RCC men use defense to top Gustavus JV

Published 11:18 pm Monday, January 4, 2010

The Riverland defense closed out a strong night by shutting down Gustavus JV for the last two and a half minutes to close out a 62-52 win in a men’s basketball game in Riverland Gym Monday.

The Gusties pulled to within 55-52 when Muresuk Mena hit a three with 2:35 left in the game, but RCC guard AJ Kortz put the game away when he converted a three-point play on a breakaway to make it 60-52 with 30 seconds left.

“Our shooting was off so we had to play defense and push the ball,” said Kortz, an Albert Lea native who finished with 22 points, four steals, and three rebounds. “We kind of stopped shooting outside shots and started getting to the rim, that really helped us out and made us a bigger threat.”

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The Gusties got off to a strong start in the second half as they took a 29-27 lead, but Taylor Morgan scored eight points in a row — including two threes — to put RCC (7-7 overall) up 35-29 with 16:27 left in the game.

Morgan, a 6-3 guard out of Cripple Creek H.S. in Colorado, didn’t play in the first semester but he is looking to make a big impact the rest of the way. He finished with nine points, four rebounds, with two assists, two blocks and two steals.

“In practice he is a great player,” Kortz said. “I’m excited to see what he does, because once he starts hitting, he’ll be a great threat.”

While Kortz was the only RCC player to score in double figures, the Blue Devil defense got in done as it forced 27 turnovers from Gustavus. The Blue Devils were able to press all night as 14 different players got playing time.

“We won the game on the defensive end, there’s no doubt about it,” RCC assistant coach Scott Koenigs said. “We wear teams down with our depth and we push the basketball. Every single guy that got on the floor for us really went after it and tried to force turnovers.”

Gustavus 24 28 — 52

RCC 25 37 — 62

RCC scoring: AJ Kortz, 22; Taylor Morgan, 9; Taylor Oetken, 6; Brian Voigt, 5; Elimane Diallo, 5; Khirey Floyd, 4; Josh Davis, 4; Derek Hahn, 4; Donte Cotton, 1; free throws: 48 percent (13-for-28); turnovers: 16

Gustavus scoring: Alex Ewing, 12; Muresuk Mena, 10; Cole Christenson, 8; Ryan Nett, 8; Ryan Virning, 7; Keenan Obayuwana, 1; turnovers: 27