By Pat Dailey (For OzarkSportsZone.com)
HOLLISTER — The matchup zone defense Rogersville coach John Schaefer employs year after year has gained a sterling reputation among his colleagues in his 20 seasons courtside, yet SWMO coaches haven’t played copycat of the Wildcats.
Rogersville’s matchup zone claimed another victim Friday, as the Wildcats rolled to a 54-41 Big 8 Conference triumph against Hollister.
The 41 points matches the Tigers’ season-low. Garrett Snyder, who was honored beforehand for becoming Hollister’s career scoring leader with 1,453 points, was held without a field goal while scoring eight points.
“We focused on their best player. We put a lot of emphasis on him,” Schaefer said of Snyder. “Holding him without a field goal, that was more than we anticipated.
They have a nice supporting cast, so it makes it hard to double (Snyder) and not give up 3s. We were fortunate they missed some shots. I felt like our pressure had a lot to do with that. I was proud of our guys.”
Rogersville jumped out to leads of 12-2 and 20-4 while leading from start to finish.
The Wildcats repeatedly had a hand in the face of Hollister shooters. The Tigers missed their first eight 3-point attempts and were 1-of-10 beyond the arc in the first half.
Rogersville has allowed only one opponent — Branson — to score as high as the 60s all season. Wildcats opponents are averaging only 43.4 points a game.
Yet, the only SWMO program Schaefer is aware of that also incorporates a matchup zone is Thayer. Rogersville and Thayer are two of SWMO’s most consistent winners, perhaps not a coincidence.
“There’s really no deviation from the pressure. It’s ball-pressure constantly,” Schaefer said of what makes a matchup zone effective. “You’re keeping people out of the lane and covering the 3-point line at the same time. Also, you can double out of it.
‘You’ve got to have five guys locked up, four won’t get it done,” he added. “We had a few issues with that tonight. We got tired in the third quarter and went to, ‘Let me take a play off or two.’ When you do that, you kind of hang the others out to dry.”
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“We are able to double the (opponent’s) best player, get up and guard and force (missed) 3s and help on every drive. It’s tough on teams,” forward Curry Sutherland said. “We’re trying to pride ourselves on our defense. Our scoring is not always there. If we can rely on our defense like we did tonight, people are going to have trouble playing against us.”
Sutherland continued a torrid scoring pace. After totaling 91 points in Rogersville’s three games at last weekend’s Nixa Invitational Tournament, he burned Hollister for 19 of his 26 points in the second half.
“I’m really benefiting from our shooters,” Sutherland said. “Our outside shooters were knocking down so many 3s (last weekend) that teams weren’t coming in and doubling me inside. When they do double me inside, I kick it out and they hit it every time. (Hollister) tried to double me (tonight) for a little while and we started knocking down some 3s.”
“We run pretty much everything we do though him,” Schafer said of Sutherland. “And, we’ve got a nice supporting cast. He draws a lot of attention and can become a passer. He’s been good all year and had a great Nixa Tournament, probably better than I thought he would have.”
Brody McNeil added 13 points and Ross Lawrence nine for the Wildcats.
Rogersville (17-3) has won six out its last seven while staying undefeated in the Big 8. Not bad for a bunch with Missouri State baseball commits in Sutherland, McNeil and Lawrence.
“I’ve told them they are the best baseball team I’ve ever coached,” Schaefer joked.
“All three of us play a big travel-baseball schedule, so it’s hard to find time,” Sutherland said of off-season basketball workouts. “We try to get in the gym in the summer when we can so we can get shots up.”
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Rogersville needed only two field goals in its 19-point fourth quarter to wrap up Friday’s win. With the Wildcats in the bonus, they shot 15-of-24 from the foul line in the fourth quarter. Their final 13 points were free throws.
Last weekend, Rogersville may have made it to the NIT championship game if not for 12 missed free throws in a five-point semifinal loss to Troy.
“Luckily, we made enough tonight to get out of here with a win,” Schafer said.
Rogersville put itself in position toward possibly wrapping up the No. 1 seed for Class 4 District 11, to be played at Hollister. Forsyth (17-3) and Hollister (18-4) are also in contention for the top seed.
“We felt like we possibly would earn that (with a win) tonight because Hollister has (split with) Forsyth,” Schaefer said of the No. 1 seed. “With strength of schedule and what we’ve done, this probably secured it. We’re happy to be where we’re at.”
Rogersville 54, Hollister 41
ROGERSVILLE (54) — McDonald 0 2-2 2, Prenger 0 1-2 1, Trant 0 0-1 0, Lawrence 2 4-6 9, McNeil 5 0-2 13, Sutherland 7 12-19 26, Daniels 1 1-2 3.
HOLLISTER (41) — Wright 4 1-1 11, Calovich 5 2-2 13, Snyder 0 8-9 8, Henry 1 0-2 3, Richardson 1 1-2 3, Franks 0 1-2 1,
Rogersville 12 11 12 19 – 54
Hollister 2 9 15 15 – 41
3-point goals – McNeil 3, Wright 2, Lawrence, Calovich, Henry.
