SHARON SPRINGS, KS- After being down by as many as 13, Rawlins County used a 20-point fourth quarter to take down the Oberlin Boys Basketball team Tuesday afternoon 57-51 in the NWKL Basketball Tournament in Sharon Springs.
The loss drops the Red Devils to 1-8 on the season, while the Buffaloes improve to 4-6 on the year.
In the first half, Oberlin would find a way to respond to every Rawlins County run with a run of their own, leading by 4 points after the first quarter. Davin Jensen would connect from three-point range with just 3 seconds left in the first half to close out another late-quarter run for the Red Devils to extend the lead to nine heading to the break.
Despite being outscored 15-13 and the Buffaloes cutting the lead to three during the third quarter, a late run from Oberlin would extend the lead to seven heading into the final quarter.
Rawlins County and the Red Devils would go punch for punch in the final quarter before a three from Bryan Rodriguez would give the Buffaloes the lead for the first time since the first quarter. From then on, Rawlins County wouldn’t look back and finish the night with the win. Rodriguez would finish the night with a game-high 40 points, with 28 points alone in the second half.
Oberlin was led in the loss by Tyler Ostmeyer, who would have a team-high 20 points, while Brycen Ketterl and Gage Williby would chip in 10 points, respectively.
With the loss, the Red Devils fall into the consolation side of the bracket and will now face St. Francis, who comes in with a record of 1-9 and fresh off a loss to undefeated Dighton in the first round 76-28.
Tip is set for 6:30 pm CST, with coverage starting with pregame at 6:10 pm on 101.1 KFNF.
OB – 15 – 16 – 13 – 7 – 51
RC – 11 – 11 – 15 – 20 – 57
OBERLIN- Ostmeyer 20, Ketterl & Williby 10, Jensen 6, Koeperich 4, Shaw 3
RAWLINS COUNTY- Rodriquez 40, Dewey 6, Crouse 4, Dixson & Lare & Predeau 2
NWKL Boys Basketball Tournament First Round Scores
#1 Dighton 76- #8 St. Francis 28
#4 Rawlins County 57- #5 Oberlin 51
#2 Quinter 70- #7 Ness City 37
#3 Wallace County 73- #6 Greeley County 32
NWKL Boys Basketball Tournament Semifinals and Consolation Semifinals Pairings
All Games Played on Friday at Sharon Springs
Semifinal #1
#1 Dighton vs #4 Rawlins County- 6:30 PM CST at HS Gym
Semifinal #2
#2 Quinter vs #3 Wallace County- 2:00 PM CST at HS Gym
Consolation Semifinals #1
#8 St. Francis vs #5 Oberlin- 6:30 PM CST at JV Gym
Consolation Semifinals #2
#6 Greeley County vs #7 Ness City- 2:30 PM CST at JV Gym