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Bison rake up a tourney title from Lions; host Bow tonight
LOUISVILLE, Neb. — Could there be a better New Year’s gathering than what Kooper Rakes delivered for family and fans at Friday’s Louisville Holiday Tournament title game?
With many relatives in attendance, Rakes scored a varsity-best 20 points and secured nine rebounds during a 68-51 victory over those host Louisville Lions.
Rakes was responsible for the first eight Bison points against a tough 5-4 Louisville foe.
His putback caught the Lions at 2-2, then Kooper’s steal and layup gave McCook a lead it would actually never surrender.
That’s because a super Kooper pass to teammate Brody Graham set up the third Bison basket.
When Rakes rebounded and scored moments later, the Bison were up 8-2 in what would turn into one terrific 40-24 first half.
Oh by the way, Kooper’s crossover dribble capped with one smooth jumper finished this 40-point performance before intermission.
“Kooper had an excellent offensive game on Friday,” Bison coach Joe Imus remarked. “He’s getting better every single game. He has adjusted well to the speed of a varsity game.”
The Bison featured other New Year’s entertainment like guard Graham totaling 12 points, eight assists, five rebounds and four steals.
“Frankly, Brody can get to the hoop any time, but I really love how he is rebounding,” Imus declared. “That’s something he’s added to his game. To go from .2 to six rebounds a game is a huge jump.”
Senior Jon Patel appears to be reaching his top game after missing five from an early-season ankle injury.
He scored another 12 points and worked perfectly with fellow post Andrew Pochop on two high-low post scoring plays.
Patel first found Pochop for a 16-9 lead, then they quickly reversed roles to score that next Bison basket.
Junior Trey Tiller and Rakes both hit three-points during the 22-12 second quarter.
The Bison reahed 51-31 until an 11-0 Lions roar late in that third period.
Yet Rakes swished one more long three-pointer to regain Bison control at 54-42.
Junior sharpshooter Bryson Gullion added one more triple bomb which all but clinched McCook’s tourney title at 63-48.
Gullion was fresh off a school-record 11 triples and 33 points vs. Ralston on Thursday.
“I’m pretty pleased with how this went for us,” Imus concluded. “Louisville is a pretty solid team and their 75 or sofans sounded like about a thousand. They were loud for the number of people there.”
“But we started the game real well, struggled a little in the third quarter and then finished it out,” Imus added.