BOYS END REGULAR SEASON, HEAD TO PLAYOFFS

FEBRUARY 20 ADRIAN/ELLSWORTH AT MCC

The MCC Rebel Boys Basketball team wrapped up their home schedule on Friday night. The Rebels celebrated parents night and senior night as they hosted their rivals, the Adrian Ellsworth Dragons. The Rebels were looking for their 17th win of the season and in doing so, a likely three seed in the upcoming Sub Section 3A South playoffs. The Rebels would leave no doubt on Friday night. After beating the Dragons in overtime earlier this year, extra time would not be needed this time around.

The MCC Rebels had one of their highest scoring halves of the year on Friday. The Rebels were red hot from the three point line, making over 50% of their three point shots in the first half. The team made ten three point shots in the half, led by Cayden Veldhuisen who connected on three of them. Carter Hanson, Tristan Behrends, and Max Miller each made a pair. The Rebels’ defense forced the Dragons into 14 first half turnovers and though Darwin Demarrias-Jansma scored 13 first half points, including three made three-point shots himself, the Dragons scored just 25 points. The Rebels led at the half 46 to 25.

The Rebels continued to put the pressure on the Dragons in the second half, this time by taking the ball to the basket. While the Rebels connected on six more three pointers, they were able to score on the break. MCC defense was strong for the Rebels as they held the Dragons to just 13 second half points. The Rebels’ Wyatt Thompson led the Rebels in the second half with 8 points and Cayden Veldhuisen scored another 5 points in the second half. The Rebel duo matched the Dragons by themselves. The Rebels would get the win 84 to 38.

The Rebels made 16 of 33 three point shots in the game and it wasn’t just one Rebel. FIve different Rebels made two or more three pointers. The Rebels forced the Dragons into 25 turnovers compared to the Rebels 14 but the biggest difference was shooting. MCC made 49% of their shots from the field and the Dragons made just 27%. The Rebels had two players score in double figures led by Veldhuisen with 16 and Thompson finished with 13. Another seven Rebels scored between six and nine points. Darwin Demarrias-Jansma led the Dragons with 17 points. The Rebels will finish the regular season Monday at Hills Beaver Creek, this year’s Red Rock Conference Champions.

FEBRUARY 12 MCCAT HILLS BEAVER CREEK

The MCC Rebel Boys wrapped up their regular season on Monday night against the Hills Beaver Creek Patriots. The Rebels were 17-5 on the year heading into the game for third place in the Red Rock Conference, which wouldn’t change based on Monday’s outcome. The Rebels were also seeded 3rd in the Sub-Section 3A South playoffs while the Hills Beaver Creek Patriots were seeded first. The two teams will both play Saturday in the Quarter Finals, but before they get there, they had to play each other.

The Rebels played well early in the game as Dugan Kluis got creative getting into the paint and found ways to score. The Rebels took the early lead 8-1. The Rebels held the lead for about ten minutes. That is when the Patriots took their first lead, 12 to 10 and the two teams would go back and forth, with the Patriots leading by three or four and the Rebels closing the gap to 1 or 2. Ej Wegner led the Patriots in the first half that was about balanced, as no one would score in double figures. With three and a half minutes to play, the Rebels tied the game at 22-22 on a Tristan Behrends rebound and put back. The Rebels got outscored 14 to 3 the rest of the first half, trailing at halftime 36 to 25.

The second half opened on a Patriots 14-7 run, as they began to pull away from the Rebels. HBC played strong defense first and foremost, but then they found open players who would score. As that was happening, the Rebels were struggling to hit open shots that had been going in earlier in the game. Tristan Behrends played a strong second half for the Rebels, but simply put, the Patriots were just too good. They would finish the regular season undefeated in the Red Rock Conference. HBC got the win 69 to 51.

The Rebels biggest issues on Monday was twofold. The Rebels turned the ball over 22 times in the game while shooting just 36% from the field and 28 % from the free throw line. The Patriots shot 50% from the field and only turned it over 13 times in the entire game. The difference in turnovers and the shooting percentages was more than enough for the Patriots in this game. MCC had two players score in double figures Dugan Kluis scored 12 and Tristan Behrends had 10. Behrends would lead the Rebels with 7 rebounds and 4 steals. It wasn’t a great finish for the Rebels’ regular season but they would have to forget about this game quickly and get ready for their first round playoffs matchup against the WWG Chargers on Saturday in Worthington at 4:00 pm.