MCC vs. Edgerton Jan. 26
The MCC Rebel Boys Basketball team was on the road Thursday and Friday of the past week taking on two of the struggling teams in the Red Rock Conference. Thursday the Rebels would be in Edgerton to take on the Flying Dutchmen before going to Okabena on Saturday night to play the Coyotes of Heron Lake Okabena Fulda. Thursday the Rebels would do a couple of things you don’t normally see for the Purple, Black, and Silver.
MCC and Edgerton played a close first half as the Rebels came out in some full-court pressure to open the game which created some scoring chances for the Rebels, but the open nature of the game allowed the Flying Dutchmen to score, going to the basket. So, when the Dutchmen moved the ball they found some baskets in the paint, while the Rebels were hitting the outside shot carrying over from Tuesday. Tanner Graphenteen and Jaden Deacon knocked down early threepoint shots. MCC led early 14 to 11 with 12:30 to play in the first half. Jared Fischer had 9 of the team’s points. The Rebels then went inside to Hoekman for points and after making a couple of shots, he started picking up his defense. Every missed shot by Edgerton seemed to fall into Hoekman’s hands and then he started blocking shots one after another. The Rebels would lead at the half 28 to 21.
The two teams would again play pretty evenly to start the second half. Five minutes into the second half the Rebels had outscored Edgerton 9 to 7. With 11:46 to go in the second half, the Rebels would break the game open. Christian Tentinger made a layup and drew the foul. On the following Dutchmen possession, Tentinger stole a pass and went coast to coast for a right-handed dunk. Graphenteen hit a three-point shot the next trip down the floor and the route was on. The Rebels would only allow 8 more points for the rest of the game. The Dutchmen would drive and so many times Bryce Hoekman would use his 6’8” height and length to block shots and then grab rebounds to get the Rebels back on offense. MCC won 68 to 36.
The Rebels had three players in double figure scoring. MCC was led by Bryce Hoekman who had 17 points, followed by Tanner Graphenteen with 13 and Christian Tentinger with 12. It has been a long time since the Rebels had a dunk in a game and even longer since they had a triple-double and they got both in this game. Bryce Hoekman had 17 points but added 11 rebounds and 10 blocked shots. Christian Tentinger had the first Rebel dunk since Tyler Groves dunked in a game in Slayton back in 2019. The win was the Rebel’s second win of the week with one more game to go Saturday in Okabena.
MCC vs. HLOF Jan. 28
The MCC Rebel boy’s busy week came to an end on Saturday in Okabena. The Rebels had a terrific week with victories over Edgerton and Southwest Minnesota Christian and they were hoping to make it a trifecta on Saturday. The Coyotes were coming in off a win over Madelia in their game before the Rebels, so both teams were in high spirits, looking for a win. The Rebel’s depth and size were on display on Saturday in Okabena as the Rebels would pick up the win.
The first halves of games for the Rebels have become interesting, as the Rebels use the first 18 minutes of the game to set up their defense and offense for future returns. MCC often makes the opponent move the ball quickly, whether it’s halfcourt or full-court defense. By forcing the opponents to move the ball, they force them to expend energy which allows the Rebel’s depth to be more of a factor, especially at a time in the season when teams are playing at least two games a week, if not three. The Coyotes started the first half strong but the longer the game went, the more and more the Rebels would pull away. Sawyer Drent single-handedly kept the Coyotes in the game by scoring 21 first-half points while the rest of the Coyotes scored 4. The Rebels were led by Derek Kluis who scored 10 in the first half, including 3 3-point shots. Bryce Hoekman scored 9 in the first half using his soft touch to score off the jump shot. The Rebels led at the half 38 to 25.
MCC didn’t slow down in the second half. The Rebels rotated through nine players in the first half, giving everyone time to rest. While the Coyotes rotated four positions on the floor, MCC isolated Drent by making him have to play against a different defender almost every time down the floor and most of the time full court pressure. The Coyotes would make five shots from the field in the second half but he would convert on 9 free throws. As the second half moved along and his point total grew, his percentage dropped which helped the Rebels. Because of their size advantage, MCC controlled the glass. Bryce Hoekman and Christian Tentinger would combine to score 19 second-half points which equaled Drent’s output. Three other Rebels scored 5 each in the second half as MCC pulled away for the win 79 to 51.
