De Smet Jesuit Basketball Honors Goessling, Defeats St. Charles West

On the night the De Smet Jesuit Basketball squad honored the memory of a key member of the school's first state basketball title team, the Spartans (4-1) defeated St. Charles West 54-45 in a game that might have been right up the alley for a player like the late Jim Goessling.

Goessling, was a "glue guy" who hustled for rebounds, knew how to clutch and grab, the player who did the dirty work as Jim Kennedy led the '73 team to a title. He passed away after a roughly two year battle with colo-rectal cancer in October.

Read: He Lived The Life of 5 People: Celebrating the life of Jim Goessling

Tuesday night, after the Spartans peeled off their #35 JRG warmup jerseys that they'll wear the rest of the season in Goessling's honor, the teams clutched and grabbed to a St. Charles West lead of 11-9 after the first quarter as both teams were generally cold, especially from long distance.

"We were obviously slow to get started. We really didn't get in a rhythm until the fourth quarter," Spartans Head Coach Kevin Poelker said as his team returned to play after a 10 day layoff. "We still have to answer the bell better than we did."

Guard Jimmy Barton led all scorers with 13 points, but foul trouble kept the Spartans from finding that rhythm until the second half, when Mitch Plassmeyer found the bottom of the net with consecutive three pointers to grow the lead to 8 points, Isaiah Walker contributed key buckets and interior defense, and Alec Bausch made a difference by forcing fourth quarter turnovers and turning them into points on the offensive end.

"He brought us energy, he brought us a couple big stops, those were some pretty key plays in the whole thing," Poelker said of Bausch, who has taken on a larger role with Nolan Berry's extended absence due to injury. He finished the night with 10 points.

Davis Soderberg led the Warriors with 9 points, all in the second half. St. Charles West returns to action December 17 at home against Borgia. After Christmas, the Warriors and Spartans will hook back up again in the Meramec Holiday Tournament December 27.

"They're a good team, they've got good guard play, they play hard so it'll be a battle," Poelker said.

Honoring Goessling

In a pregame ceremony, the school held a moment of silence, marked a new location for the 1973 state title banner, and received a check for $117,500 from family and friends to a scholarship fund in Goessling's honor.  The amount is almost half-way to being fully endowed.

Facebook Photo Gallery: Spartans honor Goessling, Defeat St. Charles West

It's one thing to call somebody your friend. Its another thing to be willing to part with some of your own personal wealth to honor somebody like this...Jim clearly meant a lot of things to a lot of people and impacted a lot of people's lives," said De Smet Jesuit’s Vice President of Institutional Advancement John Stiles

The varsity squad is dedicating its season to Goessling's memory, as is the St. Joe's Academy Girls squad, coached by his sister Julie Goessling-Matheny and brother Bob. Both teams came on the court with #35 warmup jerseys as the De Smet Jesuit squad presented one to Goessling's wife, Patty.

Berry Update

While an important doctor's appointment December 20 will answer a lot of questions about how soon Berry will return from a pair of broken arms, the Butler University-bound forward's family seemed upbeat Tuesday about his recovery being ahead of schedule with the possibility of a return in time for the St. Charles West rematch.