BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
ST. JOHN — When Kaden Foote inbounded the basketball to St. John freshman Easton Alpers, no one realized what was about to happen at La Crosse Jan. 30.
The junior varsity game was tied 32-32 with 2.2 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
"I told my cousin Kaden Foote to give me the ball and we'll see what I can do with it," said Alpers, who occasionally practices long-range shots.
The left-handed Alpers launched a 60-footer that went through the basket for the game-winner.
"I thought it hit the bottom of the net," Alpers said. "I didn't think it went in."
When teammates swarmed Alpers, he realized what had happened.
"I was shocked," he said. "Everybody started jumping up and celebrating."
That's just 'half' of Easton's story.
When St. John's varsity led La Crosse 26-8 with a few seconds left until halftime, Easton had checked in with the blessing of St. John basketball coach Danton Hilton.
"Coach Hilton had faith in me after the first one," Alpers said.
Alpers caught the ball from Juan Ibarra just shy of the half-court line thanks to a pick by Wyatt Mawhirter.
Just as Alpers hit the half-court line, he launched another prayer that was answered.
St. John's varsity team stormed to the locker room with a 29-8 lead. The Tigers earned a 52-27 victory over La Crosse. St. John's Emmett Delp scored 25 points with 15 rebounds. Ibarra scored eight points.
"I like the first one better," Alpers said. "The second one got a bigger roar out of the crowd. I heard some fan yell, 'The kid did it again.'
The 5-foot-9 Alpers had already earned the nickname 'Big E,' but teammates already started calling him 'buzzer-beater guy.'
"It was a pretty wild night for Easton," Hilton said. "I doubt we'll ever see that again anytime soon."
The Tigers have already overcome a season-ending injury to point guard Quade Smith and the team's second leading scorer Braxton Alpers is sidelined with a foot injury.
"I'm proud of all our guys," Alpers said. "We've got guys like Jace Reyes and our freshmen stepping up and competing."
St. John 13 16 13 10 — 52
La Crosse 4 4 12 11— 27
ST. JOHN (11-4, 3-1)—Emmett Delp 25, Ibarra 8, Vieux 7, Lozano 5, Reyes 4, Easton Alpers 3
ST. JOHN GIRLS 36, LA CROSSE 34 — Defending league champion St. John built a 34-22 lead and held off a La Crosse rally 36-34 in Thursday's Central Prairie League girls basketball game.
Lydia Reed led the Tigers with 12 points and Mia Meyer added 11 points. The Tigers built a 18-13 lead keyed by a 13-0 second quarter.
The Tigers (11-4, 4-0 CPL) broke a 22-22 tie when Mia Meyer tipped the ball to Lydia Reed. Averi Fisher dished to Meyer for a 3-pointer. Karly Rockenbach drilled a 3-pointer. Reagan Bonner and Reed followed with field goals for a 34-22 lead.
La Crosse's Molly Showalter and Madison Morgan converted 3-pointers to slice the lead to 36-34. Meyer and Bonner hit the Tigers' final two free throws.
St. John 5 13 9 9 — 36
La Crosse 13 0 9 12 —34
ST. JOHN (11-4, 4-0)—Reed 6-7 0-4 12, Meyer 4-9 (2-2) 1-2 11, Bonner 2-8 (1-3) 1-6 6, Rockenbach 2-3 (1-1) 0-0 5, Jaylyn Fisher 0-1 2-4 2, Averi Fisher 0-4 0-0 0, 14-32 (4-9) 6-16 36
LA CROSSE (7-5, 2-2)—Madison Morgan 6-17 (1-4) 0-0 13, Molly Showalter 3-11 (2-8) 0-2 8, Thielenhaus 1-14 (1-6) 0-0 3, Dellett 1-7 0-0 2, Werth 2-6 0-0 4, (25) 2-2 0-1 4, Totals 15-57 (4-18) 0-3 34