South O’Brien built a 17-point halftime lead and then put the finishing touches on a 65-54 win over Gehlen Catholic January 26 at Paullina. The outcome allowed the Wolverines to raise their War Eagle Conference record to 6-2 and their overall mark to 13-3.
Reaching double figures in scoring were Willie Conley with 17 points, Derek Paulsen with 16, Ben Woodall with 13 and David Bottjen with 12. Jaden Kreber added four points and Caden Wittrock three. Bottjen notched three assists while Paulsen, Woodall and Kreber each had two.
South O’Brien stole the ball 12 times with Conley perpetrating four thefts, Paulsen three, Bottjen and Justice Frerk two each and Woodall one. Paulsen grabbed seven rebounds and Conley six. Bottjen and Conley each rejected a shot.
The team shooting stats were similar for the two squads. South O’Brien was 22-of-53 for 42 percent. The Jays shot 40 percent with 20 buckets in 50 tries. From three-point range it was the Wolverines going 9-for-24 and Gehlen 6-for-23. South O’Brien sank 12 of 18 free throws while the visitors were 8-of-11 at the stripe. The Wolverines were guilty of 14 turnovers while Gehlen turned the ball over 22 times.
Gehlen
11 11 12 20 – 54
S. O’Brien
21 18 12 14 – 65