REBELS FALL TO WWG IN QUARTERFINALS

The #4 seed MCC Rebels took on the #5 seed WWG Chargers in the rubber match of the regular season in Worthington, Saturday. WWG won in OT at Westbrook and MCC won at home in the second match-up in a low scoring affair. There wasn’t much doubt that this game would be similar and in most all tightly contested games, the team that makes the least amount of mistakes will win.

The game was off to a nice start for the Rebels as Chant Mitchell would intercept a Charger pass at midcourt and take it to the bucket for the early twopoint lead. WWG would answer with a bucket of their own to tie the game from the block. MCC would put together a patient possession against the Charger zone and Nate Kleven would end it with an offensive rebound and put back to go up two again.

The teams would trade buckets and turnovers, which were mainly caused by passing the ball into traffic or just making an errant pass to a defender. This would haunt the Rebels all game long, up to the very end. Abe Paulzine would hit a corner three to give the Rebels the 9-7 advantage and Paulzine would find Kleven on the block for the smooth turnaround hook shot to put the Rebels up 4. WWG would answer with a three, but Chant Mitchell would put in a step through bucket shortly after.

The Rebels outrebounded WWG by double digits, but there were stretches when WWG would get an offensive rebound and it always ended with an easy two point shot or a wide open three. The types of plays that are momentum changers and deflating. These types of plays kept WWG in the game in the first half.

The Rebels would go on a mini run right before half, playing well. Getting up 7 with a minute to go, the Rebels were trying to preserve momentum and the lead with point guard Tanner Graphenteen off the floor in foul trouble. But an and-1 opportunity, followed by a quick shot by the Rebels led to another lay-up for the Chargers to cut the 7-point lead to 3, as time expired. In close ball games, the winning plays are constantly happening, it’s not just the end of the game plays that are important.

The second half would start off the Rebels having the basketball, but unfortunately they would miss two shots in the lane and not get off to the start they were hoping. WWG would cut the lead to one before Christian Tentinger would hit a 3. But WWG would answer with a 3 of their own as the Rebels left their best shooter open in the corner as the defense collapsed on the driving Charger. A big mistake by the defense. The two teams would trade multiple stops for the next couple of possessions before Nate Kleven found a cutting Chant Mitchell for two.

The MCC defense would force a couple of turnovers and then Aidan Dierks would hit a three to get the momentum back to the Rebels. Up 6 and with possession of the ball, the Rebels were in control, but a bad pass on the top of the key led to a breakaway uncontested lay-up for WWG. A 3 second in the lane call was followed up by a WWG three point shot and just like that it was a 1-point game again. Every time the Rebels would take control, they shot themselves in the foot.

MCC would play tough defense, but couldn’t make any shots for a long stretch, they moved the ball well and found open shots from beyond the arc, had a couple transition opportunities, but couldn’t convert. Tanner Graphenteen had to leave the floor with blood from a cut on his head and the Rebels really stalled when he was out. WWG would take the lead at 39-37 before the Rebels would tie it back up. A couple possessions later WWG was up 43-41, then pushed the lead to 49-43, before Aidan Dierks drilled a three to cut it in half. WWG was making their free throws in crunch time, but the Rebels still had a chance.

With multiple offensive rebounds on the same possession MCC would miss open three after open three, but eventually Aidan Dierks found himself on the free throw line, he would go 1-2 and cut the lead to two. With 12 second left the Rebels found themselves with the ball and down by 2, inbounding from just in front of their bench. Unfortunately for MCC, they wouldn’t be able to get the inbound pass in, as an errant pass was stolen by WWG and MCC had to immediately foul. The Chargers would go up 4, the Rebels would not score on the next possession and time was just about out as the Chargers went back to the line and made 1-2 to win by 5.

The Rebels shot 38% from the field and 27% from beyond the arc. They only attempted 5 free throwƒs and make 3. 17 turnovers which is above average for this group made it a tough combination to overcome.

A hard fought game by both teams as expected unfortunatley had MCC on the losing end on this day. Too many turnovers and not enough offense ultimately doomed the Rebels, but a solid effort on defense kept game them a chance all the way to the end. The Rebels finish the season at 14-12.

A big thank you to our seniors, Chant Mitchell, Nate Kleven, Ryan Risacher, Sophie Larson, and Ciera Tutt for everything you have done for the MCC Basketball Program and thank you to everyone who supported the Rebels this season.

Scoring Leaders: Christian Tentinger 14, Chant Mitchell 13, Aidan Dierks 10, Nate Kleven 7, Abe Paulzine 3. Rebound Leaders: Chant Mitchell 11, Nate Kleven 6, Christian Tentinger 6, Tanner Graphenteen 5. Steals Leaders: Chant Mitchell and Christian Tentinger 2 each. Assist Leaders: Nate Kleven 3, Chant Mitchell and Christian Tentinger 2 each.