Trevor Mathern led the subs with 15 points off the bench in his first action since injuring his ankle against AGWSR on Dec. 13.

“He was awesome tonight,” G-R head coach Brett Bengen said. “Adding another ball handler in there, knocked down a couple shots, made a couple extra passes, that was awesome. I think he was ready to get in there.”

Three G-R starters were in double figures as well — Brandon Mathern added a game-high 22 points, including six three-pointers, Michael Boyd chipped in 21 points and Drew Eilers scrapped for 10 points.

The rapid Rebels burst out to a 12-2 start to the game but Wapsie Valley was within four at 16-12 after a Blake Hesse 3-pointer to start the second. G-R also played without Hudson Clark and Boyd for long stretches of the first half as both sat with foul trouble.

T-R PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER - G-R junior Trevor Mathern, left, pulls up for a 3-point attempt during Friday’s basketball game against Wapsie Valley in Reinbeck. Mathern made three 3-pointers on his way to 15 points.

But it was the sharp-shooting Matherns that kept the Rebels afloat — first Trevor trading a pair of three-pointers with Hesse, and then three 3-point baskets for Brandon before halftime, pushing G-R’s lead to 34-20 after a half.

“We had some guys step up,” Bengen said. “Trevor stepped up, Cam (Sieh) stepped in, Tommy (Keller) stepped in, and all gave us some big minutes. … You never know when your number will be called and they all did a great job to finish the second quarter.”

Back at full strength for the second half, the Rebels kept up the pace against a hard-working Warriors team.

“We knew they’d play hard, they always do,” Boyd said. “We just decided that we had to match it and give everything we’ve got. … We weren’t happy with our defensive rebounding in the first half and we really started limiting their second chances in the second half.”

G-R stretched to a 61-37 lead after three quarters and a 10-4 run to start the fourth quarter was the exclamation point, punctuated by Brandon Mathern’s sixth triple of the night.

It’s the fifth win in a row for the Rebels (6-1), all by at least 12 points and four by 20 or more.

“We missed a week of practice early, but that’s no excuse. … We’re getting everybody used to each other,” Bengen said. “We’re starting to gel a little bit more, and it’s fun to watch that in practice.”

The Rebels welcome 2A state runner-up Hudson on Tuesday, followed by a road trip to Dike-New Hartford next Friday.

“No better way to start the year than with a win,” Boyd said. “We plan on keeping it going.”

Gladbrook-Reinbeck 73, Wapsie Valley 50

WAPSIE VALLEY (4-4) — Braden Bantz 3 2-3 8, Briggs Boehme 0 0-0 0, Landen Moulds 3 3-3 9, Bryar Bellis 3 0-0 7, Jaden Griese 3 0-0 7, Weston Schares 1 0-0 2, Mason Curley 1 0-0 2, Brody Bantz 0 0-0 0, Tyler Schoer 0 00-0 0, Dawson Fenton 1 0-2 3, Blake Hesse 4 1-2 12, Elijah Eike 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 19 6-10 50.

GLADBROOK-REINBECK (6-1) — Brandon Mathern 7 2-2 22, Austen Mathern 0 2-2 2, Hudson Clark 1 0-0 2, Drew Eilers 4 2-2 10, Michael Boyd 10 0-0 21, Trevor Mathern 5 2-2 15, Dreyson Morgan 0 0-0 0, Thomas Keller 0 1-2 1, Cameron Sieh 0 0-0 0, Hunter Roberts 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 27 9-10 73.

WAPSIE VALLEY 9 11 17 13 — 50

G-R 16 18 27 12 — 73

3-Point Goals–WV 6 (Hesse 3, Bellis, Fenton, Griese), G-R 10 (B. Mathern 6, T. Mathern 3, Boyd). Team Fouls–WV 8, G-R 14. Fouled Out–none.