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Boys basketball: Penn’s Smith and Burton combine for 49 in victory at Saint Joseph

John Fineran
·4 min read

SOUTH BEND — Junior guard Markus Burton has been getting most of the attention this season for the No. 5 (Class 4A) Penn boys basketball team, and justifiably so.

But future opponents of Al Rhodes’ 8-0 Kingsmen better make sure they pay attention to Burton’s junior backcourt mate Joe Smith, who scored 16 of his game-high 30 points in the fourth quarter as Penn ran away from Saint Joseph 73-56 Thursday night.

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“You know, you’ve got to pick your poison,” Saint Joseph’s first-year coach Eric Gaff said. “Are you going to let Burton get 30 and let Smith off? We decided to take away Burton and you saw how good Smith is.”

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Burton, who entered the game averaging 26.9 points per game, finished with 19 points, 10 of them in the third quarter as the Kingsmen took a 49-43 lead. But then Smith went crazy in the fourth quarter and the Indians couldn’t keep up.

“Joe is a very experienced player,” Rhodes said. “But as his teammates found him open, and sometimes Saint Joseph ignored him some, he certainly made them pay.”

Penn's Joe Smith puts up a shot during the Penn vs. Saint Joseph boys basketball game Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022 at Saint Joseph High School.
Penn's Joe Smith puts up a shot during the Penn vs. Saint Joseph boys basketball game Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022 at Saint Joseph High School.

Smith finished with six 3-pointers, two in the final quarter, and was 10-of-14 shooting from the field. Burton, saddled with foul trouble in the second half, hit 9-of-14 shots, all inside the 3-point line. Their 49 points combined were seven less than the entire output of the Indians, who got 19 points from Cole Hatkevich and 10 from Declan Walsh.

Smith also had a hand in defending Saint Joseph 6-foot-4 freshman Chase Konieczny, the brother of Notre Dame freshman J.R. Konieczny, who led the Indians last year to the Class 3A semistate championship game before falling to eventual state runner-up Leo, 61-59.

“The plan was to be up on him (Konieczny) and not give him open looks,” Smith said. “We wanted him to take contested shots.”

Chase Konieczny, who entered the game averaging 18 points per game, was held to just eight on 2-of-11 shooting.

Rhodes was pleased with his team’s effort considering it hadn’t played since an 86-81 victory over Michigan City on Dec. 18. The Kingsmen finished 28-of-48 from the field (58.3 percent) but also made 19 turnovers. Nevertheless, they moved to 4-0 in the NIC, a half-game behind league-leader John Glenn (10-0, 5-0 NIC), which beat New Prairie 69-36.

Penn's Markus Burton drives to the basket during the Penn vs. Saint Joseph boys basketball game Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022 at Saint Joseph High School.
Penn's Markus Burton drives to the basket during the Penn vs. Saint Joseph boys basketball game Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022 at Saint Joseph High School.

“It (the layoff) showed in our execution on offense,” added Rhodes, whose team also was without the services of 6-foot-9 senior post Cole Wojciechowski, who is in Covid-19 protocol. Seniors Blake Barker and Mason Wilson and juniors Dylan Derda and Josh Gatete managed to combine for 12 points, almost twice Wojciechowski’s 6.3 output this season.

The Kingsmen never trailed in the game, leading 19-13 after the first quarter and opening a 34-24 lead with just over a minute to go in the half on a basket by Derda. But the Indians ended the half on an 8-0 run to close the deficit to 34-32. Burton scored three straight baskets to start the second half, and a Smith 3-pointer halfway through the third quarter gave the Kingsmen an 11-point lead, 45-34. The Indians’ biggest lead was 19 on two occasions in the final quarter.

“They’re a tough team and they showed it down the stretch,” Gaff said of the Kingsmen, who pay a visit to No. 9 Valparaiso (9-2) Saturday night.

Saint Joseph's Jack Quinn drives to the basket during the Penn vs. Saint Joseph boys basketball game Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022 at Saint Joseph High School.
Saint Joseph's Jack Quinn drives to the basket during the Penn vs. Saint Joseph boys basketball game Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022 at Saint Joseph High School.

The Indians, now 3-1 in the NIC, were playing their third game in four days and their second without junior forward Jake O’Dell, who suffered a shoulder injury in Monday’s 69-59 NIC victory over South Bend Riley and did not play in the Indians’ 79-66 loss at Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian Tuesday.

“We’re not sure how long he will be out,” said Gaff, whose team is off until a Friday, Jan. 14 home league battle with John Glenn. “He’s a key player for us and our younger guys are going to have to step up. It tears me up because Jake put in so much time and effort into his game over the summer.”

PENN 73, SAINT JOSEPH 56

At South Bend

PENN (73): Markus Burton 19, Joe Smith 30, Joey Garwood 9, Josh Gatete 2, Blake Barker 4, Trey Miller 3, Dylan Derda 6, Ethan Good 0, Dominic Bonner 0, Mason Miller 0, Elijah Benson 0. TOTALS 28 8-14 73.

SAINT JOSEPH (56): Chase Konieczny 8, Cole Hatkevich 19, Julian Kamanda 2, Declan Walsh 10, Jack Quinn 9, Jayce Lee 4, Brashaun Woods 4, Jerry Barca 0, Gishawn Wiggins 0. TOTALS 18 16-24 56.

Penn 19 | 34 | 49 | 73

Saint Joseph 13 32 | 43 | 56

3-point goals: Penn 9 (Smith 6, Garwood 3), Saint Joseph 4 (Hatkevich 3, Konieczny 1). Total fouls (fouled out): Penn 18 (none), Saint Joseph 15 (Walsh). Technicals: Burton, Smith. Records: Penn 8-0, 4-0 Northern Indiana Conference; Saint Joseph 6-4, 3-1 Northern Indiana Conference. J.V. score: Penn 60, Saint Joseph 38.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Indiana high school basketball Penn and South Bend Saint Joseph NIC