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USC boys lose to Maple River 61-41

After notching victories over Lewiston-Altura and Faribault BA

By Chuck Hunt - Editor | Feb 12, 2023

USC’s Taybor Conley goes high in the air to shoot over a Maple River defender when the two teams met in Wells on Feb. 7. Maple River pulled away in the closing minutes of the game to claim a 61-41 victory.

The United South Central Rebels boys basketball team played hard in front of a huge home crowd last Tuesday night, Feb. 7, but in the end they could not catch up to one of the top teams in Class AA, and lost to the Maple River Eagles 61-41.

The Eagles led from the opening tip as they shot the ball really well throughout the course of the game, coach Adam Walker noted.

Maple River jumped out early to take a 12-4 lead and the Rebels were able to keep that eight point lead most of the first half and not fall further behind. But a late flurry gave the Eagles a 30-19 advantage at the end of the first half.

“Every time we knocked down a shot to cut into the lead, Maple River would answer,” coach Walker said.

In the second half, with the Eagles leading by 11, 33-22, the Rebels put on full-court pressure, and sank several 3-pointers to cut the lead to five and ignite the hometown fans. The Rebels were then able to cut the lead to three with just under eight minutes to go.

But the Rebels got cold and the Eagles got hot and the final became 61-41.

“We just didn’t have the energy to make one more push at the end of the game,” Walker said. “And the ball suddenly did not want to go in the hoop for us.”

Zale Bushlack led the Rebels with 15 points, and also had eight rebounds. Johnny Martinez had 10 points and Nick Bushlack eight.

As a team the Rebels made 13 of 38 from the floor (34 percent) which included 40 percent for 2-pointers (8 of 20) and 28 percent for 3-point shots (28 percent).

The Rebels’ shooting woes did not apply to the free-throw line, where they made 91 percent (10 of 11).

The Eagles were 43 percent from the floor (20 of 46), 42 percent for 2-pointers (10 of 24), 45 percent for 3-pointers (10 of 22) and 73 percent from the line (11 of 15).

The Rebels had 18 rebounds to the Eagles’ 29, 12 assists to their 16, four steals to their 10, nine blocks to their four and 15 turnovers to their 12.

“We played hard against one of the top teams in Class AA and for a few moments, our crowd was electrified by our energy and passion,” coach Walker added. “We want to say thank you to all the fans for supporting us and hope to see that kind of crowd going forward as there were not many seats left on our side of the gym. The players certainly loved the crowd and noise, and it definitely felt like a playoff atmosphere which will only help us going forward.”

The Rebels were slated to play again on Friday, Feb. 10 at Dover-Eyota. This week they play on Monday, Feb. 13, at St. Charles, and on Friday, Feb. 17, at Medford.

USC 68, L-A 50

For the second night in a row, the United South Central Rebels played a boys basketball game against the Cardinals. On Friday, Feb. 3, it had been the Faribault Bethlehem Academy Cardinals. On Saturday, Feb. 4, it was the Lewiston-Altura Cardinals.

Once again, the Rebels were triumphant against the Cards, and by a similar score. This time USC won 68-50, after having led 40-19 at the end of the first half.

The game was part of the ‘Fight the Stigma Classic’ at Kasson-Mantorville, and was added to the Rebels’ schedule just three days earlier, so the team did not have much time to prepare.

“We didn’t know what to expect, especially after getting back late from Faribault the night before,” coach Adam Walker said. “Johnny (Martinez) had some leg soreness and Zale (Bushlack) wasn’t feeling very well on Saturday morning so as coaches we knew it was going to be tough to beat a Cardinal team who was coming off a nice win at Le Crescent earlier in the week. They are 7-9, but are another AA school who plays in a tough conference that includes Caledonia, P-E-M, and Le Crescent. The Rebels were in no need of excuses as they rolled out of the gates early.”

After a back and forth start, the Rebels jumped out to a 16-7 lead, and eventually, a 28-10 lead with just under nine minutes left in the first half, the coach said.

“Johnny and Zale used adrenaline to combine for 26 first half points,” the Rebels mentor explained. “After their dominant performance the night before it was more of the same as they each connected on early threes.”

The second half was a little more sluggish according to the coach.

“We started to turn the ball over and you could absolutely tell that the players were exhausted,” he said. “Thankfully, Taybor (Conley), Johnny and Zale hit some timely threes to keep the game out of reach and Nick (Bushlack) continued his strong defensive play to help guide the Rebels to the win.”

The Cardinals never got within less than 16 points throughout the second half, despite the fatigue, but there

were definitely some tense moments with turnovers by USC and some in and out three point tries by the Cardinals, the coach added.

The Rebels hit double figures in scoring. Zale Bushlack led USC with 24 points, the same number he had the night before. Johnny Martinez had 20 points and Nick Bushlack had 10. Conley added nine points, and Blake Bullerman led in rebounds with 11.

As a team the Rebels were 27 of 55 from the floor (49 percent) and 8 of 9 from the charity stripe (89 percent). They made 21 of 41 for 2-pointers (51 percent) and 6 of 14 for 3-pointers (43 percent).

The Cardinals were 19 of 62 from the floor with 15 of 44 for 2-pointers and 4 of 18 for 3-pointers, as well as 8 of 13 for free throws.

The Rebels had 36 rebounds to the Cards’ 31, 18 assists to their five, nine steals to their 10, six blocks to their five and 20 turnovers to their 17.

The Rebels have now won five in a row, and nine of their last 11 games, since returning from Christmas break.

“These guys have been playing so well and the fact that we just beat three pretty tough teams all on the road – in Janesville Tuesday night, Faribault BA Friday night and in Kasson on Saturday afternoon over Lewiston – makes me so proud of the players and for all of their efforts and willingness to continue to compete every night,” coach Walker concluded.

USC 65, FBA 53

The United South Central Rebels fell behind 4-0 when they faced off against the Faribault Bethlehem Academy Cardinals on Friday, Feb. 3, but they battled hard and took a 33-29 lead at half.

The Rebels continued to build their lead in the second half behind superb defense and timely offensive spurts and ended with a 65-53 victory by the end of the game.

Johnny Martinez led the Rebels with a career high point total of 28, 11 of them in the first half. He made 8 of 11 for 2-pointers, 3 of 5 for 3-pointers and 3 of 4 free-throws.

Zale Bushlack was right behind him with 24 points of his own, meaning the dynamic duo accounted for 52 of the Rebels’ 65 points.

Taybor Conley added eight points and Nick Bushlack had five.

Zale Bushlack led in rebounds with eight, while Nick Bushlack, Blake Bullerman and Conley had four each.

As a team the Rebels were 22 of 41 from the floor (54 percent), going 14 of 24 for 2-pointers (58 percent) and 8 of 17 for 3-pointers (47 percent). They were also 13 of 18 for free-throws (72 percent).

The Cardinals were 21 of 62 from the floor, 18 of 48 from inside the arc and 3 of 14 outside the arc. They were 8 of 16 for free-throws.

The Rebels had 23 rebounds to the Cards’ 33, 16 assists to their 11, 10 steals to their 10, five blocks to their five and 18 turnovers to their 19.

“FBA was very physical and athletic,” coach Adam Walker said. “But our quickness at the guard spot and excellent shooting out of Zale and Taybor really forced them into a lot of tough spots all night.”