01/11/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - The Mater Dei Knights did what they do best, which turned out to be just enough to leave Carbondale with a victory on Saturday afternoon.

They got the ball inside and finished when they got there.

Led by 18-points from 6-5 senior Elliott Rakers and another 16-points from junior Gavin Peppenhorst, the Knights survived a Terriers' rally that forced overtime and outscored Carbondale 5-2 in the extra session for a 54-51 victory on the road.

Rakers also had 14-rebounds to lead the way on the boards.

The win was the seventh in-a-row for the Knights and head coach Cory Arentsen as the club improved to 12-6 on the season.

Carbondale and head coach Jim Miller are now 6-10 overall after dropping their eighth-straight decision after a 6-2 beginning to 2024-25.

The Terriers got 17-points from sophomore guard Davin Wooley and 15-points from junior guard Jaxon Marlow-Evans in the loss.

“Their guards are really quick and they're always quicker in person than they are on film. They (Wooley and Marlow-Evans) are good players, they're a tough matchup for us,” said Coach Arentsen. “They made a lot of tough contested two's, and that's what we want to live with. They were making tough shots. It is always good to get a road win.”

The main problem for the Terriers was not being able to stop the dribble drives by the Knights' guards who got the ball inside for easy scores.

All seven of the field goals by Mater Dei in the first quarter came in the paint as they hit 7-of-10 shots and led 16-11 at the first horn.

Rakers scored six of his points inside early and senior Conner Diekemper and senior Jared Hemker each scored in the quarter.

Carbondale kept the Knights from running away by getting points from Marlow-Evans and Wooley, also on the inside.

Wooley hit a 3-pointer and scored on a drive in the lane before Marlow-Evans hit a pair of shots close to the basket to even the score at 22-22 with 4:10 left in the half.

Mater Dei took a four-point lead to intermission with scores by Peppenhorst sandwiched around the only made 3-pointer of the day for the Knights as Diekemper hit a 20-footer from the left wing.

Another inside score from Diekemper made it 31-27 at the break.

The foul line is where the Knight spent most of the third quarter as Carbondale got into some foul difficulty.

Mater Dei hit 9-of-11 shots from the line and Rakers scored inside while being fouled by Marlow-Evans with :05.6 left.

His three-point play made it 44-37 Knights heading to the fourth quarter.

“We made some great passes early and Elliott was great around the rim,” said Coach Arentsen. “We've won a lot of close games and I'm proud of the guys. It was a good road win overall.”

Carbondale managed to rally to force the extra session and nearly got a score in the final seconds to snatch the victory away from BMD.

The Knights suddenly went cold from the foul line, hitting just 1-of-5 in the fourth quarter, which in part allowed the Terriers back in the game.

Leading 49-41 with 3:28 left after the only made free throw of the frame, by Peppenhorst, the Knights lost their lead as the hosts forced overtime.

(CONTINUED)

An inside score from senior Coryion Keene on a rebound and consecutive baskets in the paint by junior Mikaden Greene got Carbondale within two.

Two free throws by Marlow-Evans tied the game at 49-all with 1:20 remaining in regulation.

Carbondale had a chance to win the game after a Mater Dei turnover at the 1:02 mark.

Following a timeout by Coach Miller with :14.7 left, the Terriers worked for a final shot by Marlow-Evans.

The attempt missed and a subsequent rebound and shot by Keene failed to go in at the buzzer as the two teams would head to overtime.

Hemker quickly got the Knights the lead in the extra stanza as he scored on a fast break off of the tip won by Rakers.

A drive for a score by Keene represented the only Terriers' points in overtime tied the game at 51-51.

Mater Dei closed out the game by hitting just 3-of-6 free throws with the final one coming by senior Luke Brefeld with :04.1 left.

Following a Carbondale timeout, the Terriers got the ball into Marlow-Evans, who got off a shot from just inside the half-court line on the left side of the floor.

The 40-footer banked off the glass no good at the horn as the Knights escaped with the road victory over 3A Carbondale.

The Knights ended up 18-of-43 from the field after the hot start and hit just 1-of-9 from the 3-point line.

Mater Dei held a 28-24 rebounding edge but part of the problem that the Knights had on Saturday, which allowed Carbondale back into the contest, was turnovers.

Four in the fourth quarter and 13 for the game.

Carbondale got off more shot attempts but, unlike Mater Dei, the Terriers couldn't get Mater Dei into foul trouble.

The Terriers finished 23-of-61 from the floor, 1-of-12 from the arc and hit just 4-of-6 free throws compared to 17-of-27 for the Knights.

Carbondale missed its final five field goal attempts in the overtime.

Mater Dei will head back into action next week with a pair of games.

The Knights will travel to Nokomis on Tuesday night before hosting state-ranked and ABV 1A top-ranked Effingham St. Anthony next Friday.

After that it is the always tough Nashville Invitational Tournament where they will play the hosts on Monday, January 20.

“The NIT is stacked every year and that will be tough,” said Coach Arentsen.