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Reinartz scores 20, Stesiak 16 as Zebras win opener
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
Kyle Reinartz scored 20 points, and Quin Stesiak added 16, and sophomore reserves Tarick
McGlothin and Aidan Smith combined for nine second-quarter points as the Rochester boys basketball team defeated visiting Culver 60-22 Wednesday in the season opener for both teams.
Jalen King led Culver with seven points, and Owen Clingler had six before fouling out.
Finishing close to the rim and in transition, Reinartz outscored the entire Culver team 12-11 in the second half.
But it was a 20-1 run to start the second quarter in which the Zebras went ahead for good after the game was tied 7-7 after one quarter.
“Overall, we played with more energy,” Rochester coach Rob Malchow said. “We changed our defense and put a little more pressure on them. I thought the sophomores came in and gave us some energy with the way they played, and after we got the first quarter under our belt, I thought the seniors led, but the sophomores brought some energy.”
Reinartz started the run with a 15-footer from the right elbow. Stesiak scored 10 points in the quarter, including a 3-point play after putting back his own miss. McGlothin buried a 3-pointer off a Trenton Reinholt assist, and Stesiak hit a trey from the left corner after an offensive rebound.
Braxton Conley made a free throw, but a Stesiak putback and a Reinartz layup after a Stesiak assist after another offensive rebound made it 22-8.
Smith split a pair of free throws and after he got the offensive rebound after missing the second, he fed Reinartz for a layup. A McGlothin feed to Stesiak for another bunny after another offensive rebound capped the run.
“They killed us on the offensive rebounds,” Culver first-year coach Kyle Evans said. “They were just so bigger and stronger down there, and we just could not match it.”
McGlothin hit a pullup 15-footer and Smith had a steal and a 3-point play later in the quarter.
“They’re instinctive players,” Malchow said of McGlothin and Smith. “They’ve played a lot of basketball, and it showed tonight after we got out of the first quarter. So hopefully, it’s something that as we get into the schedule more that they can just keep learning from their experiences and trusting their instincts and making plays.”
Said Reinartz of the sophomores: “Huge. They stepped up big time today. They’re doing it in practice. They stepped up, pushing us. … They’ve improved a lot.”
Culver had seven turnovers in the second quarter; the Zebras had none.
“Turnover city,” Culver first-year coach Kyle Evans. “Our goal is under 10 in a game, and we had 12 in the first half, most in the second quarter. We’ve got guys who are doing things the way we want them to do early. But as soon as adversity sets in or tiredness, they fall back on old habits, and right now, their old habits are not good ones.”
RHS started five seniors: Stesiak, Reinartz, Reinholt, Grant McCarter and Blake Hughes. Reinartz called starting with the four a “joy” and a “blast.” He said the team can have a different leading scorer on any night.
“We’ve been playing together since middle school and elementary and pre-K,” Reinartz said. “We’ve been buds for quite awhile. It’s a good feeling knowing that you’re playing with life-long friends.”
RHS also won the JV game 38-33, taking the lead in the fourth quarter on Hunter Campbell’s 3-pointer. Brock Bowers led RHS with 21 points. Aaron Huffman had six, Dryden Vance had five, and Campbell and Luke Hunting had three each.
Shane Shuman led Culver with 14 points, and Joey Pizur added 10. Mason Herbert had five, Steven Pugh had three, and Landon Stevens had one.
Rochester 60, Culver 22
CULVER (22) (0-1)
Owen Clingler 2 0-0 6, Cameron Minix 0 0-0 0, Jalen King 3 0-0 7, Marquez Anderson 1 0-1 2, Braxton Conley 1 1-2 3, Shane Shuman 0 0-0 0, Josh Havron 0 0-0 0, Dalton Powell 0 0-0 0, Auston Zehner 0 0-0 0, Emiliano Ortiz 1 1-2 4
TEAM: 8 2-5 22
ROCHESTER (60) (1-0)
Quin Stesiak 6 3-3 16, Grant McCarter 1 3-4 6, Kyle Reinartz 9 2-2 20, Trenton Reinholt 0 0-0 0, Blake Hughes 1 0-0 2, Tarick McGlothin 3 1-4 8, Aaron Huffman 0 0-0 0, Hunter Campbell 0 0-0 0, Dryden Vance 0 0-0 0, Aidan Smith 2 4-6 8, Reece Renie 0 0-0 0
TEAM: 22 13-19 60
Three-point field goals:
Culver 4 (Clingler 2, King, Ortiz),
Rochester 3 (Stesiak, McGlothin, McCarter)
Total fouls: Culver 20, Rochester 11
Fouled out: Clingler (CUL), 4:03, fourth
Turnovers: Culver 16, Rochester 5
Score by quarters
Culver 7 4 7 4 – 22
Rochester 7 25 13 15 – 60
JV: Rochester 38, Culver 33
