St John’s Andrew Elwer scored 31 points on six 3-pointers and fearless finishes like this one in the first half against Aaron Wuebker. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Jeff Gilbert)
Delphos St. John’s rained down threes on New Bremen as the Blue Jays advanced to 18-0. Andrew Elwer led the way with six three-pointers and 31 points. Cam Elwer followed with 27 points and five threes.
New Bremen, OH – You’ve probably heard that Delphos St. John’s can shoot the basketball.
Everyone’s heard it, but if seeing is believing, the Blue Jays made a few hundred converts in New Bremen’s packed-out Nest on Friday night.
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The three Elwers, brothers Andrew and Cam, and cousin Easton knocked down 13 three-pointers and combined for 66 points in a 74-51 win over New Bremen.
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The Blue Jays improved to 18-0, and with four games to go, have their sights set on perfection.
“I think it’s actually pretty fun when everyone brings their best game,” said junior Andrew Elwer of the target on his team’s back. “We know that every game matters, and whoever we play is gonna bring it.”
New Bremen did eventually “bring it,” but not before Andrew Elwer brought it first.
He’s typically option 1B for the Blue Jay offense behind his brother Cam. But against New Bremen, he led the charge with 31 points. He wasted no time launching a barrage of deep balls over New Bremen’s aggressive 2-3 zone. In the first four minutes, he knocked down three of four attempts from long range to give Delphos an early 13-4 lead.
“For any player when you’re on a heater, you’re supposed to let it fly,” Andrew Elwer said.
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His elder brother agreed in both word and deed.
“Whenever [Andrew] goes on a heater, I try to facilitate my game to get him a shot,” Cam Elwer said. “We make ourselves better off of each other. If I’m hot, he’ll find me, and vice versa.”
Cameron Elwer knocked down five 3-pointers and scored 27 points for the kind of production expected of him every night.
That red-hot start proved decisive. Delphos raced out to a 26-4 lead in the first quarter, fueled by six-for-seven shooting from outside the arc. New Bremen battled back in the second and third, but the early damage was irreversible.
Andrew Elwer finished the night six for nine from three, and actually improved upon his season three-point percentage of 54%.
The Elwer bros’ shooting gets all the fame, and perhaps rightfully so. But Andrew proved he’s not afraid to do the dirty work down by the hoop either.
“Andrew’s continued to progress physically,” said head coach Aaron Elwer of his son. “He’s always been skilled. He’s always had the ability to shoot it, and now he’s just confident, tough and hard-nosed.”
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His powerful takes to the rim earned him buckets and free throws that kept the St. John’s faithful comfortable during a New Bremen resurgence in the third quarter.
“Andrew’s taken huge steps,” Cam Elwer said. “He’s getting in the paint more, and he’ll take two guys down there, find the open man and kick it out. That growth has helped me get a lot more spot shots.”
While Andrew led the way, St John’s embarrassment of riches was on full display. As a team, Delphos knocked down 13-of-21 from three before the starters were pulled. Maybe it was the space that Andrew Elwer’s hot hand freed up by pulling the defense his way. Or maybe that’s just what you get when you play Delphos St. John’s.
Cam Elwer racked up 27 points, and Easton Elwer scored eight.
The Blue Jay offense showed flashes of versatility when it needed to, although when you shoot 62% from three, options are more luxury than necessity.
As New Bremen’s zone extended farther and farther to protect the three-point line, the Blue Jays took tactical shots at the baseline. When the St. John’s offense briefly cooled off from deep, Cam Elwer cut behind the zone from the corner to the hoop and finished an alley-oop thrown from outside the three-point line.
Always aggressive with the ball in his hands, St. John’s Andrew Elwer picks up the charging foul and makes New Bremen’s Aaron Wuebker pay.
“We haven’t seen a lot of zone,” Aaron Elwer said. “But I do think maybe some more zone is coming, and if so, that was a great test for us. Their zone presents different problems, but our guys have the ability to put the ball on the floor in those gaps to draw in defenders and work inside out.”
St. John’s doesn’t possess an imposing big man on the block, which could be an imperfection that a taller team than New Bremen could exploit down the road. But they make up for it by making you guard every inch of the hardwood and moving the ball quickly and carefully.
A lack of size didn’t hurt them at all in the first quarter as New Bremen, which is also relatively undersized in the MAC, mustered just four points.
To New Bremen’s credit, a lot of teams would’ve quit. But the Cardinals punched back.
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“We had a lot of people in the gym,” New Bremen head coach Cory Stephens said. “There were people here at 3:50. So at the end of the first quarter we said, ‘These people paid money to watch a good game. So let’s give them a good game. Let’s put on a show.’ We can either say it’s just gonna go sideways, or we can show a little fight and give them something they wanna watch.”
Gavin Dicke scored 16 points and did his best to help New Bremen fight back to within 12 points in the third quarter.
Gavin Quellhorst and Gavin Dicke stepped up. They rank first and third in steals in the MAC. And even against Delphos’ spectacular guards, they created enough havoc to produce fast breaks.
The improved defense breathed life into the offense, and New Bremen took a 43-24 deficit to the half. They were alive, but battered by 21 first half points from Andrew Elwer.
Delphos went cold in the third, at least by Delphos standards, and New Bremen pounced. Dicke amassed five points, two steals and a swat block in the first three minutes of the third.
They cut the lead from 22 down to 46-34 with five minutes to go in the third.
Then Delphos’ 1A called game.
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On consecutive possessions Cam Elwer scored a fast break layup, then a tough driving layup, then swished a deep three to silence the red and gold. There were no more “overrated” chants from the student section after that, not even mostly tongue-in-cheek ones like The Nest heard after Elwer’s first miss.
“We play in these types of environments every Friday,” Andrew Elwer said. “Every week the crowds bring it, and we just embrace it.”
A sleepy fourth quarter fluttered to a 74-51 final score on the Blue Jays’ next step in pursuit of perfection.
“They’re gonna hit shots,” Stephens said. “That’s ok, you gotta force them to continue to do it for four quarters, and they hit enough shots tonight for four quarters to win. So hats off to them.”
New Bremen has lost five of its last seven games, and travels Saturday to Jackson Center, which is on a similar season trajectory and looking to right the ship.
The Blue Jays play Lima Bath, Fort Recovery, Crestview and Parkway. A win over Fort Recovery or Parkway would clinch a share of the MAC title, and wins over both would grant them the third straight outright title.
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