Blue Devils get past St. Cloud Tech.
Published 11:07 pm Wednesday, January 7, 2015
The Riverland Community College men’s basketball team used a first half run against St. Cloud Tech to pick up an 88-82 win in Riverland Gym Wednesday.
The Blue Devils (9-5 overall, 1-0 MCAC South) led 24-22 early in the first half when Dearionte Hudson, a freshman from Germantown, Wis., led the charge — scoring nine points during a 14-2 run and RCC didn’t have too much trouble after that.
“I was feeling my shot early in warm-ups and then I went on a little min-run,” said Hudson, who had 19 points and five assists. “I think that gave the team some confidence to get up the floor. We controlled the tempo. I think that’s what got us the win tonight.”
Riverland’s Ricky Landers is fouled by St. Cloud Tech’s Chris Laymon going up for a layup in the first half Wednesday night at RCC. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
SCT (7-7 overall, 0-1 MCAC South) pulled to within 77-75 after Chris Laymon hit a 3-pointer with 3:55 left in the game, but Hudson answered with a drive for a score.
RCC locked down on defense in the win as they held SCT’s Scott Nystrom, who averages 17 points per game, to just two points on 1-of-12 shooting.
“Sometimes they’re hard to defend, because they have unlimited range from a lot of guys,” RCC head coach Scott Koenigs said. “We stopped [Nystrom] tonight and that was big.”
RCC was coming off two road losses that saw the team struggle with injuries. Hayfield grad Jeremy Stuart has been out for a stretch with the flu and a sprained ankle and John F. Kennedy grad Robert Parker missed three out of five games. Parker was in the lineup Wednesday and he came through with 19 points.
“It was great to have Rob back,” Hudson said. “He does everything for us.”
Devonte Miller, who is also a John F. Kennedy grad, had an effective game for RCC as he had 10 points and 10 rebounds. Miller also drew a charge and had a steal down the stretch.
Riverland’s Nate Emge drives on St. Cloud Tech’s Scott Nystrom during the first half Wednesday night at RCC. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
The Blue Devils will now host RCTC Saturday at 3 p.m. in Riverland Gym.
“This conference is so strong and any time you get a win, it’s big,” Koenigs said. “We sure want to beat Rochester. It’s been a long time since we beat them and they’re ranked in the nation again.”
SCT 35 47 — 82
RCC 41 47 — 88
RCC scoring: Dearionte Hudson, 19; Robert Parker, 19; Ricky Landers, 16; Devonte Miller, 10; Marcus Myers, 8; Gary Cook Jr., 7; Nate Emge, 6; Herman Michel, 3; field goals: 54 percent (28-for-52); 3-pointers: 47 percent (9-for-19); free throws: 70 percent (23-for-33); rebounds: 36 (Miller, 10); turnovers: 7
