Suddenly reeling Wildcats lose twice over the weekend

Jason Ferguson

Published: Wednesday, January 14th, 2009

Luke Roddy gathers in the ball to go up for a shot during last Thursday night’s game against Hill City. After losing two games last week, things don’t get any easier for the Wildcats this weekend, as they travel to play St. Thomas More and Pine Ridge.

        The last time the Hill City Rangers defeated the Custer Wildcats in a high school boys basketball game Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” was about to make its debut, Janet Jackson had just had a wardrobe malfunction during halftime of the Super Bowl and the No. 1 song was “I Like the Way You Move” by OutKast. The date was Feb. 10, 2004. Five years and nearly a dozen games later, the quarter finally came up heads for the Rangers, as they came to the armory and defeated the ’Cats 66-61 last Thursday night. Using a relentless inside attack and a defense whose sole purpose was to prevent Jake Roddy from driving to the rim, the Rangers outworked and out-defended the Wildcats, who days earlier had just been minted as the No. 9 class team in Class A by South Dakota sportwriters after a 5-1 start. The ’Cats suffered through a horrific night shooting, connecting on 22 of 72 shots, most of which were made by the elder Roddy. The Rangers extended a zone defense out to the perimeter and dared someone other than Roddy—particularly Custer’s inside players—to beat them. On this night, they were not up to the task. “I didn’t know what they would do, but I knew their focus would be on Jake,” head coach Larry Luitjens said. “They kept the pressure on our perimeter and said, ‘beat us inside.’” The Wildcats had their chances inside. When the ball got down low, however, it resulted in missed shots or fouls. Unfortunately, free throw shooting wasn’t a strong suit for Custer, either. “If we would have made our free throws, we would have won the game,” Luitjens said. “And we need to finish (inside). When we learn to finish, we will compete with anybody.” The Rangers had no such problem with their free throw shooting, nailing several free throws down the stretch to preserve the win, staving off a furious Custer comeback in the fourth quarter. Hill City jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in the game, but Custer tied the game and took the lead on a pair of Jake Roddy three-pointers. The Rangers’ tactic to take Roddy out of the game worked only to a point. While they did limit his driving ability, the senior guard still poured in 27 points, the majority of which came from the seven three-pointers he made on the night. After a back-and-forth game throughout the first half, Hill City built up a sizable lead in the third quarter after Clint Lewis hit a three and Andy Coy hit a pull-up three-pointer that put the Rangers on top 32-24.  For a while, it seemed everything the Rangers threw at the rim went in. Justin Klein hit a driving floater to put the Rangers on top 38-29, which was answered by a Justin Dillon three-pointer for Custer. Lewis quickly drove for two more points though, typifying the night for the Wildcats. Whenever they staged a rally, Hill City had an answer. “You talk about synergy, (Hill City) had it. They were all working for the same purpose. We were all working individually, especially defensively,” Luitjens said. “There are times when shots don’t go in. But defense should be a constant and it wasn’t. The only time we had any excitment on defense is when we were pressing.” Luitjens pointed to Lewis—who had 19 points to lead the Rangers—as an example of the ’Cats’ lack of focus on the defensive end. “Lewis had a great night, but he goes left every time. We told our guys that from the first minute,” Luitjens said. “The players need to do what works and do what we want them to do.” Luitjens did praise his team’s furious fourth-quarter comeback, which started with another Jake Roddy three-pointer and was aided by a relentless full-court press that forced several Ranger turnovers. The lead was down to two at the four minute mark when Jake Roddy stole the ball and passed it to Dillon, who converted the layup. The Rangers called a timeout and returned to going inside, this time to Nash Koel, who converted on a basket from point-blank range. From there the game became a free throw demonstration, with the Rangers salting the game away from the line. Luitjens said he and his staff will attempt to use the loss as a positive, hoping to get the team refocused on the little things that help win games. “It’s a lot easier for the team to understand when you talk about these things and how important they are after a loss,” he said. Things didn’t get any better for the Wildcats last Friday night when the team lost to another team it hadn’t lost to in years, the Hot Springs Bison. Just as Hill City before them, the Bison had a great shooting night against the Wildcats, while dominating on the boards, including a 21 rebound effort from Blake McPherson, who also had 13 points. The game was close throughout, but Hot Springs made just enough plays down the stretch to come away with a 65-59 win, outscoring Custer 32-27 in the second half. Jake Roddy led Custer with 17 points, while Shea Koch added 11. The Wildcats shot just over 30 percent for the game. “We’re just not shooting very well right now. We missed a lot of open shots,” Luitjens said. “We have to take a serious look at our shooting. It’s not like this guy is shooting well and this guy isn’t. Nobody is shooting well.” After starting the season out well, the team is now scratching its head, searching for its identity. So which is the real Wildcats—the team that started 5-1, nearly winning the Lakota Nation Invitational, or the 0-2 team that has lost two games it was a strong favorite to win? “That’s a good question,” Luitjens said. “But we haven’t given up.” The team will have its work cut out for it this weekend, as it travels to St. Thomas More Friday night before heading to Pine Ridge Saturday. Both teams will undoubtedly provide a stern test for the ’Cats. “We play two good teams,” Luitjens said. “But, it doesn’t matter if they are good, bad or indifferent. If we don’t play basketball the way we’re capable of playing, we’re going to struggle with everyone we play.” Custer 16 16 12 15 —59 HS 20 13 14 18 —65 Custer—Jake Roddy 6 2-6 17, Luke Roddy 2 3-4 7, Jordan Konkol 1 2-3 4, Travis March 2 0-0 5, Garet Tucker 0 1-2 1, Justin Dillon 1 1-2 3, Darin Smith 3 1-3 7, Havey Fitzgerald 2 0-1 4, Shea Koch 3 5-6 11. Totals: 16 15-27 59. Hot Springs—Jobie Dryden 1 5-6 8, Matt Monfore 1 3-3 5, Jaron Smith 1 0-0 2, Ryan Wynia 3 1-3 7, Blake McPherson 2 9-14 13, Jesse Monfore 7 1-3 15, KC Fees 4 5-7 13, Chris Housely 0 2-2 2. Totals: 18 26-38 65. Three-point goals: Custer 4 (J. Roddy 3, March), HS 1 (Dryden). Rebounds: HS 43 (McPherson 21). Turnovers: HS 25. Total fouls: Custer 30, HS 23. Fouled out: Koch, March, J. Roddy.