BOYS' BASKETBALL: RUNNING THE WRONG WAY
By BRANDON HURLEY
Sports Editor
COON RAPIDS – What had the makings of a classic finish for nearly 29 minutes, an anti-climatic final stretch run saw Coon Rapids-Bayard improve to
.500 with a 59-56 home win over Paton-Churdan Tuesday, Dec. 20.
The Rockets (2-4), who trailed by one with 10 seconds to go, threw the ball out of bounds on a miscommunication, allowing CR-B to seal the game.
“(Chase Juergensen) made a great drive to the hole and passed up a great opportunity to put up a shot, and that’s kind of an ideal place to shoot,” Paton-Churdan head coach Chris Stimson said following the game. “It’s a confidence thing. Soon as he starts believing in himself a little bit more he’ll start scoring. He has the capabilities to do it and he’s been a four year player for us.
It’s an unforeseen mistake but it didn’t cost us the game by any means.”
Brandon Evans’ three from the top of the key that broke a 54-54 tie with two minutes left proved to be the difference as the Crusaders (4-4) fought back from a 12-point first half deficit for their second consecutive win. CR-B was focused on locking down Paton-Churdan’s Joe Towers, who blew up for 15 second half points and 20 for the game.
“(We needed) to keep getting defensive stops (and we did),” CR-B head coach Cory Meyer said. “We were trying to switch on ball screens, but Joe Towers is a good offensive player. So I wanted them to double him on screens and make him pass it out. He’s a special player and got some great looks late.”
Ball movement eventually led to Evans’ go-ahead three-pointer.
“We wanted to space the court and make them go man-to-man,” the coach said. “It was not a pretty game.”
CR-B’s Ben Obert was a constant in a game of many runs as the sophomore scored a game-high 26 points while hauling in seven rebounds, dishing out four assists and swiping three steals. He also collected three blocks in the win. Paton-Churdan backcourt duo of Jake Berns and Joe Towers each added 20 points apiece.
The Rockets (2-4) exploded out to a 12-0 lead a few minutes into the game thanks to a scoring onslaught from Berns and a barrage of threes. The Rockets shut down the Crusader offense as well.
Paton-Churdan head coach Chris Stimson was thrilled with the way his guys came out Tuesday, they held the Crusaders scoreless for the first five and a half minutes while producing at a high rate offensively.
“That’s as good on both sides of the court that we’ve played to this point this season,” Stimson said. “We were very patient offensively waiting for them to make mistakes. And then on defense, for the most part, we did a pretty good job not only cutting down on the driving lanes, but we rebounded some of those key shots.
They were only getting one or two opportunities and we were getting out and going,” the coach added. “We just have to have five guys out there that are willing to play at that level every night.”
CR-B (4-4) bound together and produced a long scoring run of their own, closing the first quarter on a 12-2 run thanks to a pair of threes from Michael Dentlinger and Obert and the Rockets held just a 14-12 lead after one.
“I think it was two-fold,” CR-B head coach Cory Meyer said of the sluggish start. “There was no communication on (Paton-Churdan’s) cross screens and in the post. And they didn’t play with any energy. And that’s not like us, we usually come out of the game pretty strong.”
Meyer was still frustrated with the lackluster start and benched his starters in the early stages of the second quarter and the Rockets took full advantage, ripping off a 6-0 run to extend their lead to eight mere moments into the quarter.
True to the game’s theme, the Crusaders rolled to a 7-0 run to close the Rockets’ advantage to one then later took their first lead of the game thanks to Ben Obert’s three, putting CR-B up 24-22 late in the first half, capping a 12-2 run. The Crusaders were able to hold onto their lead and entered the break up 29-27.
CR-B extended it’s halftime lead early in the third, stringing together a 6-0 run for a 35-27 advantage.
But then the Joe Towers show took over as the junior poured in 15 second points, hoping to will his team to the win with a bevy of step back threes, drives and top-notch court vision. Towers drilled a deep pull up three and led a fast break attempt that capped an 8-0 to tie the game at 37 halfway through the third. With just five points at the break, Stimson pulled Towers to the side.
“I told him just because our offense is set around a lot of screens and movement doesn’t mean I don’t want him to attack the hole,” the coach said. “He’s capable of doing that and pulling up on some shots and he did that. He’s a great competitor and a great leader for us right now. We need him every night just like we need everybody else.”
The Rockets kept the scoring coming as they built a three point advantage, 42-39 before Brody Schlepp nailed back-to-back threes to close the period on a 6-2 run as the Crusaders took a 45-44 lead into the fourth quarter. CR-B built a six-point lead early in the fourth (50-44) before Paton-Churdan made one last, late run.
Meyer credited the Rockets’ many scoring onslaughts to their effective zone defense.
“They did a good job,” he said. “They played a 3-2 zone and made us hit perimeter shots which has kind of been our achilles heel,”
The Crusaders found clutch buckets from a pair of their role players when they needed it most, Tuesday.
Evans’ tie-breaking three and big buckets from Schlepp gave CR-B the momentum they needed while P-C’s Towers couldn’t muster enough to will his team to victory. Schlepp finished the game with 10 points on four-of-five shooting while Evans tallied eight points and three steals to go with two late free throws.
Paton-Churdan is off for two weeks before they host sixth-ranked and undefeated Ar-We-Va Tuesday, Jan. 3 in Churdan. Ar-We-Va has won seven straight and sits atop the RVC standings with a 6-0 record. They average 66 points per game and have made 53 three-pointers.
The Rockets hope to shake off the disappointment of Tuesday’s loss over the coming weeks, though a tough task lies ahead. They’ve lost two straight and look to get back on the winning track.
“Just a couple of plays down the stretch (did us in). Like I told them, I could’ve had a better play drawn up out of bounds or we could’ve made a shot or two or got a call or two,” Stimson said. “It is what it is and it’s the way the ball bounced tonight.”
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