At 6 feet, 5 inches, Riverland wide-body Brett Rogers isn’t the tallest post player you’ll find.

Monday, November 22, 1999

At 6 feet, 5 inches, Riverland wide-body Brett Rogers isn’t the tallest post player you’ll find.

But after Saturday’s 14-point, seven rebound performance off the bench in a win over Milwaukee Area Tech, nobody’s worrying about the freshman’s height.

"I’m not the tallest guy around," Rogers said. " I need to utilize my body weight and strength."

Rogers gets another chance to show off his stuff tonight as Riverland takes on Western Wisconsin Tech (WWT) at 8 p.m.

Prior to that game, the Riverland women play their home opener at 6 p.m. against WWT.

On Saturday, Riverland men’s coach Dave Lillemon liked what he saw from Rogers and the rest of his bench, which played big minutes but never surrendered the Blue Devils’ game-long lead over Milwaukee.

"The bench play was important," Lillemon said. "They took care of the basketball and maintained our leads."

Freshman point guard Zak Ulwelling – an Austin grad – made and impression when he spelled sophomore Beau Hartman and took good care of the ball.

Kris Brose came off the pine to grab six rebounds.

With only three sophomores – all starters – Lillemon is forced to look to his freshman bench. So far, it’s looking good.

"We’re a young team," Lillemon said. "But we were able weather the storms."