HBC 81 - MCC 47
The 11-5 Rebels played host to the 15-1 and top ten ranked Hills Beaver Creek Patriots on Tuesday night. The Rebels started the game strong, but a tough end of the first half would prove to be too much to overcome against this strong Patriots squad.
This game did not have the looks of a blowout to start, not just to start, but deep into the first half. MCC kicked the scoring off against the Beaver’s 1-2-2 zone. Gavin Gillette found Max Miller in the left corner for three. The Rebels got a stop and on their next offensive possession. Hudson Schryvers attacked the lane and put up a one handed floater that hit nothing but net. 5-0 Rebels, just over a minute into the game.
The Patriots went on a 6-0 run of their own to answer back. One bucket in the half court offense and the other off a Rebel turnover and the next against the Rebel half court defense again. All points were scored in the paint.
Neither team scored on their next two possessions before Max Miller knocked down another three. This time from the right corner, assisted by Dylan Kluis in transition. 8-6, MCC at the 14 minute mark.
MCC got caught going underneath a screen off the ball and the Patriots made them pay with a 3 of their own, before Aidan Swenson knocked down a 10 foot jump shot to retake the lead 10-9. A nice cut down the center of the lane by HBC led to an easy two to retake the lead before Aidan Swenson grabbed an offensive rebound off a Gavin Gillette missed attack, to regain the lead at 1211.
A poor closeout by the Rebels defense led to another easy bucket in the paint on their next defensive possession, but Miller would again drill a three from the right corner to retake the lead. A ton of offensive action to kick this game off. 15-13 with just under 11 minutes to go in the half.
HBC got another easy two in the paint, this time off an in-bound play, as the Rebels were not doing a good job keeping the ball outside the lane. But Aidan Swenson gathered another offensive rebound and put back off a Miller shot, to take the lead back again at 1715.
Both teams got stops on the next defensive possession before another mid lane cut from the top of the key caught the Rebels napping, as HBC tied the game with an easy bucket at the rim.
MCC earned a trip to the foul line on their next possession, as Hudson Schryvers attacked and was fouled. He made both and took a two point lead back for MCC. 19-17 with just under 9 minutes to play.
The Rebels defense got caught going under another screen off the ball, which led to another wide open three point shot for HBC. They connected and took the lead by one.
MCC turned it over with a bad pass on their next possession and HBC connected on an And-1 opportunity. They would miss the free throw and the Rebels got the rebound. On the next possession, Schryvers found Swenson in the post, who connected for two to bring the game back to a one point game. HBC 22 and MCC 21 with 7:21 to play.
HBC again scored in the paint to take a 3 point lead after a 10 foot jump shot found the bottom of the net. 24-21 with 6:45 to go, but this is where the game changed dramatically. MCC did not score again until the 2 minute mark of the half, when Max Miller hit a three. HBC continued to score at the same pace they started the game with, only they sprinkled in transition buckets off of poor passing by the Rebels. Going into the half MCC trailed 47-26.
The second half did not start off the way the Rebels would have hoped. MCC had the ball, but turned it over 10 seconds into the possession. The crisp passing and quick decision making of the first 11 plus minutes of the game had diminished and HBC took full advantage of it. The Beavers got any shot they wanted on offense and were playing at a different speed than MCC in the second half. The Rebels never pulled within 20 points in the second half on their way to their worst defeat of the year, 47 to 81. Plenty to be learned from this game, as MCC played at a high consistent level in the first half and will get a chance to compete against HBC again in one week, at Hills.
Leading Scorers: Max Miller with 21 and Aidan Swenson with 14. Leading Rebounders: Aidan Swenson with 10. Hudson Schryvers with 5. Leading Assists: Gavin Gillette with 5 and Hudson Schyrvers with 3. Leading Steals: Aidan Swenson with 2.
