02-07-14
BY JACK BULLOCK
OKAWVILLE – Sometimes it just takes a bad few minutes to turn a potential victory into a sure defeat.

On Friday night the ABV 1A second ranked Gibault Hawks experienced this issue first-hand.

From the end of the first quarter on into the beginning the second stanza, Coach Dennis Rueter’s club has seven consecutive possessions with zero positive results.

In this same time frame, the host ABV 1A fourth ranked Okawville Rockets produced a 13-0 run.

With their foot squarely on the jugular, Coach Jon Kraus’ club held Gibault at bay the rest of the way in securing a defensive 43-33 win in a battle of ABV 1A powers on a cold night in Okawville.

Six-foot-three freshman forward Noah Frederking continues to impress, scoring 19-points to lead the Rockets.

Included in the scoring spree by this ninth grader was a trio of important 3-point bombs that came in opportune moments.

One of the long range shots were part of the game changing second quarter spurt, turning a two-point Rockets lead into a 13-point spread.

The Hawks never got closer than five points the remainder of the contest.

“When you can get a cushion like that (10-to-13 point lead) it allows our kids to relax a little bit. We knew they (Gibault) were going to come after us. That is what they do best,” said Coach Kraus.

Gibault got a game-high 20-points from senior Wes Degener but this 6-foot-2 forward got little help as the Hawks saw their mark fall to 16-5.

The Rockets improved to 16-6 on the season with senior guard Jacob Brammeier adding 13-points to the total.

Brammeier helped Okawville control the tempo of the contest and his 3-pointer from the left wing with 4:35 to go in the opening quarter gave the Rockets their first lead of the game at 7-4.

Following a Frederking 3-pointer, Degener scored on a nice move in the lane while being fouled by Brammeier.

His conventional three-point play evened the score at 10-all.

As it turned out, it was the last tie of the contest.

Spreading the floor for a final shot, Brammeier got loose on a drive to the basket for a score and a 12-10 lead.

The Rockets scored the first 11-points of the second quarter to take command.

Frederking scored seven of those eleven points, and when he canned an 18-footer from the left corner after taking an assist from a driving Brammeier, Gibault needed a timeout at 21-10 Rockets.

Of those seven possessions by the visitors, five of those were missed shots and two were turnovers.

“That was obviously the difference in the game (second quarter). It put them into a position to dictate tempo and do what they wanted to do,” said Coach Rueter. “We were on the defensive for most of the night. As a whole I thought that they just played harder than we did tonight.”

Gibault was just 1-of-9 from the floor in the second quarter, with the lone bucket scored by Degener.

Meanwhile the Rockets hit 5-of-6 shots to begin the frame and padded the lead as they took a 23-13 advantage to the locker room at the intermission.

Gibault began the third quarter with four consecutive points, as they appeared ready to make a game of it.

Senior Nick Row, who ended up with six points on the night, scored from the left wing and two free throws by senior Mitch Meyer cut the deficit to just 23-17.

But as they did for the entire night, the Rockets answered every Gibault move.

Sophomore guard Alec Wisneski hit for his only field goal of the night, a 3-pointer from the left wing, and Frederking scored on a drive to the basket for a 28-21 advantage heading to the fourth quarter.

“We are not as deep as they are and they tried to take advantage of that. We were pretty ‘gassed’ at halftime and I was concerned about the third quarter when they tried to make a run,” added Coach Kraus. “But we got a stop and then a big 3-pointer (Wisneski) and we were able to sustain the lead.”

Gibault had chances in the fourth quarter to get closer, but failed to do so.

Frederking hit a pair of shots in the opening minutes and Brammeier scored on a steal and a fast break for the Rockets’ first double-digit advantage at 35-23 with 6:37 left.

The Hawks cut the lead to 37-31 following baskets by Degener and senior Zach Neff.

Neff scored off one of the Rockets’ four fourth quarter turnovers on a fast break to cut the lead to just six with 2:01 remaining.

Gibault came up empty in the final minutes, as they were forced to parade the hosts to the foul line.

Okawville hit 6-of-8 in the final moments to secure the important home triumph.

“I think Gibault is one of the best teams in the area and when you play teams like them and you beat them, it helps build confidence for your team,” said Coach Kraus. “This is just another step in our learning and building the confidence. These were two teams who really played hard tonight. It was tough to score. It is a big win for us.”

The Hawks can point directly at their shooting performance on the night, missing all 13 of their 3-point attempts and going 12-of-41 overall.

They were out rebounded 22-16 and they added to their woes with nine turnovers.

Besides Degener, no other Hawks’ players hit for double-digits.

“They hit some shots and Brammeier controlled the game. They guarded us better than we guarded them,” said Coach Rueter. “And Frederking is a really good offensive player and he hit some big 3’s for them.”

The Rockets were significantly better from the floor, hitting 16-of-34, and they survived a sloppy stretch in the fourth quarter as they ended up with 12-turnovers.

Okawville will play the other team from Waterloo on Saturday at the Nashville Shootout while Gibault will play those same Bulldogs next Tuesday night at home.

“We have talked about this from Day One. Especially in the postseason; the team that guards; the team that gets stops is going to win games,” added Coach Kraus. “In the run tonight, the stops were more important than the buckets. You have to keep putting pressure on them and I thought that was a key for us.”

These two teams could hook again in the final of the Lebanon 1A Regional in just a few weeks.

Gibault Catholic (33) – Jared Rueter 0 0 0-0 0, Jacob Rueter 0 0 0-0 0, Enright 0 0 1-2 1, Z. Rueter 0 0 0-0 0, Neff 1 0 0-0 2, Meyer 1 0 2-2 4, Degener 7 0 6-7 20, Row 3 0 0-1 6, Davis 0 0 0-0 0, Detering 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-12, 3FG-0, FT-9-12, PF-12.
Okawville (43) – Brammeier 4 1 2-4 13, Wisneski 0 1 2-2 5, Brad Fuhrhop 1 0 0-0 2, Frederking 5 3 0-0 19, Rossel 1 0 2-3 4, Bryn Fuhrhop 0 0 0-0 0, Ganz 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-11, 3FG-5, FT-6-9, PF-10.
Fouled Out – None.
Technical Fouls – None.