The Riverland men’s and women’s basketball teams traveled Monday to Boone, Iowa, where the Blue Devils took on Des Moines Area Community College.

Tuesday, November 30, 1999

The Riverland men’s and women’s basketball teams traveled Monday to Boone, Iowa, where the Blue Devils took on Des Moines Area Community College.

It was well worth the trip as the two Austin teams swept Des Moines. The men upped their record to 3-1; the women improved to 2-1.

Riverland men 105,

Des Moines 94 in OT

With his team trailing by nine late in the first half, Riverland coach Dave Lillemon called a timeout.

"I was concerned," Lillemon said. "I thought we had a chance to get blown out."

But the Blue Devils’ stiffened, scoring four straight baskets following the timeout to close the halftime gap to 35-34.

Des Moines (2-4) then jumped to a 49-39 lead early in the second half. But again, Riverland responded and pulled to 62-62.

From there the game took a dramatic turn, becoming a back-and-forth affair that made for what Lillemon called "a great game, an exciting game."

With 10 seconds left in regulation, Des Moines knotted the game at 84-84 with the basket that sent the game into overtime.

The Blue Devils owned the extra period, outscoring Des Moines, 21-10.

Riverland finished with three men scoring 20 or more – freshman forward Tom Yost and sophomore point guard Beau Hartman hit for 21 each and sophomore sharp shooter Garrett Ulrich struck for 20.

Yost kickstared OT by scoring Riverland’s first three buckets. He finished with eight in the extra period.

"He had an unreal game," Lillemon said. "He got us off and running in overtime. He was a huge factor."

Freshman Kris Brose finished off Des Moines by scoring all five of his points in OT, including a three pointer that "was the knife in their back," Lillemon said. "It deflated them."

The win seemed to cement Lillemon’s belief in his freshman-dominant ballclub.

"They believe in each other," he said. "They pick each other up."

In the game, there were several examples of Riverland players picking each other up.

The team’s leading scorer, sophomore Jesse Heiny, scored just six in the game. But Riverland got double figures from five players, including freshman guard Nick Peters, who hit for 12, and freshman center Brett Rogers, who scored 12 and was six-for-six from the line.

Another example, Hartman fouled out in OT, giving way to freshman point Zak Ulwelling, who hit three-of-four free throws in overtime.

All told, Riverland shot 28-of-32 from the line.

On Friday, the Riverland men face a huge test when they host Vermilion Community College, the defending state champion and last season’s National Junior College Division III runner-up.

"It’s one of those big games early in the season," Lillemon said. "It’ll be a challenge."

The game begins at 8 p.m., following the women’s game, which starts at 6 p.m. The Riverland men and women then turn around and play Saturday at home against Mesabi Community College. The women play at 1 p.m. Saturday and the men at 3 p.m.

Riverland women 72,

Des Moines 65

Riverland coach Suzy Hebrink has seen it before – one good half in each game so far.

The Riverland women blew away Des Moines in the first half, taking a 46-22 halftime lead.

Hebrink called it "our best half of basketball this season."

The Blue Devils then hung on for the win, struggling with the Des Moines press throughout the second half.

"We seem to play one really good half each game," Hebrink said. "We’ve got to start putting both halves together."

Rachel Burzinski led the Blue Devils. The freshman scored 18.

Freshman Melissa Rossel and sophomore Anna Keefe contributed big games as well, combining for 15 steals and 22 rebounds. Rossel scored 16, grabbed 13 boards and swiped eight steals. Keefe scored 10, hauled down nine boards and had seven steals.

"They had awesome nights," Hebrink said of Keefe and Rossel, who shot 10-of-10 from the stripe.

A trio of sophomores also made big contributions.

Renea Bebler added 13 points and seven boards. Kelly Jo Leif shot three-for-three, including the team’s only three pointer, for nine points, and Breanna Seira scored six points.