Fifer helping drive the offense for 8-1 Metro-East Lutheran; Carlyle off to hot start

The shots roll off his fingertips with a smooth trajectory, arching from a quick release before splashing down in the net.

Metro-East Lutheran senior guard Teddy Fifer tossed in five 3-pointers among his career-high 33 points Friday in a 49-45 win over Gibault, then followed that up with a 28-point outing Saturday as the Knights (8-1) knocked off Nokomis.

Knights coach Anthony Smith calls Fifer, who transferred from Edwardsville after his sophomore year, a “hidden diamond.”

The secret is out with Fifer dropping big offensive numbers on Metro-East Lutheran opponents for the second straight season.

“He’s a very smart player,” Smith said of Fifer, who is averaging 18.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists. “He’s been around the game. He’s kind of like a hidden diamond; he’s a combo-type kid and he’s capable of playing the point and shooting guard.

“He shoots the ball well, but he also handles it and can make 3-pointers. He’s a gym rat, he just loves the gym.”

Fifer, who has grown six inches since his sophomore year, averaged 17.8 points last season. Smith said he sees a big difference from the skinny 6-foot-1 guard who answers to the nickname of “Tito.”

“He’s matured now,” Smith said. “He really wants to play next-level basketball, whether it be Division I or Division II. He puts in a lot of time in the classroom and a lot of time in on the basketball court. This year he’s taken on more of leadership role for us as well.”

Smith thinks college recruiters may have overlooked Fifer because he plays at a small Lutheran school instead of a bigger school with a better hoops reputation.

“We’re not typically one of the heavyweights,” Smith said, though the Knights were eighth in the latest Class 1A state basketball rankings. “He’s not getting the notoriety he needed. I think the more that we win and the more that we play well, he’ll get his name out there.

“I know a ton of college coaches and I’ve reached out to them. He’s just a lights-out shooter.”

Fifer and the Knights have a chance to prove themselves at the Mater Dei Christmas Tournament, where a rugged schedule against primarily larger schools awaits.

The Knights already own two wins this season over Gibault, ranked two spots ahead of them in the 1A state poll. Junior guard Kenrique Brown, another Edwardsville transfer, averages 10.7 points while 6-4 senior forward Jason Johnson (8.8 points, 8.2 rebounds per game) adds a physical inside presence.

“We’re always trying to build and get better,” Smith said. “That’s the overall goal of the whole program.”

Carlyle off to hot start

Count Carlyle coach Andy Palmer among those pleasantly surprised by the Indians’ 5-1 start this season.

The Indians are only two wins away from tying their entire season output of a year ago, when they struggled to a 7-24 finish that included a 1-8 mark in Cahokia Conference-Mississippi Division play.

“This group just seems to have fun when they play and I don’t know if ever saw that at any point last year,” said Palmer, whose team’s only loss was 64-56 to Class 1A second-ranked Okawville in the Carlyle Kaskaskian Classic. “We had a good tournament and with the exception of about a four-minute span against Okawville, we were very competitive there.”

Senior guard Maverick Taylor is leading the way, averaging 16.8 points and 4.1 assists. He scored a season-high 25 points in Friday’s 72-49 conference win over Freeburg and leads the Indians with 19 3-pointers.

“Maverick really worked hard in the offseason to get stronger and it’s showed up in every aspect of his game,” Palmer said. “He’s able to guard better, his shooting range is deeper and he’s handling the ball better against pressure than he has in the past.

“We always knew he could shoot it, it was can he create his own shot and could he gets himself open when teams would key on him.”

Palmer said in the early going, those questions have been answered in the affirmative. Maybe the inspiration came from a tough junior season.

“He was tired of losing,” Palmer said. “I think last year was a frustrating season for him. He wanted to have some success and he’s taken on some leadership role on his own this year, too.”

Sophomore Tyler Siever has become a major contributor at 13.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Connor Toennies, a 6-5 junior, averages 11 points and 6.2 rebounds.

Palmer said one big difference is telling his players it’s OK to make mistakes and to keep playing aggressive at both ends.

“Before, once the season gets here they started to think too much and worry about making mistakes, so we’ve tried to stress being free and loose and playing hard,” Palmer said. “So far it seems to be working. We’re having fun and playing at a pretty fast pace.”

Edwardsville grad hits 1,000 points in college

Western Illinois University junior guard Garret Covington surpassed the 1,000-point mark in his college career Saturday with 11 points in the Leathernecks’ 64-57 victory over Eastern Illinois.

The 6-foot-5 Edwardsville High graduate became the 23rd player in WIU history to score 1,000 points and he leads the team in scoring at 16.4 points per game. Covington also averages 3.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists and is hitting 48 percent of his 3-point shots (21-of-44) with Western (7-2) off to the best start in school history.

“Credit Garret… He works really hard on his game,” WIU coach Billy Wright said. “Countless hours shooting shots, and making free throws. He really puts a lot of time in. He does a lot for our university on and off the floor. For him to join that 1,000-point club is a great accomplishment and well deserved.”

Covington was a second-team All-Summit League selection as a sophomore when he averaged 15.5 points.

Mater Dei grad Cory Arentsen on fire

Former Mater Dei guard Cory Arentsen, now a senior guard at Division II Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo., was named Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association Player of the Week on Monday following a career-high 40-point, 13-rebound explosion two days earlier in a win over Northeastern State.

It was the second MIAA Player of the Week honor this season for Arentsen, who transferred to Lindenwood from Division I Austin Peay. Arentsen scored all the Lions’ points during a 10-1 run that help pout the game away in the second half after piling up 25 points and eight rebounds in the first 20 minutes.

The Trenton native leads the Lions in scoring at 23.3 points per game. He’s also averaging eight rebounds and 3.3 assists and has a team-leading 22 3-pointers.

Lindenwood (6-2) alsohas former Belleville West guard Nick Van Osdale, a sophomore averaging 5.1 points.

This story was originally published December 14, 2015 at 2:42 PM with the headline "Fifer helping drive the offense for 8-1 Metro-East Lutheran; Carlyle off to hot start."