R-U holds off Odebolt-Arthur with huge second half

Odebolt-Arthur dished up a huge serving of momentum as the Trojans oustscored the visiting Remsen-Union Rockets 16-7 in the second quarter to take a 24-17 lead at the half.

"The first half, Odebolt did outstanding," R-U coach Steve Neuberger said. "They definitely made it hard for us to get into any rhythm offensively. We just couldn't get too many of our shots to drop and we were strugging to get in sync offensively."

But something in the locker room lit a spark for the Rockets, who rebounded to a 30-29 lead by the end of the third quarter and went on to shut down their hosts in the final eight minutes en route to a 44-30 victory Tuesday.

"I kind of challenged the kids at halftime," Neuberger said. "I didn't think we were doing a good job of pressuring the ball and contesting shots, and really, in the fourth quarter, we did a good job of that."

The Rockets gave up just one point as they scored 14 in the fourth quarter to win their second straight.

"Any time we can make it difficult for the other team to get open looks, we do a pretty good job," Neuberger said. "In the second half, I think we played with a little more motion and a little more fight."

Jacob Fiedler was 4-for-5 from the charity stripe as he totaled 10 points in the win. He also pulled down five rebounds.

Michael Ruba hit 5-of-9 from the field to notch 10 points as well. The senior grabbed five defensive boards as the Rockets totaled 31 rebounds in the win.

Kraig Alesch led the rebounding effort with eight, including seven on defense, as the Rockets edged the battle of the boards 31-30 over the host Trojans. Jonathan Schreiner added six boards while Ryan Schroeder pulled down four.

Alesch added five steals and four assists to lead R-U in both categories.

A key to R-U's win was the wide turnover margin. The Rockets committed only 11 while forcing 23 out of the Trojans.

O-A's Tyler Schroeder led all scorers with 13 points on the night. He also added 10 rebounds to post a double-double in the loss.

R-U (5-3) is on the road again Friday at Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto in a varsity double header.

"We have another tough one at Mapleton," Neuberger said. "They're a pretty solid ball club."

"But we are starting the new year off right and playing pretty decent basketball right now."