MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (Jan. 13–20)
SRW BOYS BASKETBALL: Potosi/Cassville 50, River Ridge 48, OT
By A.J. Gates, Herald Independent / Tri-County Press / The Platteville Journal
Friederick wins it at the buzzer for Potosi/Cassville
LPOTOSI — Any time the River Ridge and Potosi/Cassville boys’ basketball teams take the court against one another, you can bet the intensity will be turned up just a little bit more than normal and chances are pretty good it will be a competitive battle right to the very end.
Fans in attendance at last Thursday night’s contest certainly got their money’s worth once again, in an overtime battle that saw coach Mike Uppena’s PC boys escape with a 50–48 Six Rivers Conference overtime victory.
With the win, the Chieftains improved to 6–0 in Six Rivers play and 7–4 overall, while coach Dan Moris and his Timberwolves fell to 4–3 in league play and 8–5 overall.
River Ridge, which was taking it to the rim for high-percentage shots in the first half, held a 30–19 lead at the intermission and looked poised to do the same in the early part of the second half.
Coach Mike Uppena had different plans though, switching to a 2–3 zone defense in the second half after playing mostly man-to-man in the first, looking to clog up the middle and cut off driving lanes.
“Our adjustment from that standpoint was good for us defensively,” said coach Uppena. “We still didn’t make some shots for quite a while, but once we started making a couple we kind of took the lid off a little bit and brought a little bit of energy.”
With 7:49 to play in the contest, River Ridge took a 43–31 lead on a 3-pointer by junior Jackson White, but struggled from there out.
It was in the final seven minutes of regulation where one team separated themselves from the other, as the Chieftains outscored the Timberwolves 15–3 while going 5 of 7 from the field, including 3 of 5 from long range.
River Ridge on the other hand, was 0 for 2 from the field and 3 of 5 from the free throw line during the final stretch.
While Potosi/Cassville never did hold a lead in the second half, a 3-pointer from junior Drew Richardson evened the score at 46–46 with 41 seconds to play, and neither team able to add to their score in the final seconds of regulation.
In the overtime session, PC senior Alex Friederick came up with a steal and pass to Richardson for a layup, giving the home team an early 48–46 lead seconds into the extra session.
It wasn’t until River Ridge senior Brandon Davis scored on a putback basket with 16 seconds to play that River Ridge was able to even the score at 48–48.
After getting the ball past half court, coach Uppena took a timeout with five seconds showing on the clock.
The Chieftains then came out of the timeout with an inbounds pass near halfcourt to Friederick, who then dribbled to the right side of the lane for a pull-up jumper that found nothing but the bottom of the net as time expired.
“This is a different group of guys that can shoot threes, but it still holds true that we gotta touch the post, which I think is what we did in the last seven or eight minutes of the game,” explained Uppena. “We still have to do that, and there’s time where I have to remind them that’s what needs to get done. We always shoot better when the ball comes out of the post.”
“They play pretty free at times, they find each other really well, and this group is taking really good care of the ball. We had nine turnovers Thursday night, and we’ve been under 10 a lot this season,” Uppena added.
Leading the Potosi/Cassville co-op with 16 points was Edge, followed by Richardson with 11 and Ben Infield 10.
Edge and Infield each pulled down six rebounds, while Friederick led the team with four assists and finished with six points.
The Timberwolves were led by Davis and his 17 points, while Reese Drew chipped in seven, and Noah Copsey and Jackson White each finished with six. Davis also pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds, dished out six assists and came away with four of his team’s six steals.
Potosi/Cassville 50, River Ridge 48 (OT)
(from Thursday, Jan. 15 @ Potosi)
River Ridge.............19 27 4 — 50
Potosi/Cassville....30 16 2 — 48
River Ridge (8–5, 4–3) — Brandon Davis 17, Brock Bunge 5, Reese Drew 7, Noah Copsey 6, Lane Copsey 5, Jackson White 6, Blake Reynolds 2. Totals — 19-44 5-10 48.
Potosi/Cassville (7–4, 6–0) — Ben Infield 10, Sam Infield 3, Aaron Edge 16, Drew Richardson 11, Damian Bauer 1, Kolton Vogelsberg 3, Alex Friederick 6. Totals — 17-53 9-19 50.
3-pointers — RR: 5-11 (Bunge 1, Drew 2, L. Copey 1, White 1); PC: 7-27 (B. Infield 1, S. Infield 1, Edge 1, Richardson 3, Vogelsberg 1). Team Fouls — RR: 18; PC: 12. Fouled out — none.
