Rebels run down road win at East Marshall
By ROSS THEDEArticle Photos
Fact Box
Gladbrook-Reinbeck 58, East Marshall 53
GLADBROOK-REINBECK (8-9, 5-6) - Logan Petersen 3 0-2 9, Eric Peters 1 3-4 5, Clint Dinsdale 5 0-0 14, Rob Heise 4 1-1 9, Colby Luethje 3 9-12 15, Parker Bolt 1 2-2 4, Brady Billerbeck 1 0-0 2, Taylor Stickfort 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 18- 15-21 58.
EAST MARSHALL (5-13, 5-7) - Keegan Wilkening 4 1-2 12, Travis Briney 3 0-0 6, Luke Wilson 4 2-2 11, Blane Kitzman 0 0-0 0, Taylor Johnson 7 0-0 14, DJ Norem 2 0-0 6, Tyler Mullikin 0 0-0 0, Jake Kuesel 2 0-0 4, Nic Wacha 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 22 3-4 53.
G-R14151316-58
E.MARSHALL12111317-53
3-Point Goals - G-R 7 (Dinsdale 4, Petersen 3); EM 6 (Wilkening 3, Norem 2, Wilson). Team Fouls - G-R 10, EM 20. Fouled out - Wilkening, Johnson.
LE GRAND - It was a quiet night in the lane for Rob Heise. East Marshall's 2-3 zone was content to let the Gladbrook-Reinbeck shooters find the target before giving up any points in the paint.
Until the Rebels needed a bucket.
Heise's short jumper in the lane and subsequent plus-one free throw with 2 minutes, 12 seconds remaining gave Gladbrook-Reinbeck a five-point cushion, and Colby Luethje's free-throw shooting down the stretch secured a 58-53 victory for the visiting Rebels in an NICL West Division battle Tuesday night.
G-R (8-9, 5-6) led by as many as 10 points after back-to-back 3-pointers by Logan Petersen in the opening moments of the fourth quarter, but Keegan Wilkening fired back for the hometown Mustangs (5-13, 5-7).
Wilkening's consecutive treys cut the Rebel advantage to 50-48 before G-R found Heise in the lane against East Marshall's man-to-man defense. Wilkening was ticketed for his fourth foul on the play, and Heise knocked down his only free-throw attempt of the night to provide the Rebels with all space they'd need.
Luethje hit 5-of-6 free throws inside the final 45 seconds and Gladbrook-Reinbeck locked up fourth place in the NICL West standings.
"They made a little run right there at the end of the third and start of the fourth, we battled right back, and then they ran a nice play inside and got the basket and the free throw," said East Marshall head coach Bob Berggren. "That was a big key right there."
Wilkening's reverse layup cut the deficit back to three, 53-50, on East Marshall's next possession, but his fifth foul took something out of the Mustangs as Luethje made his freebies.
"Rob was in foul trouble early and he was going up against a very good player (Taylor Johnson), probably one of the best in the league," said G-R first-year head coach Scott Kiburis. "So when they went man we really tried to get the ball into (Heise) and he's been very good at running that offense and getting the ball.
"We've been in that situation a few times and knocked down our free throws, so we're pretty confident shooting one-and-ones with the lead."
Luethje finished with a game-high 15 points, going 9-for-12 from the line with a team-high seven rebounds.
Clint Dinsdale scored G-R's first nine points - all on 3-pointers - and finished with 14 points. Heise chipped in nine and Petersen added nine points.
The Rebels went 7-for-22 from beyond the 3-point arc, a marked improvement from the 2-for-22 performance that led to a 64-56 loss to East Marshall in their first meeting back on Jan. 5 in Reinbeck.
"Last time we played they did a great job and they beat us," Kiburis said. "We've been shooting the ball better from the perimeter, but we still haven't shot the three real well."
Dinsdale's fourth and final 3-pointer was a part of G-R's 9-0 run to end the third quarter, and Heise scored the opening bucket of the fourth for a 44-36 Rebel edge.
That was after East Marshall erased G-R's 29-23 halftime lead with an 8-0 spurt, getting the Mustangs their first lead since Luke Wilson's trey made it 18-17 midway through the second quarter.
"We're playing hard and playing much better," Berggren said. "Tonight, that's a heartbreaking loss. To their credit they made free throws down the stretch."
Taylor Johnson had a double-double of 14 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Mustangs. He scored putback buckets on four of his five offensive boards.
Wilson finished 11 points and DJ Norem made both of his 3-point attempts for six points.
Wilkening finished with a game-high eight assists and Blane Kitzman had 10 rebounds.
East Marshall hosts Wapsie Valley in a cross-NICL game on Friday night while Gladbrook-Reinbeck closes out its conference schedule with a home game against BCLUW.
