’Cats hang on against Douglas

Jason Ferguson

Published: Wednesday, December 17th, 2008

Shea Koch makes a break for the ball before it goes out of bounds during last Friday night’s game against Douglas. Koch only scored two points in the game but was a valuable defensive presence for the Wildcats.

        If basketball games were only two quarters long, Custer would have looked like one of the more dominant teams in the state Friday night. Unfortunately, it’s four quarters. The Custer High School boys basketball team stormed out to a 14 point lead in the second quarter and withstood a furious Douglas rally late in the game to hold on for a 58-55 win in the team’s first game of the season. “I don’t know whether we lost our focus but it seemed like we did,” head coach Larry Luitjens said. “We hurried a lot of our second half shots and we didn’t do as good a job on the press. We didn’t create as many turnovers.” The two halves could not have been more different for the Wildcats. After lighting up the nets with a barrage of three-pointers and scoring 41 points in the first half, the ’Cats went ice cold from the field in the second half, scoring only 17 points in the entire half. The ’Cats scored more points in the first quarter (19) than they did the entire second half. Lutijens said rebounding and fatigue were both factors in the second half. “We’re not in midseason condition yet,” he said. “And we got killed on the boards. If we would have rebounded even adequalty, we would have been ahead by 20. We didn’t box out.” Luke Roddy was the early star for Custer, nailing a shot from behind the arc to give Custer an early 9-4 lead. Douglas eventually tied the game and took the lead at one point, before a Travis March three-pointer put Custer ahead 17-16. The Wildcats led 19-18 at the end of the first quarter. The second period was the frame the ’Cats took control, starting with a Luke Roddy basket assited by Shea Koch and a layup by Koch. By the time March hit another three and Luke Roddy followed with a three of his own, Custer had built a 36-22 lead. Douglas responded with a 9-0 run, before Jake Roddy stopped the bleeding with a basket in the final seconds of the first half. Both teams played much better defense in the second half, although Custer helped Douglas with several unforced turnovers as they worked through their offense. Darin Smith put Custer on top 47-35 with a rebound and put back of a Justin Dillon miss at the 4:10 mark of the third quarter. The fourth quarter was all Patriots, as they outscored the Wildcats 16-9, cutting the lead to six on two ocassions early in the quarter. A basket inside by Douglas’ Jake Rivers cut the lead to four at 4:27. The game turned for good in Custer’s favor shortly thereafter when a battle for a loose ball resulted in a technical foul on Douglas’ Tarron Teeslink. Jake Roddy hit the ensuing free throw and Custer regained possesion, and scored again to make it 55-51. Douglas wouldn’t go away quietly, however. Teerlink hit a basket with 29 seconds left to make the score 56-55, and forced a turnover on the enusing inbounds pass. Jordan Konkol made what turned out to be one of the biggest plays of the game however, forcing a loose ball and a travel on the Patriots, giving the ball back to Custer. Luke Roddy was fouled and hit both free throws to give Custer a three point lead. Kevin Alexander’s three point attempt to tie the game for Douglas as time expired hit the side of the backboard. Luke Roddy led the team with 18 points, including four three-point baskets. Jake Roddy struggled with his shot most of the night but still scored 14, while Smith added 12. “I think we’re going to be a lot better than that from this point on,” Luitjens said. “We got excited and did some things. But, it’s a win. I’m glad we won and can go on. I’m not concerned. They know they are capable of playing better than that.” Custer was supposed to play a game Saturday in Lead, but the game was postponed because of last weekend’s storm. This week the Wildcats will play in the Lakota Nation Invitational Tournament, which begins Wednesday in Rapid City. The team will play four games in four days, with the first game Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Ice Arena. The team is the No. 8 seed, and will face Todd County. “We want to take car of the things we know we can take care of. We want to rebound better, and you can always play better defensively,” Luitjens said. “We will defintely be in better shape by the end of the week. Custer 19 22 8 9 —58 Douglas 18 13 8 16 —55 Custer—Jake Roddy 3 5-6 13, Justin Dillon 3 1-2 7, Luke Roddy 6 2-3 18, Darin Smith 5 2-3 12, Shea Koch 1 0-0 2, Travis March 2 0-0 6, Harvey Fitzgerald 0 0-2 0. Totals: 20 10-16 58. Douglas—Nate Koch 3 1-2 8, Pete Melendez 3 0-0 6, Greg Rogers 1 0-0 2, Tarron Teeslink 2 0-0 4, Jake Rivers 8 3-4 19, Wade Steier 2 0-0 4, Kevin Alexander 3 1-2 8, Devin Ader 2 0-0 4. Totals: 24 5-8 55. Three-point goals: Custer 8 (L. Roddy 4, March 2, Dillon 1, J. Roddy 1). Douglas 2 (Koch, Alexander). Rebounds: Custer 14 (J. Roddy 4), Douglas 21 (Rivers, Alexander 5). Turnovers: Custer 14, Douglas 11. Total fouls: Custer 11, Douglas 20. Fouled out, Shea Koch.