The Bearcats hosted a home game against the Republic County Buffaloes Feb. 10. While the Cats won the tip, the Buffs went to a man-to-man defense. The Bearcats got off to a slow start, finishing the first quarter down 11-13.

Answering back to the Buffs, the Cats put up 14 more points in the second quarter, making the score 25-17.

After halftime, the Bearcats switched from a man defense to a 2-3 zone. Not allowing the Buffaloes to score much more, the Cats end the third quarter 37-20.

Finishing the fourth quarter, the Cats shut Republic County out of the game all together. When the buzzer went off the final score was 45-25.

Junior Will Cravens led the team with the most points at 24. Junior Riley Stone put up 12 for the night, as well as junior Lane Rolfs with 5 and junior Layton Leiker with 2. In addition, senior Cade Gwinner scored 2.

“As a team, we played very well Friday night,” Gwinner said. “Everybody knows their role and that is crucial to our team’s success. As a whole, I felt our chemistry was significantly better, and I feel that each game we are always improving.”

As of Feb. 13, the boys’ record is 11-6.

Ellsworth vs. Beloit

The Bearcats hosted the Beloit Trojans Feb. 9. Starting off the first quarter strong, the Cats came out in a 2-3 zone defense. The first quarter came to an end with the Cats ahead 16-7.

Jumping back into the game, the Trojans put 21 points on the board, ending the second quarter 28-27.

The battle continued after halftime and into the third quarter. The Cats were still down by 1 ending the third quarter at 43-42.

In the fourth quarter, the Trojans decided to go man-to-man defense while the Cats stayed in 2-3. The Cats couldn’t pull ahead though, finishing the game 59-47.

“There are very few games where you don’t encounter rough patches,” Head Coach Brent Rolfs said. “We tell the kids to expect that and to play through it. If we stay mentally and fundamentally sound and do all the little things, the big things will take care of themselves.”

Cravens had 22 points for the night while Rolfs had 15, Leiker with 6 and Ellsworth vs. Minneapolis

On Feb. 7, the Bearcats were on the road to Minneapolis. Even though they were on the road, that didn’t stop them from getting the win over the Lions 65-39.

Ready to play from the beginning, the Cats ended the first quarter ahead at 18-8. The Bearcats decided to play man-to-man defense throughout the entire game, while Minneapolis played zone defense. This decision was crucial because it allowed the Cats to have more shots from the 3-point line, which they took advantage of.

Continuing to build on the score, the Cats ended the first half 33-24.

Not backing down, the Bearcats scored 26 points in the third quarter, keeping the lead, 59-33.

In the fourth quarter, the Cats shared the ball more, frustrating Minneapolis and ultimately having them foul more, which got the Cats to the free throw line more times than the Lions.

Three games in one week can be a lot to handle for a team.

“Our No. 1 priority is just taking it one game at a time. We never want to overlook any of our opponents,” Rolfs said.

Leading the team with 29 points, Cravens had an impressive night. The second highest scorer was Stone with 20 points for the evening.

“We came out with a lot of energy and focus, which sometimes we have lacked in the season,” Stone said.“We kept the turnovers low and hit our shots, which made a huge difference [in the game].”

Also contributing to the score were Rolfs with 11 points, junior Ben Hipp with 2, Gwinner with 2 and freshman Cooper McGowan with 3.

“There are very few games where you don’t encounter rough patches. We tell the kids to expect that and to play through it. If we stay mentally and fundamentally sound and do all the little things, the big things will take care of themselves.”

Brent Rolfs

Boys’ Basketball Head Coach

Stone with 2. Senior Isaac Lindsley also made 2 points for the Cats.