Jackson Wiechart answers the anticipation of a packed gym with the third of his three successive three-point shots in the fourth quarter to lead the Blue Jays past Marion Local. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
In an emotionally-charged setting, Delphos St. John used clutch shooting from sophomore Jackson Wiechart in the final three minutes to hand Marion Local its first loss of the season, 55-43.
Delphos, OH – By actual count, it had been 23 years since I had last set foot in Delphos St. John’s Arnzen Gymnasium…not since their Division IV state championship year in 2002.
But Friday night, the atmosphere, the dogged play of the Blue Jays (13-0), and the drama of two MAC unbeatens made it worth the wait, as DSJ used clutch shooting throughout its lineup and throughout the game to hand fellow unbeaten, Marion Local, its first loss of the 2024-’25 campaign…55-43.
Tied 39-39 with 4:40 left to play in the fourth quarter, sophomore Jackson Wiechart canned three successive three-pointers to cap a 15-point night…with leading scorer Cam Elchert benched with four fouls…breaking the backs of the visiting Flyers, who were seeking their 12th win of the season.
“A tight game with a lot on the line between two really good teams,” said Delphos coach Aaron Elwer. “Eventually you’ve got to make a play. It was Brayden Klaus first, and then it was Jackson Wiechart [in the second half]. We’ve got guys who’ve played a lot of basketball, and to see things pay off like that in this environment was really, really, REALLY neat!”
Really, really, really neat hardly cuts it, as Elwer and the Blue Jays fed off the feverish atmosphere of 1,500 screaming, expectant fans to fulfill what’s quickly become the quick-and-dirty scouting report on St. John. You can’t guard just one…you’ve got to guard ’em all.
They got the expected double digit points from All-Ohio candidate Cam Elwer (19 pts), along with 15 from Jackson Wiechart, 9 from Easton Elwer, 7 from Brayden Klaus, and 3 from Andrew Elwer to justify 10 of 23 three-point shooting for the game (43%), and five of them from Wiechert! But it was the timing of the shots that opened eyes and hearts for a team that gets the lion share of its production from five players 6’1″ or smaller.
“The intensity was so great,” said Aaron Elwer. “And halftime couldn’t have come at a better time. Our guys wanted to win so hard, and they were playing so hard that we had some turnovers, some bad shots…and you’re going to have some missed shots. Our adrenalin was at an all-time high. It was hard to play.
The MAC’s leading scorer, Cam Elwer, scores past Marion’s Austin Niekamp for two of his game-high 19 points.
“We talked at the half…can we slow it down and channel some of that energy? Because in the first half we definitely felt a little rush. And I thought we did calm down and executed better in the second half.”
Marion obviously was aware of Cam Elwer from the opening tip, the leading scorer in the conference and the leader in scoring percentage. But it’s hard to keep a good man down and the 6’0″ junior answered with 5 in the first, then exploded for a quick 8 in the second to push Delphos St. John to a 23-16 halftime advantage.
A difference maker in the half was Marion’s inability to get 6’8″ post player Austin Niekamp engaged at the rim, Niekamp scoring just once…the first two points of the game.
“We didn’t get the ball to where it needed to go in the first half,” said Marion coach Kurt Goettemoeller. “And we did in the second half, but you’ve got to do it for 32 minutes.”
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But they got it where they needed it at the outset of the third quarter, Niekamp suddenly filling it up from point-blank range as a result of his size advantage over the collapsing Delphos defense. Trailing 32-24, he would score 6 points in a row, and 7 in the quarter, while Elwer scored 6 for the Blue Jays, aided by a lone three-pointer by teammate and younger brother, Andrew. Outscored by Marion, 15-9, the quarter ended with Delphos clinging to a 31-30 lead.
St. John came out of the huddle to start the fourth quarter with a bang, going on a 6-2 run, thanks to the shooting of Brayden Klaus, whose three-pointer and 7 points for the quarter seemed to ignite another energy frenzy. But Niekamp continued his attack on the rim during the same time, scoring 8 in the quarter to square the score at 39-39.
Marion Local’s Ryan Homan drives the lane for a pair of first half points.
Cam Elwer had left the game with his fourth foul at the :45 mark of the third quarter, and the Blue Jays desperately needed a scoring lift with him off the floor. Klaus gave them that, along with what would become the most talked about three minutes of basketball through 13 consecutive wins to start the fourth quarter.
Jackson Wiechert…a smallish 6’1″ post defender stepped outside in front of the Delphos bench and canned a three-pointer to push them ahead.
Then on an ensuing possession, Marion either lost track of, or left Wiechert alone again and he drained a second one from the identical spot.
Now the crowd was on its feet, the noise was deafening, as the Blue Jays pushed the lead to 6 with Elwer on the bench.
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Moments later, another look from that same corner and Wiechert did it again to suddenly push the lead to 49-41 as Elwer came back into the game.
“It was awesome, the environment,” said Elwer, speaking of his teammate pushing the lead in his absence. “And I trust all of our guys. We put in the work during the off-season, and Jackson comes in at 6 am every day with me, and it’s paying off. It’s simple to make shots. You’ve just got to practice it.”
Cam Elchert stuffs the shot attempt of Marion Local’s Grant Kremer during Friday’s Blue Jays win over the Flyers.
Wiechert, himself, was nearly speechless trying to recall the sequence of shots and points in the excitement of the moment.
“I don’t think I could have had three better minutes,” he said, finally. “If I had hit a couple more threes it might have been better. I saw that no one was guarding me and I said to myself…I’m going to shoot. I’m super confident because I come up here all the time with my dad, I shoot a lot, and there’s was no problem.”
There was a problem for Marion, however, in the final two minutes. Needing to foul, they sent the third Elwer, cousin Easton, to the foul line. No amount of Austin Niekamp could overcome his hitting 7 of 8 free throws to ice the game, put it out of reach…55-43.
“You give Delphos St. John credit,” said Kurt Goettemoeller. “We said when it was 39-39 that Cam would be coming back in the game and we have to make someone else beat us. And if Jackson doesn’t make that first shot maybe he doesn’t make another one. But man, he got confidence and then he hits three in a row. You give them credit. They needed other guys to step up and they did.
Faces in the crowd…watch a dual at the rim between DSJ’s Maddox Kroeger and Marion Local’s Austin Niekamp.
“I thought the game was great for our guys because we’re going to learn a ton by watching this game. We needed to be better offensively. It sucks to lose, but we’re going to learn and I think we’re going to be really good.”
Niekamp led the Flyers with 17 points, while Brayden Mescher joined him in double digits with 13.
“What an incredible week,” smiled Aaron Elwer as he wrapped up his post-game comments. “We had LCC Sunday in the rivalry game, two nights later we had Coldwater, who some probably picked to win our league, and tonight we have Marion, who I think will still have something to say in the league, as well.”
But Friday, no one spoke with more clarity than the Blue Jays, capped by those three incredible minutes by Jackson Wiechert.
It was, repeating…worth the wait.
The locals loved it…a fantastic turnout celebrates St.John’s 13th win of the season, 55-43, over previously undefeated Marion Local.
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