Mark the calendar; 2019-2020 should be another watershed year for Rushford-Peterson boys basketball. Until then, Trojan fans get to watch a bunch of talented young players mature. Amidst that maturing process, R-P is still pretty good. Chris Drinkall’s Trojans beat a 1A rival and a typically tough TRC foe to run a winning streak to three. Versus Kingsland, the game was tight for a half. The Knights hit six of 12 threes and trailed by just three (29-26) at intermission. But Kingsland went just 3 of 14 from deep, 7 of 31 overall, in the second half. The Trojans took control, enough so that not even a dunk by Knight Zach Hauser got anybody too riled up. R-P won 65-44. Super sophomore Luke O’Hare (17 pts, 7-11 FGs, 3-4 threes, 9 rebs, 6 asts) led the way. Kobe Lind (14 pts, 4-7 threes) posted a career-high. Ben Wieser (10 pts, 5-6 FGs, 5 rebs) and Vinnie Mason (8 pts, 5 rebs) gave R-P inside scoring. Frosh Justin Ruberg had 6 (pts) and 11 (rebs). Wyatt Pruter (13 pts, 3-7 threes), Hauser (11 pts), and Lucas Howard (10 pts, 3-4 threes) paced the Knights. R-P then hosted PEM. Lone Trojan senior Landon Skalet, foes’ defensive focal point thus far this season, had a break-out game (season-high 19 pts, 3-3 threes, 8-9 FGs, 6 asts). Lind (13 pts, 6-12 FGs, 3 rebs, 3 asts, 3 stls), Mason (10 pts, 5-7 FGs, 6 rebs), and Wieser (10 pts, 5-5 FGs) gave the Trojans four in double-figures, annulling the fact that leading scorer O’Hare had just three points (1-4 FGs). R-P shot 56.2% from the field (27-48). The Trojans prevailed 64-54. The win was R-P’s fifth in six tries (loss at Caledonia). The Trojans improved to 3-2, 5-3. O’Hare, Wieser, and Lind are all sophomores, Ruberg a freshman, Mason a junior. Wieser, a 6’3” C/F, has made 22 of his last 23 field goals (85.7% for the season).
Photo by Paul Trende