Rebels close the door on Hurricanes

Published 9:44 pm Monday, January 29, 2024

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ADAMS – With his team already up by 26 points late in the game, Southland senior Noah Bauer didn’t hesitate as he drove right into the teeth of the Houston defense. Bauer fell hard on the floor while drawing contact, but he wasn’t whining about the hit.

He simply looked up and asked if the shot went in.

The shot did not go in, and the Rebels finished strong as they powered past Houston (9-8 overall) 80-41 in Adams Monday night.

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Bauer, who played quarterback for Southland’s football team this past fall, scored 11 points in the win and he was one of 14 Rebels who broke into the scoring column.

“The football mentality is to never give up and keep playing hard and I definitely take that to the court. The other part of that mentality is to play for your teammates and I was going to work as hard as I could for my teammates,” Bauer said. “Our chemistry right now is unmatched. We all gel together, laugh together and we go through tough times together.”

The win was a much-needed bounce back for the Rebels, who lost 67-65 in Mabel-Canton Friday night. Southland has now won eight of its last nine.

The Rebels (13-3 overall) opened the game on a 21-5 run and they never looked back.

“We came back out and played really well against a really good team. We knew this would be a tough game and we responded really well,” Southland head coach Scott Koenigs said. “I honestly think that that game (on Friday) may have made us better because we know that we’ve got to come out hard every night.”

Senior Nick Edland finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and three assists in the middle for the Rebels as he was able to score inside and keep the ball moving to his teammates outside.

“(My teammates) take stress off me. No matter what happens, I know I’ve got guys I can’t count on and they’re going to get the job done,” Edland said. “We play for each other, we play for our coach and we play to win. When you have a team that’s unselfish like we are, the sky’s the limit. Playing for each other this season has been a blast.”

Houston 20  21  –  41

Southland 38  42  –  80

Southland scoring: Nick Edland, 18; Noah Bauer, 11; Noah Goergen, 8; Gaivn Nelsen, 8; Travis Kirtz, 6; Sam Boe, 6; Riley Jax, 6; Maverick Hanna, 3; Cole Miller, 2; Kaleb Yunker, 2; Tate Goergen, 2; Henry Wiste, 2; Andrew Timm, 2