By BRIAN SMITH
Sports Editor

Talk about second…make that third…chances.

New Bremen senior post player Scott Lammers tackled the offensive glass and his responsibilities in the paint like he tackled recovering from not one, but two, season ending injuries in his high school basketball career.

Lammers lost two years to ACL injuries, always a player that New Bremen head coach Mike Ernst hoped to get back on the floor.  And as Lammers’ senior season finally became a healthy one for him, Ernst was just waiting for the light to come on. The senior eased his way into the season and the Cardinal rotation.

On Saturday, he helped carry his team. Lammers scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds for the Cardinals in a 57-45 win on Saturday night, doing the hard work in the paint and on the offensive glass that helped New Bremen finally stave off a feisty Roughrider team.

Without prodding, both coaches thought Lammers was the key to New Bremen’s win.

“I thought he was the difference in the game,” Ernst said. “He gave us a chance to keep scoring points just by hitting the glass. We got him the ball down on the block a couple of times. I’ve been waiting for him to have a breakout game. He’s a kid that’s worked awfully darn hard to get where he’s at. He’s missed the last two seasons with ACL injuries and he’s fought to get where he is. He always gives everything he’s got and tonight it paid off.”

Lammer had nine points in the third quarter to help New Brementake a 39-36 lead to the fourth quarter.

“It feels pretty good,” Lammers said. “I was ready for tonight. I give a lot of credit to my teammates. We executed really well.”

With leading scorers Justin Eilerman and Spencer Rohr both with four fouls in the third quarter, Lammers gave the Cardinals the scoring punch they needed to finally pull away. Rohr had 15 points and Eilerman finished the game with 14 points.

“A lot of credit needs to be given to Scott Lammers,” St. Marys coach Paul Sadler said. “He’s averaging 2.4 points per game and scores 17 points. Our guys need to do a better job of defending the basket, because all of his baskets were right around the basket.”

Both teams took leads through the first three quarters of the game, only to watch the other team come right back.

“I never felt comfortable at all, Ernst said. “The ebb and flow of this game was amazing. We were 43-36 and I challenged our guys to put them away. Next thing, I look up and it’s 43-42. I just think our kinds don’t appreciate yet how hard you have to play when you go on the road. I think they got a little taste of it tonight. We got a little complacent defensively and St. Marys got us in foul trouble.”

That foul trouble had New Bremen’s top three scorers that night in Eilerman, Rohr and Lammers all playing with four fouls throughout much of the fourth quarter. None of them fouled out and Ernst was happy with the way they played just one miscue from being out of the game.

“I wasn’t going to put Spencer Rohr and Justin Eilerman out there together when they both got their fourth fouls,” Ernst said. “The thing I don’t like to do is let a kid sit too long and get them out of the flow of the game. I thought both of those guys came in and did a good job of being part of the game and not being worried about that fifth foul. A lot of times kids come in with four fouls and are afraid to play. If they foul out, they foul out. But you have to keep playing the way you need to play.”

New Bremen put the game away with a run in the fourth quarter that started with drives to the basket and Roughrider turnovers.

“We felt we were attacking the basket pretty well up to that point,” Sadler said. “We were getting to the free throw line and making shots around the hoop. We lost Rohr for a three and a couple of turnovers that led to a lay-up. Bremen capitalized on every single mistake…New Bremen only made two 3-pointers and not many more jumpers than that. They got a lot of lay-ups and offensive rebounds.”

St. Marys was led by Scott Kinkley and Jake Taylor’s 14 points apiece.

“Early on, I thought we really did a nice job of getting to the basket and finishing, which is something that we really worked on this week,” Sadler said.

New Bremen forced 14 Rider turnovers, a product of full-court pressure by the Cardinals.

“We need to be able to play more than six guys,” Ernst said. “If we can get to eight, nine or ten, then I think we can start extending our pressure. We took a step forward tonight.”

St. Marys hosts Bath at 6:30 p.m. tonight in a rescheduled game. New Bremen hosts Celina on Jan. 3.

(Editor's Note: In the print edition of this story, Spencer Rohr's name was mistakenly reported. The correction is in the online addition. The Evening-Leader apologizes for this mistake.)