The Rebels Struggle Late, but Slide by the Pesky Cardinals
The Randolph Southern Rebels met up with the Seton Catholic Cardinals on Wednesday night to determine who would advance to the next round of the Monroe Central class 1a sectionals. A game that was, at times, intense, exciting, and even a little scary. The Rebels were able to hold on to their early lead for a victory 65-59.
Randolph Southern started out the game motivated and fierce. The Rebel full court pressure was impeccable, forcing several Seton turnovers. All cylinders were firing for the Rebels. Senior guard Blake Welsh took the game over in the second quarter with 9 points and 14 points in the first half. Senior guard Alex Franklin also had a strong first half with 9 points and some really tough defense. Seton had a rough time getting shots to fall, and couldn’t stop the hot Rebel offense. The Rebels were up 36 to 18 at the half.
The second half proved to be a completely different story from the first. Southern methodically continued to score baskets throughout most of the third quarter. Sophomore forward Austin Pearson established himself as an offensive presence in the second half with eight points. With approximately two minutes left though, there was a shift of momentum. Seton finally started to gain some composure in the game. They started making some crucial stops, and started to chip away at the Southern lead going into the fourth quarter down 47-36.
The Cardinals staged a further comeback in the fourth quarter. They were led by junior guard Mathieu Blakely with 4 three pointers in the fourth quarter alone and 6 overall to finish with 18 points on the evening. Senior guard Evan Schroeder who added 16 points backed Blakely’s tremendous effort. The Cardinals were able to pull within 4 points 58-54 with about two minutes left in the game, but that was as close as they would get. Randolph Southern was able to sink 7 out of 8 free throws down the stretch to secure the victory. The Rebels were lead in scoring by Welch with 20 points and 15 rebounds. Both senior guard Nick Pruitt and Pearson added 12 points a piece.
The Rebels will play county rival Union City on Friday to determine who will advance to the sectional finals.
   |
Lady Rebels Fall in Sectional Finals The number 5 ranked Randolph Southern Lady Rebels fell in a huge upset to the Monroe Central Lady Bears on Saturday night for an intense sectional final game. In a game filled with adversity and intensity, the Bears were able to come back from behind 35 to 40 at the end of the fourth quarter, to finish out the game winning by a score of 56-49. Bears senior guard Makayla Thurman led the charge with 29 points on the evening. Thurman was able to blow by Southern’s defense, beating them on the drive. Monroe Central, as a team, was able to put up a tough defensive unit to slow down the explosive Rebels in the paint; Junior center Betsy Lamb and Senior forward Kelley Lacey did an excellent job clogging up the lane. Randolph Southern played hard all night, but they just could not hold on to the lead in the end. Senior center Alyssa Davis went down with a knee injury early in the first half, and did not return to the game; this proved deadly to the rebels because Davis is excellent on the boards. Another shortcoming for the Rebels was free throws, missing ten on the night. Controversy struck late in the fourth quarter with only 6 seconds left in the game with the score being 51-49 Monroe Central. The ball was inbounded to Monroe Central’s Thurman, and senior forward Emily Wissel shoved her from behind. A foul was called and Coach Osting vehemently protested the foul, drawing a double technical. This brought Thurman to the foul line to shoot 6 shots. Of those 6 Thurman sunk 5 wrapping up the game for Monroe Central. "Accomplished Goal," was Coach Jeff Tharp's response after his team's huge win. Randolph Southern closed up their season with a record of 16 and 5. Monroe Central improved their record to 15 and 7; they will advance to play in the first round of the Tri Central Regional next Saturday, February 19. |
   | The Lady Rebels Out Muscle Tri In the second game of the Tri Sectional contest the Randolph Southern Lady Rebels paired up with the Tri Titans for a tourney showdown. The Rebels started out strong and continued hard-nosed style of play. The Rebels fast paced game tallied them their second tournament victory with a score of 45-32.
The rebels executed with fairly balanced scoring on the evening. They were lead by Senior Center Tori Shrum with 18 points, and senior forward Alyssa Davis played aggressive on both ends of the court through out the entire game, she pulled down 14 out of the teams 35 rebounds with 8 points. Senior point guard Stephanie Lord added 13 points, which put her over a thousand points in her Randolph Southern career; two of those points came from a highlight reel reverse lay up to bring the crowd to their feet.
Coach Shane Osting in his fifth season at Southern utilized tonight’s game to try out a variety of defenses that kept Tri guessing all night. The game lightning fast, and Tri was left in the dust. All of Sothern’s players ran the court, and played with intensity. Southern struggled from behind the free through line; they were only scored 26 of 41, but were able to pull out a decisive win over the Titans.
The Rebels improve to 16 and 4. They will advance to the sectional final on Saturday December 12 to take on the Monroe Central Bears. Come out to see your two teams square off at 7:30 PM at Tri High School. |
 | Rebel Wrestler Moving on to Regionals and Semi State! Sectionals were located at Delta High School for the local wrestlers. Great job to all of the wrestlers who rounded out their season on Saturday, but there is one young man that isn't quite done yet. Trevor Phenis, a Senior for the Rebels wrestling in the 103 weight class, came out third overall, thus advancing him to regionals. Last Saturday at the Jay County Regionals, Phenis took third. This qualifies him for Semi State. The only thing left to say is, "Good luck Trevor." We're rooting for you, hopefully all the way to the state finals. |
