For veteran Macomb High basketball coach Jeremy Anderson, it is all about managing expectations.
“It’s all about expectations and getting off to a good start,” he said. “You keep your expectations high for your own play, because your effort level is going to meet your expectations.”
“You keep your expectation level high for your opponents, because your competitive level is going to meet those expectations,” Anderson added.
Despite owning a 58-34 win over host Bushnell-Prairie City earlier this season, Anderson was leaving nothing to chance in Tuesday’s rematch.
A strong defensive effort in the second half by the Bombers allowed the visitors to fly away with a 48-29 Prairieland Conference South Division victory.
Macomb improved to 15-7 overall, 2-0 in Prairieland South play. B-PC dropped to 2-16 overall, 0-4 in league play.
“B-PC is a really scrappy team,” said Anderson. “They scored 68 points in their game (Monday night against Knoxville). They’re high-octane, get the ball down the court fast, they’re going to find a good shot.”
Macomb grabbed the upperhand early as Drew Watson scored eight points in the opening eight minutes, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Five other Bombers scored as MHS built a 19-7 lead after the opening period.
Anderson noted that he talked to his team about B-PC’s performance the previous evening at Knoxville.
“I think that helped our guys to realize that this was going to be a competitive situation, so they came out and they played hard,” said Anderson.
The second quarter saw the Spartans battled back as Ryan Adler knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, while Connor Palm scored seven points.
His 3-pointer that beat the first half buzzer brought the Spartans within 29-22 at halftime.
“Their guards are really good at getting to the lane,” said Anderson. “And when they can get in the lane, they can either shoot it or they can create opportunities for other guys.”
“I thought they did a nice job of that in the first half,” he added. “That run they went on to end the second quarter, that’s pretty much what happened. Their guards were getting down hill. They were kicking out for shots. They were executing what they wanted to do.”
Meanwhile, the Bomber offense was slowed somewhat by B-PC’s zone defense.
“I think them playing zone slowed us down offensively some, which is what you see zones do,” said Anderson. “But that was good because we hadn’t seen much zone as of late. It was good for us to go back and revisit some of those things.”
The Bombers dominated defensively in the second half, allowing just three baskets by B-PC in the final 16 minutes.
“I saw a lot of really good stuff,” said Anderson. “I thought defensively, we were outstanding.”
“After (Monday) night Knoxville, I was a little worried about what we were gonna have left in the tank on a back to back, especially with a team like Macomb coming into town,” said B-PC coach Shane Curry.
“We got ourselves in a little bit of a hole early with Macomb, but some hot shooting got us to close the gap,” he added. “But in the end, we just couldn’t go shot for shot with them.”
Watson topped Macomb with 17 points, including three treys. Nolan Hoge also reached double figures with 10 points.
Nick Elbe was next with eight points, followed by Collin Adams with five and Hayden Katz with four.
Carter Havens and Kellen Martin chipped in two points apiece.
“We have a ton of guys that deserve to play more,” said Anderson. “They work their tails off in practices. They need to get playing time, so it was nice to be able to get them in there and mix them in with the regular guys to give them that opportunity.”
De’Arion Ruffin-Thomas topped B-PC with 12 points, while Palm added nine. Adler scored six points and Dylan King two for the Spartans.
The JV contest saw Macomb outscore B-PC in each quarter in pulling away for a 51-24 victory.
MHS led 13-8 after the first quarter, 23-12 at halftime and 33-16 after three periods.
Luke Chalpa topped Macomb with 18 points, while Corey Robinson added nine for the Bombers.
Kollin Knupp was next with five points, followed by Cameron Keene, Mack Waschull and Arlo Hill with four points apiece.
Levi Helling added three points, followed by Carter Van Vleet and Samuel Potter with two points each.
John Malda paced B-PC with seven points.
Charles Rudolph added four points, followed by Alex Kohler, Landon Ferguson and Konnor Stewart with three points apiece.
Evan Ash and Dylan King rounded out the Spartan scoring with two points apiece.
Both teams return to action Friday.
Macomb will host Havana (8-9, 0-1 Prairieland South), while B-PC will head to Manito to face Midwest Central (11-8).
Macomb High’s Kellen Martin (24) prepares to shoot a layup past Bushnell-Prairie City’s Connor Palm (3) during the first half of Tuesday’s boys basketball game played at Bushnell.
