RRCC edges Mesabi Range 74-73
Antonio White made only one 3-pointer Wednesday, and Dylan Clarke-Knaeble grabbed only one offensive rebound, but the combination proved decisive in Rainy River Community College’s 74-73 victory over Mesabi Range at RRCC.
With 40 seconds remaining and the Norsemen clinging to a 73-70 lead, White made the first of two free throws. When he missed the second, Clarke-Knaeble grabbed the offensive rebound. Seven seconds later, White rose up and buried a 3-pointer with 33 seconds to play.
“Can’t let my teammates down,” White said. “They do all the heavy lifting and I just play.”
Mesabi Range had a chance to take the lead, but Johnathan Williams put up a wild shot off an inbounds play and Clarke-Knaeble was fouled on the rebound. Clarke-Knaeble missed the free throw, however, and the Norsemen nearly stole a heartbreaker when Steve Golobich got an open look from half court. The ball rattled out twice and fell to the court, giving RRCC a win.
“Luckily we got a bounce on that one,” Voyageurs head coach Dieter Humbert said, noting Golobich beat RRCC in the first meeting with a 3-pointer in overtime.
Mesabi Range head coach Tom Stackpool admitted a bounce wasn’t needed.
“Cardinal sin in basketball. We talk about it all the time. Can’t get beat on an offensive rebound,” he said.
Newcomer Brandon Bell led the Voyageurs with 23 points, six rebounds and four assists. White had 19 points and six rebounds and Bentley Hylton, the reigning Northern Division and NJCAA Division III Player of the Week, posted 21 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Hylton earned the national attention this week after averaging 28.5 points and 10 rebounds in two games in Bottineau, ND. He shot 54 percent (18-for-33) from the field and 90 percent (18-for-20) from the free throw line.
Will Jackson led the Norsemen on Wednesday with 19 points and eight rebounds. D’Andrey Arther was nearly unstoppable in the post and finished with 18 points and seven rebounds. Golobich added 14 points.
“You can’t blow an eight-point lead with two minutes to go,” Mesabi Range head coach Tom Stackpool said.
There was actually just over five minutes to play when the Norsemen started surrendering its 68-60 lead, but it took only a couple minutes.
Hylton answered a 3-pointer by Williams with back-to-back bombs to make it 68-66. Bell tied it with three minutes remaining on the next possession.
“I just wanted to come in and help out. I didn’t want to come in and draw too much attention to myself,” Bell said. Bell scored 18 of his 23 points in the first half and shot 10 of 13, missing his only three 3-point attempts. Bell scored 21 points in one of the games over the weekend and is fast becoming a welcome addition to the Voyageurs.
“He’s a tough matchup,” Humbert said.
White tied it at 70 with 1:55 left before Mesabi Range (0-1, 3-10) took the lead on a free throw by Arther and putback by Darris Washington. That’s when White went to the line to set up the finale.
“We hit some big shots when we had to, but you still win it on the defensive end and we made some stops when we had to,” Humbert said.
RRCC (1-0, 5-8) was also without Evan Ziegler and Mason Imhof. Imhof is out with a stress fracture in his foot and has another X-ray scheduled at the end of the month to check his progress. Ziegler bruised his finger over the weekend and tried to give it a go Wednesday, but only saw the court once. Humbert is hoping to get him back Saturday at Northland in Thief River Falls.
