGs – 5/15; 3PTs – 2/16; FTs – 5/8; Assists – 2; Rebounds (off/def) – 1/12=13; Steals – 1; Blocked Shots – 0; Turnovers – 17; Fouls – 13.

LITTLE RIVER INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS:

Scoring (59) = Nash Look – 10; Blayne Baldetti – 9; Jaren Garrison, Logan Schubert – 8; Jaxson Konen, Jhet Ewertt – 6; Lincoln Raleigh – 4; Ty Janette, Camden Streker  – 3; Kade Feldman – 2.

3-Pointers Made (1) = Strecker – 1.

Assists (11) – Konen – 4; Look – 2; Garrison – 1.

Rebounds (31) – Garrison – 7; Schubert, Konen – 4; Baldetti – 3; Look, Ewertt, Raleigh, Janette, Feldman, Strecker – 2; Duncan Olander – 1.

Steals (9) = Strecker, Raleigh – 2; Baldetti, Garrison, Schubert, Konen, Ewertt – 1.

Blocked Shots (2) – Baldetti, Janette – 1.

FRIDAY, DEC. 12 – vs. Elyria Christian at Goessel Bluebird Classic

          On Friday, the Redskins led by four, 12-8, after the first quarter over a tough Elyria Chrisitan team before hanging on with a five-point, 27-22 advantage at the halftime break.

          Little River put some distance in the game with a 19-point third quarter to take a more commanding 46-28 lead into the fourth quarter where they put the game away for the final 24-point, 58-34 victory.

          Little River dominated the paint, pulling down 42 rebounds to just 21 for Elyria which helped make up for the Eagles making eight three-point shots.

          Jaxson Konen earned a double-double in the game by leading the team in both scoring with 13 and rebounds with 10 while Jaren Garrison and Logan Schubert chipped in with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

SCORING = Little River won 58-34.

Little River = 12-15-19-12 = 58; Elyria Christian = 8-14-6-6 = 34.

TEAM STATS:

Little River = 2FGs – 25/39; 3PTs – 0/15; FTs 8/14; Assists – 5; Rebounds – 42; Steals – 12; Blocked Shots – 1; Turnovers – 12; Fouls – 10.

Elyria Christian = 2FGs – 3/13; 3PTs – 8/32; FTs – 4/6; Assists – 9; Rebounds – 21; Steals – 8; Blocked Shots – 2; Turnovers – 16; Fouls – 13.

LITTLE RIVER INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS:

Scoring (58) = Jaxson Konen – 13; Jaren Garrison – 12; Logan Schubert – 11; Blayne Baldetti – 8; Lincoln Raleigh – 6; Camden Strecker – 3; Ty Janette, Jhet Ewertt – 2; Cade Feldman – 1.

3-Pointers Made = 0.

Assists (7) = Konen, Raleigh – 2; Schubert – 1.

Rebounds (42) = Konen – 10; Schubert – 8; Garrison – 7; Janette – 5; Baldetti – 4; Raleigh – 2; Strecker, Ewertt, Duncan Olander – 1.

Steals (12) = Konen – 4; Garrison – 3; Raleigh – 2; Schubert, Baldetti – 1.

Blocked Shots (1) = Baldetti – 1.

SATURDAY, DEC. 13 – vs. Canton/Galva at Goessel Bluebird Classic

          Little River closed out the week by holding off a pesky Canton/Galva squad with a huge fourth quarter and earning an 11-point, 48-37 win to bring home the tournament championship trophy.

          Leading by two, 13-11, at the end of the first quarter, the Redskins and Eagles went into the halftime break tied at 16-16. Both teams put 15 points on the scoreboard in the third quarter to remain tied at 31-31 before Little River poured 17 points in the scorebook in the final quarter while holding the Eagles to just six, giving them the final 11-point championship win.

          Jaxson Konen was the lone Redskin to make double digits in scoring with 13 though Jaren Garrrison with nine and Jhet Ewertt with eight came close.

SCORING: Little River won 48-37.

Little River = 13-3-15-17 = 48; Canton/Galva = 11-5-15-6 = 37.

TEAM STATS:

Little River = 2FGs – 12/27; 3PTs – 3/17; FTs – 15/20; Assists – 4; Rebounds (off/def) – 10/16=26; Steals – 15; Blocked Shots – 0; Turnovers – 11; Fouls – 18.

Canton/Galva = 2FGs – 8/24; 3PTs – 5/12; FTs – 6/23; Assists – 2; Rebounds (off/def) – 3/19=22; Steals – 4; Blocked Shots – 1; Turnovers – 18; Fouls – 19.

LITTLE RIVER INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS:

Scoring (48) = Jaxson Konen – 13; Jaren Garrison – 9; Jhet Ewertt – 8; Lincoln Raleigh – 7; Blayne Baldetti – 4; Nash Look, Logan Schubert – 3; Ty Janette – 1.

3-Pointers Made (3)= Ewertt – 2; Garrison – 1.

Assists (4) = Look – 2; Garrison, Ewertt – 1.

Rebounds (26) = Raleigh, Schubert, Baldetti – 5; Garrison – 4; Janette – 3; Ewertt – 2; Konen, Look – 1.

Steals (15) = Konen, Raleigh – 4; Garrison – 3; Look, Baldetti – 2.

(The Staff covering McPherson County Activities can be reached by email at macks.people.places@gmail.com)