The Rebels led in the second half by over 30 points much of the way, though they never increased their lead to 35. The Rebels had four players score in double figures. Hoekman scored 19, Tentinger 17, Derek Kluis scored 15, and Carter Lewis came off the bench to score 11. It was a great showing by the Rebels who had 10 different players score. The Coyotes had 6 players score but only 2 had four points or more. Drent finished with 39 and Logan Hattendorf scored 4. The Rebels and the Coyotes will play again on Thursday, February 2nd in Slayton as part of a boy-girl double header.
MCC vs. Canby Jan. 30
The MCC Rebel Boys have had a busy schedule and that hasn’t slowed down entering this week. The Rebels will play three games in four days starting on Monday in Canby, Tuesday in Hills against HBC, and then at home on Thursday against HLOF. With two Red Rock Conference games coming up, how would the Rebels fair against a solid Canby Lancer team? The answer was pretty well, as MCC would win their fourth straight game.
The Rebels and the Lancers would play a close first half with Canby leading by 26 to 24 at the half. The Lancers can shoot the basketball well from the perimeter and play a 5-out offense with no one playing around the basket. This can be a problem for teams with bigger post players, because it draws them away from the basket. This caused some problems for the Rebels, because though Bryce Hoekman could score points down low, the Rebels struggled to match up defensively, allowing the Lancers to get open shots. The Lancers made 8 of 24 threepoint shots in the game but they only made 19 shots total. After trailing at halftime, the Rebels were able to come back and grab the lead by one point with just over 13 minutes left in the game. The Rebels didn’t look back, as they pulled away and beat the Lancers 66 to 55.
The Rebels showed off the balance that has highlighted their recent winning streak, as five players scored more than 7 points in the game. Bryce Hoekman led the team with 16 points, even though he didn’t play in the final 12 minutes of the game. Aiden Dierks came off the bench with 14 points, while Christian Tentinger scored 13 and Tanner Graphenteen added 10. Carter Lewis continued to play well with 7 points. The Rebels and the Lancers made the same number of free throws in the game but what gave the Rebels the edge was the fact they made 26 shots from the field and the Lancers only made 19. The Rebels bench once again played well, helping the Rebels to the win. Michael Tol led the Lancers with 17 points while Trevor Gray added 14. MCC has now won 4 straight games with another road game on Tuesday.
MCC vs. HBC Jan. 31
The MCC Rebels played their second of back-to-back games on Tuesday night in Hills. The Rebels and the Patriots were coming off wins on Monday with the Rebels beating Canby while the Patriots beat Alcester Hudson of South Dakota. The Rebels had their highest-scoring game of the season against HBC in Slayton when they beat the Patriots 91 to 63. The Rebels maybe didn’t score as many points in this game but their win was probably more dominating.
The Rebels dominated this game with their defense even after getting into foul trouble early in the game. MCC committed 7 fouls in the first eight minutes of the game but the Patriots missed 10 free throws in the first half while making 6. The Patriots only scored 15 firsthalf points while committing 12 turnovers. The Patriot’s first made shot was a three-point basket by Cameron Allen, but it didn’t come until there was 8:48 to play in the first half. On offense, the Rebels were steady; not as perfect as their coaches would like them to be, but they played a solid first half scoring 32 points while controlling the tempo throughout. Christian Tentinger had a great game for the Rebels scoring 9 points in the first half, while Derek Kluis added 7. Once again the Rebel bench played a big factor in the game as the team got contributions from the entire roster. MCC led at the half 32 to 15.
MCC would pick up the scoring in the second half as they would get the ball inside. Christian Tentinger scored early. In fact, he scored six of the team’s first ten points in the second half. Bryce Hoekman really turned it on in the middle portion of the half, scoring 12 points. Aiden Dierks scored 5 and Ross Engelkes scored 4 off the bench to help the Rebels pull away. Brock Harnack scored seven secondhalf points on his way to a Patriot high of 10. He was the only HBC player in double figures, as MCC would get the win 78 to 38. The two teams had 15 turnovers each in this game. What separated the two teams was rebounding and shooting. The Rebels shot 46% from the field in the game, which is a good number, but the Patriots made just 33% of their shots. Bryce Hoekman scored 18 points and blocked 8 shots. Christian Tentinger scored 17 points and had 10 rebounds and 4 blocks. Aiden Dierks and Tanner Graphenteen each scored 8 for the Rebels. The Rebels picked up their 5th win in a row and will play HLOF on Thursday night in Slayton as they look for number 6.
