St. Bede overcomes hot start by A-FC to advance to Amboy Regional semis

PERU – The No. 12-seeded Ashton-Franklin Center boys basketball team started out strong, hitting the boards and taking an early lead, but No. 7 St. Bede got going and never looked back as the Bruins came away with a 64-47 victory Monday during quarterfinal action of the Class 1A Amboy Regional.

The Bruins advance to Wednesday’s semifinals at Amboy, where they will take on No. 3-seeded Forreston.

The Raiders came out aggressive on the offensive boards as Nate Becker’s putback gave AFC a 6-2 edge less than a minute into the game at St. Bede’s Abbott Vincent Gymnasium.

Aaron Lester then used a bounce pass to get the ball into Nolan Rueff as the Raiders' lead grew to 10-4, but several missed chances to expand that lead triggered a run by the Bruins.

“We wanted to come out and pressure and we did that to get that lead,” AFC coach Mike Messer said. “We missed some easy shots that could’ve really extended the lead and put some more pressure on St. Bede, but we weren’t able to take advantage when we had the chance.”

Halden Hueneburg jump started the Bruins' run with a much needed 3-pointer, then AJ Hermes converted a layup that tied the game at 10.

After a Mason Ross free throw, Gino Ferrari powered his way into the lane before Carson Riva hit a pair of shots from the charity stripe as the Bruins ended the first quarter on an 11-0 run to take a 15-10 lead.

“Give [AFC] credit because they came out and put it on us,” Bruins coach Brian Hanson said. “But I thought we started getting aggressive at both ends, especially when they didn’t take advantage of some of those offensive boards. Halden Hueneburg really shot the ball well and hit a 3-pointer that got that run going.”

A Becker putback to start the second quarter ended the Raiders' scoring drought, but the Bruins responded immediately with a 3-pointer to push their advantage to 24-16.

Rueff had a strong drive to the basket for a layup, but St. Bede answered right back once again with a three-point play.

Moments later, Hueneburg hit another shot from behind the arc, and on the Bruins’ next possession Ferrari passed up the long-range shot and drove to the hoop for an easy bucket that made it 36-17 as St. Bede ended the half on a 32-7 run.

“We got in some foul trouble there in the first half,” Messer said. “I think at one point it was 13-3 in fouls called, and that hurt us a bit. Give St. Bede credit because they were aggressive. We scouted them last week and No. 5 [Hueneburg] was a nonfactor shooting the 3-pointer, but tonight he was a big factor, which really surprised us.”

To start the second half, Hueneburg hit a corner 3-pointer on an out-of-bounds play to push the lead to 39-17.

But the Raiders made a push that started with a 3-pointer from Aaron Lester and then a tough shot in the paint from Becker before Rueff hit a jumper to cut the lead to 41-28.

Hueneburg again knocked down a corner 3 on an out-of-bounds play that pushed the lead back to 16 points at 44-28.

“Two big 3-pointers on out-of-bounds plays was huge,” Hanson said. “We like to put him opposite corner of the ball and tonight he was hitting the shots for us.”

Ferarri also hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key, but the Raiders stayed within striking distance as Becker hit a tough turnaround jumper that made it 52-39 St. Bede heading into the final eight minutes.

In the fourth, the Bruins were able to keep the Raiders at bay with a strong drive to the rim from Gus Burr and then a layup by Ross on a dish from Kaden Newman. Ferrari ended his solid night with a pair of free throws.

Ferrari led all scorers with 23 points, while Hueneburg added 14 for the Bruins. Becker and Brock Lehman each had 12 points for the Raiders.

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St. Bede's Gino Ferrari runs in the lane to score on a layup against Ashton-Franklin Center during the Class 1A Regional quarterfinal game on Monday, Feb. 24, 2025 at St. Bede Academy. (Scott Anderson)