BY JACK BULLOCK
OKAWVILLE – In Friday night's 60-37 victory over Madison, the host Okawville Rockets didn't look like the state's top ranked team in 1A for most of the contest.

Coach Jon Kraus was exactly happy about the way his team performed overall but as the saying goes, “a win is a win.”

The Trojans hung close to the hosts on this night and trailed just 41-34 heading into the fourth quarter.

However a 19-3 finish by the Rockets made the final tally look much more lopsided than the actual game was.

Playing much better than they did in the first three quarters, Okawville finished strong for a 23-point win that sets up a finale on Saturday night against long-time independent rival Waterloo Gibault.

The Hawks took care of Wesclin, 53-41 in the other game on the night and both teams will enter the title tilt 3-0 in the event.

The Rockets had two bright spots on the night, as they improved to 17-2 on the season.

Noah Frederking paced all scorers with 24-points while senior classmate Shane Ganz finished with 16.

Ganz reached a milestone in the fourth quarter by surpassing 1,000-career points.

The two seniors also combined for something else special on this night as they combined to go 14-of-14 from the foul line.

Ganz went 8-for-8 while Frederking was 6-for-6.

Those were the only free throws shot by the Rockets in the contest that was still in doubt heading into the final quarter.

Despite the Rockets win, Coach Kraus didn't like his team's mindset for most of the game.

“We weren't ready to play, our intensity level was not what it has been in the last couple of nights. Even our practices in the last few days were more intense then that first half was, and even for most of the third quarter,” said Coach Kraus. “We didn't screen out very well and we didn't stop their dribble drives. We talked about taking five-plus charges tonight and I think we got one. And there were at least five out there we could've gotten. We just stood around a lot tonight.”

Madison (10-12) was led by 6-foot-2 sophomore Kendall Kennedy with 12-points while 6-foot senior Malique Mason added 10.

The Trojans hung with the Rockets mainly because they outworked the hosts on the offensive glass, grabbing 14 of their 28 rebounds to get second chances.

Despite trailing for nearly all of the game, after taking a brief 2-0 lead in the first minute, Madison stayed within striking distance until the fourth quarter avalanche of points by Okawville.

Coach Kraus' club jumped out to a quick 12-2 lead in the first frame, as for a few minutes this appeared to be another blow-out victory for the ABV preseason and current top-ranked 1A team.

The hosts got points from Frederking and Ganz in the early going and 6-foot-5 senior forward Kirklen Meier (six-points) scored his first bucket on a lob pass from junior guard Payten Harre as part of the run.

The Rockets even caught an early break when a lop pass from Ganz from the left wing about 25-feet from the basket went in for a 3-pointer and a 10-point lead with 5:10 remaining in the opening quarter.

But the Trojans scored five points to close out the first, with Kennedy scoring on an offensive rebound and Mason converting 3-of-6 from the foul line to close the quarter at 14-7 Rockets.

The best quarter for Coach Robert Kennedy's squad came in the second as they got to within four-points of the Rockets.

The sophomore guard Kennedy netted six of his points in the frame, converting a pair of transition chances.

When his teammates Mason and 6-foot senior Cleveland Wilson scored his only bucket with 2:10 left before the half, Madison was down just 25-21.

“Our defense is our offense. We have just tried to put a full 32-minute game together. We have our moments but when we get stops, sometimes we just can't put the ball in the basket,” said Coach Kennedy. “That is all it is, that is basketball. You have to make shots. We have to just keep coaching the kids and try to make them better. Now we are on to the next game.”

Okawville answered the brief run to close out the half.

Frederking scored on a baseline drive and added a pair of free throws.

The Rockets then held the ball for a final shot in the half and converted on a nice offensive set where Ganz got the ball underneath the goal on an assist from Meier for a lay in and a 31-21 lead at intermission.

“They (Okawville) are a very good team. I got a chance to coach Noah when he was younger. I helped coach the St. Louis Eagles (AAU) and I knew we were going up against a good player and good kid on a great team. We just have to compete,” said Coach Kennedy.

Ganz added six-points in the third quarter as the lead got to 39-26 before one final move by Madison again got things interesting.

The Trojans outscored Okawville 8-2 to close the third.

Buckets by Kennedy and Mason (twice) got the lead down to 41-34 heading home.

After a basket by Mason with 6:33 remaining, the Trojans didn't score another field goal, missing their next 11-attempts.

Okawville closed out the win by scoring 16-straight points.

A 3-pointer by Frederking and a pair of free throws by Ganz, which put him over 1,000-points, got the streak started.

“I think he (Ganz) is glad its over (reaching 1,000-points) and it is a great accomplishment,” said Coach Kraus. “The last three years he has been a real key part of a lot of wins. I was glad he got it tonight.”

Then Frederking scored 11-points in-a-row for Okawville, hitting another 3-pointer, converting a fast break lay in and adding 4-of-4 foul shots before Coach Kraus went to the reserves to swing the mop in the final seconds.

“They (Madison) are active and athletic and I thought that they played really hard tonight,” said Coach Kraus. “Our kids know that we have been in this situation before the last few years where we have been state-ranked. We don't talk about it much but with the schedule that we play we have bring our game every night. “I thought as the week went by this week, Madison got better and better each night. They have played more aggressive. I thought they played well last night and I knew it would carry over tonight.”

The numbers didn't show how dominant this contest was at the end.

The Rockets ended up 20-of-51 (39.2 percent) from the floor, 6-of-17 from the arc, while committing an uncharacteristic 11-turnovers.

Madison finished its tournament at 1-3 as they ended up 15-of-46 (32.6 percent) for the game overall.

Okawville won the title last season over Waterloo Gibault 59-37 in a game that wasn't that close.

The Hawks got revenge on the Rockets by beating Okawville in the sectional final last March.

Okawville owns a 56-46 win this season at Gibault back on December 22.

“They got way too many offensive rebounds (14) because we stood around and watched,” said Coach Kraus. “We are not overly big or athletic so we can't just rely on someone going to get the rebound. We didn't have enough team rebounding tonight. We just didn't do a good job tonight. We have to refocus for tomorrow night.”

Coach Dennis Rueter's club received 15-points from 6-foot-4 senior Trevor Davis and 11-points from 6-foot-5 senior Collin Kessler in the win as Gibault improved to 13-6 overall.

The Hawks pulled out to a halftime edge thanks to a 16-3 second quarter to pick up the win.

Wesclin (11-8) was topped by 6-foot-4 junior forward Hunter Ottensmeier and 11-points from junior Justin Kellogg.

Nate Brede, a 6-foot-5 sophomore, added 10.