01-15-2019
BY JACK BULLOCK
OKAWVILLE – Two important elements of the Okawville Rockets' game plan came together in their 48-38 win over Waterloo Gibault on Tuesday night at the Okawville Invitational Tournament.

The scoring of 6-foot-4 senior Will Aubel and some key offensive rebound put backs by 6-foot-7 junior Jackson Heckert.

Aubel led the way with 19-points while Heckert scored eight of his 14-points on off of offensive boards, as Coach Jon Kraus saw his club out rebound the Hawks, 26-16.

“Late in the third quarter, early in the fourth quarter when it got tight, he (Aubel) got a couple of 'And-1's' for us. He made some tough buckets by just being aggressive going to the hole,” said Coach Kraus. “We have told him to be more aggressive and finish around the rim and finish. We tell him to be more selfish sometimes. He passes maybe too much. But tonight he did that and his scoring was a big part of the game.”

Ten of the rebounds were after missed Okawville attempts.

In defensive minded contests that have limited possessions, the mistakes made by teams are usually magnified.

Gibault made too many costly mistakes in the fourth quarter when they needed to rally.

Seven missed shots and three turnovers in the final minutes helped drop Coach Dennis Rueter's squad to 10-11 on the year, 1-1 in the event.

Okawville was just 15-of-24 from the foul line, but the closed the book on the win with 9-of-11 in the final 5:33 of the game.

All of these statistics added up to the victory for Okawville who improved to 12-6 on the season and 2-0 in the tournament.

“Rebounding has been a strength of our team. We have out rebounded nearly every team we have played this year. That is an advantage we have over Gibault,” said Coach Kraus. “We aren't as small or quick as they are but we have some size advantage on them. We have some kids that will go to the boards.”

Wyatt Krohne, a 5-foot-8 senior guard, added eight-points for the Rockets.

Included in that total was the teams' only made 3-pointer of the night, a 20-footer from the left wing with 1:57 left to push Okawville's lead to 41-34.

Gibault was led by 5-foot-11 senior Karson Huels with 12 hard earned points while senior Dylan Altadonna tossed in nine.

The Rockets' defense made things difficult for Gibault, forcing the Hawks into a 15-of-36 overall showing; 3-of-13 from arc.

Huels ended up just 1-of-7 from the 3-point circle.

Okawville wasn't that much better (16-of-36, 1-of-8) but the Rockets did a superior job of cleaning up their messes.

Heckert grabbed and snagged two of his boards and buckets in the opening quarter, which led to an early advantage.

A three-point play by Krohne gave the Rockets a 7-5 lead.

But the Hawks also hit some big shots in the opening quarter and closed the frame with a 7-0 run.

Huels and Altadonna both drained 3-pointers.

The Huels bomb closed the quarter with the Hawks up 12-7.

Aubel, who was held without a score in the first frame, got going in the second.

He converted a pair of in close buckets, one on a nice assist by Heckert and another on a drive in the paint for a short jumper for a 17-16 Okawville advantage.

The Rockets, however, could have extended their lead before intermission.

But they converted just 2-of-6 free throws in the final 2:17 as they headed to the break up 19-16.

Huels padded the stats in the third quarter with seven points, including a conventional three-point play after being fouled by sophomore Mason Meyer.

But Heckert added another offensive rebound bucket and Aubel opened and closed the stanza with baskets for a 28-25 lead heading to the fourth.

A pair of baskets by Gibault, including a 3-pointer from senior Logan Doer, tied the game for the final time at 30-all at the 6:29 mark.

Aubel then hit a pair of huge shots, with the second one coming on a drive down the baseline for a lay in while being fouled with just 3:10 left.

Two free throws by Heckert and then the Krohne 3-pointer gave the Rockets the cushion they needed to put the win in the column.

Five consecutive free throws wrapped around a cut to the basket by senior Lucas Frederking on a near half-court out of bounds play sealed the victory.

The Rockets will play next on Thursday night against Wesclin while Gibault will tangle with Du Quoin on Friday.

“We didn't do a very good job tonight, I wasn't really please with our effort. It wasn't one of our better efforts,” said Coach Rueter. “It wasn't a beautiful game.”