REBEL BOYS CELEBRATE WEEK OF BACK-TO-BACK WINS

JANUARY 23 BBB VS. ADRIAN

The Murray County Central Rebel Boys were on the road Friday night in Adrian. The Rivalry game between the two schools is usually a loud event with both sides heavily into the game, regardless of score. But due to the frigid temperatures outside, the crowd was pretty small compared to most games. The players also seemed bothered by the cold temperatures, because neither team seemed all that focused to play a basketball game on Friday. Still, they would play one of the more interesting games of the season.

The Dragons came into the game at 3-11 on the season and have struggled playing a young group of players mixed with three senior starters. The Rebels, a team over 500 on the season with a big size advantage inside, would struggle to get into the game. The pace of the game was much slower than most games, as the Dragons worked through their offense while their zone defense dared the Rebels to shoot from the outside and the Rebels were not doing that well. In fact, Dugan Kluis made all three of the Rebels’ three point shots, while the rest of the team missed all of theirs. The Dragons got nine first half points from Darwin Demarrius Jansma, all from the three point line, while Caelen Bertrand scored 7 and Tayden Jackson added 5. Aidan Swenson scored 10 first half points for the Rebels, while Dugan Kluis added six. The Rebels trailed at the half, 29 to 26. The second half saw MCC go on a big run to take the lead in the game. The Rebels got up by ten points and it felt like they had finally turned the corner and would pull away. Unfortunately, that would not happen. As the game went along, the Rebels started to allow some open shots and the Dragons took advantage. Jansma scored another 10 points in the second half. Tayden Jackson added 11 points in the half while the rest of the Dragons made just four points. The Rebels tied the game late at 49-49. In overtime, the Rebels scored six points. Dugan Kluis and Aidan Swenson led the way for the Rebels. In a crazy last play, the Dragons missed two layups with under 5.5 seconds and then missed a three point shot that would have tied the game. The Rebels got the OT win 55 to 52.

Aidan Swenson led the Rebels with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 blocked shots. Dugan Kluis scored 16 points and Wyatt Thompson added 9. The Dragons were led by Jansma with 19 points and freshman Tayden Jackson scored 14. The Rebels shot 32% from the field while the Dragons shot 30%. Adrian turned the ball over 20 times in the game with the Rebels giving away the ball 13. The win was a good one for the Rebels because it put them in third place in the Red Rock Conference behind HBC and SWC after Edgerton lost to WWG. The Rebels will host Lakeview on Tuesday night in Slayton.

JANUARY 27 BBB VS. LAKEVIEW

The MCC Rebel Boys were back at home on Tuesday night taking on the Lakeview Lakers in a non-conference matchup. The Rebels were coming off an overtime win over the Adrian Ellsworth Dragons in which the Rebels did not play that well, but held strong and got the win. On Tuesday it felt like the Rebels were on that path once again until the skies opened up and the 3-point shots began to fall.

The Lakers came into the game 6 and 11 on the season and only had two wins since the calendar flipped to 2026.

The Lakers came out aggressive and their defense caused the Rebels problems. Braylon Breyfogle scored 5 early points and Trevor Tusberg scored 8 in the first half as the Lakers were right with the Rebels. Breyfogle went down with an injury in the first half that would cost the Lakers. Aiden Swenson scored 10 first half points but picked up two fouls, which put him on the bench for much of the first half. Tayden Beerman came off the bench looking to shoot. He scored 11 first half points and made three 3-point shots in the first half. The Rebels led at the break 30 to 23.

The Rebels started the second half slowly as the Lakers closed the gap, getting to the basket and scoring. The Rebels turned the ball over and struggled to get into a rhythm. The Lakers got within three points, 36 to 33. That is when the 3’s began to fall and the turnovers by the Lakers turned into points for the Rebels. MCC went on a 33 to 6 run over the final ten minutes of the game. The Rebels made eight 3’s in the second half and six in the final 10 minutes. Beerman was on fire, scoring a career high 23 points and making 7 combined three point shots. The Rebels pulled away for the 69 to 39 win.

The Rebels made 12 of 24 3-point shots in the game, the team’s best shooting night of the season. The Rebels forced the Lakers into 22 turnovers which in the second half were turned into points. The Rebels were led by Beerman with 23 and Swenson chipped in with 12. Five other Rebels made more than two shots in the game and would have more than 4 points. The Lakers had two players score in double figures - Trevor Tusberg scored 12 and Cody Helmke finished with 11. The Rebels picked up their 10th win of the season against 4 losses with two tough games to come yet this week.