RRCC dominates Vermilion in 119-88 drubbing
Straight to the point, Vermilion head coach Paul McDonald had the best take on what happened Wednesday in Rainy River Community College’s 119-88 beatdown of the Ironmen.
“We were flat and they were hot,” he said. “They just dominated us from the start. ... Pretty simple.”
The Voyageurs (3-2 Northern Division, 6-10 overall) shot a scorching 62 percent from the field, never trailed and had six players finish in double figures. It’s also the third straight game they’ve scored at least 86 points. RRCC lost to Central Lakes 89-84 on Friday before crushing Itasca 86-57 on Saturday.
“We just came out and executed on defense. Hard defense, all night,” said RRCC sophomore Dylan Clarke-Knaeble, who tallied a team-high 23 points and 17 rebounds. “The offense just came to us.”
And kept coming.
Brandon Bell had 21 points, six rebounds, six assists and three big dunks, including an alley-oop from Antonio White that brought an entertained crowd to its feet in the second half. White and Bentley Hylton scored 19 apiece and reserves Evan Ziegler and Javonne Swinnie tallied 15 apiece. White added seven rebounds and eight assists.
“It’s fun to play the way you know you’re capable of,” RRCC head coach Dieter Humbert said.
Vermilion (3-2, 13-5) got a game-high 30 points from Venzal Russell, the leading scorer in the division, but only two other players finished in double figures. Anthony Bryant, second in the division at 23.3 points a game, was held to 13 points, and Brian Shurn added 12 points.
“They beat us in every phase of the game. Plain and simple,” McDonald said.
RRCC scored 53 points in the first half and led by 20. Vermilion, the top scoring team in the entire MCAC, made a predictable run in the second half, but RRCC was too good on this Wednesday. The Ironmen cut the lead to 69-58 on a 3-point play by Bryant with 13:12 to play, but RRCC answered with an 18-8 run.
“We kept on telling ourselves, kept on telling ourselves to focus on defense and keep the energy we had from the first half,” Clarke-Knaeble said.
RRCC sustained that energy, destroyed the Ironmen press and sent a message to at least one coach in the Northern Division about its potential.
“They’re a scary team,” McDonald said.
Clarke-Knaeble, Bell, White and Ziegler finished a combined 33 of 48, or 69 percent from the field.
“The press is a gamble and if you exploit it you should get some easy baskets,” Humbert said.
The only blemish was RRCC’s 20-for-34 (59 percent) performance from the free-throw line, but that was a moot point on a one-sided night.
“A lot of people can do a lot of talented things,” Humbert said.
RRCC returns to action Saturday at Fond Du Lac.
