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First-year Cardinal Stritch boys basketball coach Dave Rieker has been looking for one thing this season.
“Constant improvement,” said Rieker, who inherited a program coming off a 2-19 season. “Right now at this stage, if we're losing a game it's because of what other teams do (or) if they're more talented. When we play Northwood on Tuesday, if they happen to beat us it can't be because we had 16, 18 turnovers or because we don't miss our free throws.
“Our biggest problem is we worry about who we play. We want the guys to worry about how we play, and if you lose and they're better - not that you could ever live with that – but it's a lot better than knowing you gave it away.”
The Cardinals improved to 4-12 and 3-7 in the Toledo Area Athletic Conference with Tuesday's 56-45 home win against Northwood. Stritch's other conference wins both came against Danbury, including last Friday's 51-49 win over the host Lakers.
Stritch's point guard and leading scorer, senior Justin Staler, had 17 points in that victory while Michael Blazevich added 11 points and Conner Kelsey had 10 points and eight rebounds.
Staler has been the Cardinals' lone consistent scoring threat and is their only double-figure scorer, averaging 11.7 points along with three assists and three rebounds a game. Staler poured in 21 points in Tuesday's victory over Northwood.
“Justin can get his 17, but if we can't get anybody else chipping in ...” Rieker said. “When somebody else shuts him down, we need to take the pressure off him. We don't walk the ball up the court, but we have become a very deliberate offense. I don't have a lot of pure shooters, guys who can break defenses down one-on-one other than Justin.”
Blazevich, a junior guard, averages six points and 4.5 rebounds a game, while senior guard Matt Guy chips in five points a game off the bench. Robbie Bekier, a 6-foot-3 sophomore forward, averages 4.5 points.
“What I like about Robbie is his athleticism,” Rieker said. “He's very long and lanky. His arms go down to his ankles. He's becoming more assertive and he is understanding that if he keeps doing the things he's doing, he can become a good basketball player.”
Kelsey, another 6-3 sophomore whom Rieker refers to as his “banger inside,” is starting to give the Cardinals more of a scoring presence in the post.
“I challenge Conner every night to get me a double-double,” the coach said. “He's strong and he can jump. His big thing now is just playing. We are very young and very talented.”
Kyle Hatfield, a 6-5 junior center, shows a lot of potential – when he's on the court.
“The biggest thing we have to do with him is keep him out of foul trouble,” Rieker said. “Each game he gets two fouls within the first 25 seconds. When we're playing well and in games, it's because Kyle is in the game. He's a very good rebounder, he clogs up the middle for us and he takes a little bit of pressure off Justin underneath.”
Rieker said he is confident the Cardinals can close the season on a good note if they continue to follow through with what the coaching staff asks of them.
“Since I've been here I've told them, 'guys, if you listen to us we'll put you in positions to win and we'll win,' ” Rieker said. “I hope their confidence keeps growing and they understand they have to keep doing what they're supposed to do. We have improved. We don't have as many wins as we'd like, but we haven't gone backwards.”
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