Longtime St Paul Lutheran basketball coach Monte Pitsch claimed his 400th victory Tuesday, Feb. 10, as the Saints overwhelmed crosstown rivals Concordia 57-33 in a boys basketball contest.

Pitsch secured the milestone win in his 25th season at the school.  St Paul benefited from a couple of very fruitful outbursts. After deadlocking at 13 apiece after one, the Saints went on a 13-2 run to lead 26-15 just prior to the break. The Orioles trimmed the lead down to nine early in the fourth quarter before the Saints tallied 16 straight points, holding Concordia scoreless for at least five minutes, as the Saints remain undefeated in I-70 Conference play.

Tate Kreisel connected on four threes and scored 24 points for the winners while Sam Roepe added 14 and Michael Heins tallied 12. St Paul are now 19-3 overall, having achieved their 24th straight win over Concordia in boys’ basketball, a streak dating back to 2011. Meanwhile, Concordia fell to to 1-4 in the conference and 7-14 for the season, with no one claiming double figures.

Earlier, the girls’ contest was won by Concordia as they outscored the Saints, 21-12 during the fourth quarter to post a 45-37 victory over their opponent. Here, the Saint Paul girls held a narrow lead most of the way as they were on top 7-5 after one period, 15-14 at the half and then 25-24 entering the final stanza. In the fourth quarter, Concordia sophomore Aubrey Roepe proved to be the difference as she stole a couple of passes and scored on ensuing layups to put her side on top for good.

Roepe ended up with 20 points as 14 of those came in the last half. Ava Mueller added 11 for an Oriole squad that has now won four games in a row, improving to 4-1 in the league and 12-9 on the year. St Paul dropped to 1-4 in I-70 play and 6-14 overall as Chloe Fahrmeier tallied 18 points and Bella Woods scored 11 on their behalf.

Listen to Greg Schmidt’s postgame interview with St Paul Lutheran coach Monte Pitsch:

Our next featured high school basketball broadcast is Thursday from Higginsville, when the Carrollton boys visit Lafayette County for a critical MRVC East clash. Greg’s pregame will begin around 7 p.m. on KMMO-FM 102.9. Meanwhile, we’ll have Mizzou basketball Wednesday, when the Tigers visit Texas A&M. Tipoff from College Station is at 8 p.m.