RPR ends season 4th in Southern Division
The Reed Point-Rapelje Renegades finished up their season last weekend at the Southern C Divisional tournament in Miles City.
As the first seed from the 6C District, the Renegades faced the 4C fourth-seeded Terry Terriers on Thursday.
At the end of the first quarter, the game was tight, with RPR down one, 14-13. Through the next two quarters, though, the Terriers out-scored the Renegades 30 to 17. Despite making 17 points in the fourth quarter, RPR could not catch up with Terry, losing 56-47. Senior Cade Bare and junior Trevor Herzog led the Renegades with 11 points each.
The opening round loss moved RPR onto the elimination side of the bracket. One more loss and the Renegades would be done for the season.
On Friday, RPR faced the Wibaux Longhorns in the first loser-out game of the tournament.
The Renegades came out strong and at halftime led 29-24. Both teams had a slow third quarter, and RPR held on to win 45-39. Herzog led both teams in scoring with 21 points, followed by Tristan Gieser with 12.
Saturday morning’s game saw the Renegades pitted against the Harlowton Engineers. The two teams were well matched, and at halftime the Renegades had a slight lead, 26-24. In the third quarter, the Renegades began to pull away, ending the quarter ahead eight points.
Despite an RPR lead by double digits at some points in the game, Harlowton would not go down without a fight, and with 33 seconds left in the game they tied it at 49. A Gieser field goal put RPR up 51-49, and freethrows made by junior John Schladweiler and Dylan Blodgett with less than 10 seconds to go gave the Renegades a 55-49 lead. RPR won the game with a final score of 55-52. Herzog again led the team with 15 points, closely followed by Gieser with 14.
With a win against Harlowton, RPR earned their spot in the consolation game for third and fourth place. Although only the top two teams in the Southern Division advance to the state tournament, bracket circumstances led to the necessity of a challenge game between the second and third place finishers – an added incentive to do well in the consolation game.
RPR faced the Melstone Broncs Saturday evening. Unlike the earlier game, the Renegades had a slow start, not scoring their first points until almost halfway through the first quarter. At halftime, the Broncs led 25-17. The Renegades continued to fight, and with 3:12 left in the fourth quarter, Bare tied the game at 32. The two teams battled back and forth, and with 52 seconds left on the clock Schladweiler made both his freethrows to tie the game at 37, the final score at the end of regulation time.
In overtime, it was freethrow shooting that won the game for Melstone. The Broncs made six freethrows, while the Renegades were only able to complete one three point shot by Bare. The final score was 43-40, with RPR finishing in fourth place in the Southern C Division. Bare was the highest scoring player from either team, with an impressive 21 points in his final game as a Renegade. He was followed by Herzog on the Renegades with 8 points.
The Renegades ended the season with a 17-8 record. Although, according to Coach Thompson, the team struggled to make shots during the divisional tournament, “winning the district championship [two weeks earlier] was the highlight of our season.”
The squad will lose two seniors for next season – Cade Bare and Philip Sekora, both of whom will be missed by the team. “Cade has been a four-year starter and leaves some big shoes to fill,” commented Coach Jerry Thompson.
He is not worried, however, as the team has four returning starters in Herzog, Blodgett, Schladweiler, and Gieser, as well as the top three players off the bench Payton Severin, Derek Peterson, and Mike Davis. Coach Thompson believes that, “If these seven players, plus some of our younger JV players, put in the time this off-season to improve their individual skills, we could be competing for an opportunity to qualify for the state tournament [again] next year.”
Coach Thompson wants to thank fans for “making each and every game a great experience for our players and coaches. Our success as a team would not have been near as rewarding, or enjoyable, without your support. Renegade fans are the best!!”
Thursday
Terry 56, Reed Point-Rapelje 47
Terry 14 14 16 12 – 56
RPR 13 9 8 17 – 47
RPR: Cade Bare 11, Trevor Herzog 11, Tristan Gieser 9, John Schladweiler 9, Derek Peterson 3, Dylan Blodgett 2, Payton Severin 2
Terry: Justin Kinn 20, Kale Gierke 9, Aaron Morast 8, Levi Smith 8, Shad Mack 6, Kobe Chaska 5
Friday
Reed Point-Rapelje 45, Wibaux 39
RPR 19 10 4 12 – 45
Wibaux 13 11 1 14 – 39
RPR: Herzog 21, Gieser 12, Bare 9, Blodgett 3
Wibaux: Tate Lunde 12, Shawn Schaefferkoetter 8, Noah Schneider 6, Cobe Begger 5, Bridger Smith 3, Matt Whitlatch 3, Chance Larson 2
Saturday
Reed Point-Rapelje 55, Harlowton 52
RPR 14 12 14 15 – 55
Harlowton 8 16 8 20 – 52
RPR: Herzog 15, Gieser 14, Bare 9, Blodgett 9, Schladweiler 8
Harlowton: Garrett Woldstad 18, Reed Wasson 16, Kevin Scwers 9, Keelan Taber 9
Melstone 43, Reed Point-Rapelje 40 (OT)
Melstone 13 12 6 6 6 – 43
RPR 3 14 6 14 3 – 40
RPR: Bare 21, Herzog 8, Schladweiler 5, Blodgett 4, Gieser 2
Melstone: Brody Grebe 12, Shayden Cooke 10, Vitor Gabriel 10, Thomas DeJaegher 7, Vinny Machado 2, Holden Roskelley 2