Flye guy

Flye seals rally; commits for football at McKendree U.

BY MICHAEL BOYD JR.

HERALD SPORTS EDITOR

STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo.  —  Trailing by one point with just seconds remaining, Kaden Flye grabbed Potosi’s missed free throw and took off with the basketball to the other end, trying to beat the clock.

With the home crowd cheering wildly, he nearly lost it twice but placed the go-ahead layup with 2.0 seconds on the clock, drawing a foul along with it.

The senior buried his own foul shot to complete the traditional 3-point play and the Dragons stole one against their MAAA Conference foe to rally 73-71 at the Peggy J. Johnson Memorial Gymnasium Friday night (Jan. 27).

The decent-sized student fanbase celebrated with the team and Flye at the center on the hardwood shortly after.

But while Flye posted the game-winner to compliment his double-double, it was his usual partners in crime, Ricky Hunter and Aiden Boyer, who caused enough havoc in the thievery.

The Dragons’ rally was sparked by a technical foul on Potosi that resulted in four points for the host with 1:59 left in the game.

Trailing 65-59 and Carson Kreilich at the foul line, a Trojan elbowed Alex Basler in the face while the two were jockeying to rebound on the first foul shot, resulting in the technical.

Kreilich hit both regular free throws, and Hunter hit the two technical foul shots, cutting it to 65-63 with no time off the clock.

The Dragons turned up the heat from there.

It was the second straight back-and-forth thriller  —  both wins  —  for the Dragons in four days.

Ste. Genevieve (14-4, 3-1 MAAA), which shot 44% from its own floor, trailed 63-54 early with 4:51 left in the game and 71-68 with 19.9 seconds to go.

That rally was aided by the Dragons 14 for 16 performance from the foul line in the fourth quarter.

There were 13 total lead changes in the game, which was extra thrilling as the Dragons avenged their district semifinal loss to the Trojans to end their season in 2021-22; Ste. Genevieve had beaten Potosi three times prior to that stunning loss.

Now, the two teams could meet twice more in the MAAA tournament next week and the Class 4 District 2 tournament at the end of this month.

Ste. Genevieve trailed 15-14 after one quarter, but led 38-37 at intermission, only to trail again 54-52 heading into the final frame.

The Trojans (16-4, 2-2) erased a three-point debt with a 13-0 run that started in the first period for a 24-14 lead. The Dragons cut it to 26-25 before the game

went crazy with nonstop scoring by both clubs (10 lead changes in the first half, six in the second quarter.

Hunter scored a team-high 24 points and five 3-pointes on 7-of-18 scoring despite silly foul troubles.

Boyer finished with 17 points and a trey on 3-of-7 shooting. He was 8 for 12 from the foul line, and had three assists, seven rebounds and three steals.

Flye, who just verbally committed to play football at McKendree University, a NCAA Division II college in Lebanon, Ill., recorded a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Alex Basler added seven points and seven assists. Carson Kreilich had six points and four assists. Tucker Reed also had six points.

Overall, the Dragons were 20 for 27 from the charity stripe, ripped down 28 rebounds and had 18 assists.

Potosi’s Carter Whitley led all with 27 points, 17 in the middle quarters. Ty Mills added 20 points, nine in the first quarter. Gabe Brawley had 12 points, eight in the fourth.

The Trojans were just 6 for 10 from the charity stripe, and had 24 rebounds.

For Flye, also a football wide receiver and defensive back, the second NCAA football signing day is Wed. Feb. 1. He joins Valle Catholic seniors Bryce Giesler (running back, Division I-AA Lindenwood U.) and Noah Elbert (offensive lineman, NAIA Missouri Baptist U) who are moving on to the collegiate football level.

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Dragons 58, St. Vincent 54

PERRYVILLE, Mo.  —  Ste. Genevieve’s usual suspects caused St. Vincent all sorts of fits to win a seesaw thriller 58-54 at SVHS last Monday (Jan. 23) in boys’ basketball action.

Seniors Ricky Hunter, Kaden Flye and Aiden Boyer countered the Indians’ triple threat and held on to win for the second straight contest and sixth time in seven games.

The Dragons (13-4) shot 43% from the floor. They led 22-15 after one quarter, then 30-26 at breaktime but just 44-41 heading into the final frame. The were 8 for 16 from the foul line.

Hunter scored 13 points with three 3-pointers on 5-of-10 shooting.

Flye added a double-double with 10 points and seven rebounds, six assists and three steals.

Boyer also had 10 points with a trey, plus  seven rebounds, six steals and three blocks.

Carson Kreilich had nine points. Alex Basler had nine points and three assists. Tucker Reed had three points and four rebounds.

The Indians (10-9) saw Grant Abernathy with 15 points, 12 in the second half.

Collin Wheeler had 10 points, Simon Unterrainer had nine and Payton Strattman eight.

The Catholic school was 5 for 8 from the charity stripe.

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NEXT

The Dragons wrap up MAAA regular-season action when they host rival Farmington Thursday (Feb. 2).

They then will compete in the 12-team MAAA tournament beginning Saturday (Feb. 4) and continuing all next week (Feb. 6-11) with the first-round sites to be determined after seedings are determined. The Dragons should receive a favorable seeding and a first-round bye.

The rest of the tournament will play out at the Bob Sechrest Sr. Fieldhouse at Mineral Area College in Park Hills.