Lindbergh Boys Trying to Shake Off Cold Spell

Lindbergh coach Jason Wolfard warned his players that Eureka was a good 3-point shooting team. On Tuesday night, his Flyers found out for themselves.

Eureka hit eight 3-pointers and held off a late Lindbergh run to down the Flyers, 51-38, in front a small crowd at Lindbergh High School. It was Lindbergh's fourth loss in five games.

(Sports editor's update: Lindbergh won at Lutheran South, 63-57, on Wednesday to go to 9-9.)

The Flyers in turn went 0-for-10 from behind the arc, getting outscored 24-0 on 3-pointers.

Down by as many as 12 points in the third quarter, Lindbergh rallied to cut the deficit to three at 39-36 early in the fourth quarter but was outscored 12-2 down the stretch to lose for the eighth time in their past 11 games.

“We didn’t get stops,” Wolfard said. “We couldn’t get stops. We didn’t execute. We didn’t handle pressure … To know you work hard to put yourself in a position and then when it comes down to crunch time and you can’t get it done.

“They didn’t shoot great, but the 3s killed us. We told them before the game that they were a good 3-point shooting team. Our goal was to limit their attempts on 3s and we gave up five attempts in the first quarter alone.”

It didn’t make things any easier for Lindbergh that they were forced to play without senior guard Will Spitzfaden, who is third on the team at 9 points per game. Spitzfaden sprained his ankle in practice on Monday.

Lindbergh allowed three 3-pointers to Eureka in the first quarter and trailed 13-6 after eight minutes. They cut the deficit to three at 13-10 but allowed a 12-3 Eureka run to end the second quarter with the score 22-13 Wildcats at the break.

The teams traded baskets to start the third quarter, but Lindbergh fell behind by 12 points at 36-24 after a 3-pointer by Eureka’s Mason Mendigo with 2:12 left to play. But a quick 6-0 run made the score 36-30 at the end of the third quarter and the Flyers got within three at 39-36 with after a putback by Jared Haenni with 4:05 left to play.

But two free throws from Haenni would be the only offense Lindbergh would muster in the final four minutes, as Eureka pulled away for their ninth win in their past 14 games.

Lindbergh shot just 32 percent from the field, making 15-of-47 shots.

“There are four key stats we always talk about that we try to win: field goal percentage, rebounds, free throws made and turnovers,” Wolfard said. “And the only one that we won tonight was rebounds by about four. They won the other three.

“I can’t count how many bunnies we missed tonight, just layups right at the rim. We made a good aggressive drive, a good aggressive cut, a good aggressive pass, and we didn’t finish at the rim. If those fall, it’s different and we’d have more confidence, but right now we’re letting our shooting slump here affect every other part of our game and that hurts.”

With a coach from Maryville in the stands to watch him play, senior Charley Mueller struggled for the second straight game. After scoring just three points against Mehlville on Friday night, the 6-foot-7 wing man had just two points Tuesday on 1-for-7 shooting.

Mueller had three big blocks in the first quarter and his one basket came on a dunk. But that was it for him, as he was frustrated all night by the tough defense of Eureka’s Tyler Jordan.

“People are starting to guard him tough,” Wolfard said. “He’s having trouble finding his shot. He’s just in one of those slumps. We just need to keep working to get him out of it.”

Lindbergh plays at Parkway South (17-4, 3-1) on Friday at 7 p.m. in a Suburban West Conference game. The Flyers are 2-2 in league play.