South O’Brien held MMCRU to single digit scoring in three of the four quarters and topped the Royals 46-36 February 1 at Paullina. MMCRU shot just 31 percent in the game with 15 field goals in 49 attempts.
The Wolverines held a 24-9 advantage at halftime. “We defended their two best players very well on the perimeter and limited their catches and defended their post player well,” noted South O’Brien head coach Kiley Yates. “We pressured the ball and rebounded well.”
The Royals applied a press to start the third quarter but the Wolverines were able to break it and increase the lead to 32-14. Yates explained that the success against the press was the result of “taking care of the ball and positioning players in the correct spots, then executing and finishing at the rim.”
MMCRU was ultimately able to cut into their deficit in the third quarter, scoring 18 points as their role players made some shots. The Wolverines continued to clamp down on the Royals main scoring threats in the fourth quarter and the shots weren’t falling for the other MMCRU players.
South O’Brien made 17 of their 42 field goal tries to shoot 41 percent. The team won despite connecting on just one of its 11 three-point attempts. The Royals were 4-of-16 from beyond the arc and 2-of-4 at the free throw line. The attacking Wolverines got to the line 19 times with 11 makes.
Jake Wallin and Hudson Oolman paced the South O’Brien attack with 15 and 14 points respectively. Pete Bottjen and David Bottjen each contributed four points with Sawyer Honkomp adding three. Scoring two points apiece were Boston Riedemann, Jacob Van Lith and Ben Woodall. Notching one assist each were Oolman, Honkomp, Wallin and Woodall.
Wallin grabbed eight rebounds and blocked four shots. Oolman collected five caroms and came away with a pair of steals. MMCRU committed 14 turnovers while the Wolverines limited their turnover total to five.
MMCRU
6 3 18 9 – 36
S. O’Brien
13 11 11 11 – 46