Roncalli hands Glenwood first loss of season

Nebraska Class B, No. 2 ranked Roncalli Catholic came into Glenwood and handed the Rams their first loss of the season with a 75-60 setback Friday.

The Crimson Pride, the state runner-up in Nebraska a year ago, used a 23-13 third quarter to extend their three-point halftime lead to as many as 15 in the fourth quarter.

But the Rams chipped away, cutting it to just six in the final two minutes. However, that was as close as Glenwood would get.

“We had to foul a little bit to get back in it and they hit their free throws,” said Glenwood coach Curt Schulte. “They didn’t miss many free throws in the fourth quarter. But I’m really proud of our kids. We played hard and they played well against one of the top teams in the state of Nebraska. I was proud of their efforts.”

Ryan Blum led the Ram charge with a career-high 31 points. The junior hit 11-of-20 shots and pulled down 13 rebounds.

Zach Carr added 13 points and career-high 11 rebounds.

Jack Dotzler scored 27 to lead Roncalli.

Glenwood 76,
Clarinda 53

A shaky start gave way to a strong finish that saw Glenwood out-score Clarinda 40-29 in the second half held the Rams to a 76-53 Hawkeye 10 Conference boys basketball road win Friday.

The Rams trailed 15-13 after  a quarter and then turned on the offense in the second frame with a 23-9 run to pull away.

“I thought we got off to a slow start that first quarter but other than that I thought we played three pretty good quarters in Clarinda, that’s never an easy place to win,” said Glenwood coach Curt Schulte.

Glenwood shot 52 percent (33-of-63) from the field and had three players score in double-figures led by Ryan Blum’s 22 points and nine rebounds. John Palmer chipped in 19 points and Zach Carr 14.

Nathan Lindsey paced Clarinda with 18.

Glenwood 67,
Denison 58

Glenwood out-scored Denison 24-11 in the final quarter to post a 67-58 upset victory on the Class 3A, No. 8 ranked Monarchs’ home floor last Tuesday.

The Rams (3-0 overall, 2-0 in the Hawkeye 10 Conference) trailed 47-43 after three quarters before exploding for 24 fourth quarter points in the win.

The Rams played nearly error-free basketball in the final quarter and went 10-of-12 at the free throw line in the second half.

“That was really critical for us,” said Glenwood coach Curt Schulte. “That and we took really good care of the ball well in that fourth quarter.”

The Rams shot an efficient 46.2 percent (25-of-54) from the field but used a dominating 37 to 20 edge on the glass, including a 14-2 offensive rebound edge, to control the paint.

With 6-foot-8 Monarch center Goannar Billiew in early foul trouble, Schulte said his team took full advantage attacking the glass.  

“He sat a little bit but we really went to the boards hard and got us in good position rebound and that helped us,” he said.

Billiew finished with 11 points and three rebounds, well below his average.

John Palmer led the way with a game-high 18 points. The senior guard has emerged as strong scoring option for the Rams after playing sparingly as a junior.

“John is coming around really nice for us,” Schulte said. “He’s shooting the ball well, he gets to the hole well. He’s had a great first five games. That’s nice for our balanced scoring.”

Zach Carr put in 16 points and Ryan Blum scored 15 points while grabbing a team-high nine rebounds.

Charlie Wiebers led Denison with 17 points.