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Stesiak-less Zebras still put 4 in double figures to improve to 3-0
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
The Rochester boys basketball team did not have senior forward Quin Stesiak for their Three Rivers Conference opener against North Miami Wednesday.
They didn’t have his father, assistant coach Tony Stesiak, either.
But they did have their head coach. And after a 19-day layoff, they still had enough to beat North Miami for the fourth straight year and figure out the Warrior 2-3 zone defense.
Kyle Reinartz scored 16 points, Blake Hughes had 15, Grant McCarter had 14, and Tarick McGlothin had 12 as the Zebras cruised to a 69-30 win.
RHS improved to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the TRC.
Keagan Donaldson scored 10 for North Miami, who fell to 2-3, 0-2.
After the game, RHS coach Rob Malchow said he had tested positive for the coronavirus. The team was listed in contact tracing, which forced the whole team to be quarantined. Malchow said the Stesiak family’s coronavirus issues were additional and different from the original concerns that shut down the program after their 43-38 win over North Judson on Dec. 4.
Malchow said Tony Stesiak will be back on the bench for this Wednesday’s home game against Lewis Cass. Quin Stesiak, a first-team all-TRC player last year, will have to complete a minimum number of practices once his quarantine period is over, and he will not be eligible to play again until a road game against Winamac Jan. 5.
Trenton Reinholt started in place of Quin Stesiak and scored six points. Reece Renie and Dryden Vance also scored their first varsity baskets. McGlothin, a sophomore point guard, was the only non-senior in the starting lineup.
Meanwhile, North Miami had only one senior on their roster.
McCarter hit a 3-pointer from the volleyball line to start the game. Donaldson answered in the post, but McGlothin fed Reinartz for a layup, Reinartz then kicked out to Reinholt for a 17-footer, and McCarter hit a leaner to make it 9-2 and necessitate a North Miami timeout.
“You’ve got to move the ball and keep it off the top,” Malchow said of dissecting North Miami’s 2-3 zone. “And it always helps when you have a really good shooter. Grant is such a threat and draws such attention from the opponent that I thought tonight Tarick did such a good job of taking advantage of a couple shots because you can’t guard them both the way they want to guard Grant. And I thought they did a good job of getting it down low, and our guys down low kicked it out when we needed to for the open shot or finished because they had the guy on their hip.”
RHS later went on a 22-2 run covering the first and second quarters. McCarter hit a 3 during the run, and Reinartz scored twice down low and once on a turnaround jumper. A Hughes 3-point play and a Reinholt steal, jump stop and layup capped the run to make it 34-7.
The Zebras went on another 12-1 run in the third quarter as the lead expanded to 52-14. The lead got as big as 43 in the fourth quarter.
“They move the ball really well,” North Miami coach Ryan DeMien said. “They move the ball and got us out of our position. That shows their experience.”
Rochester also rolled to a 45-12 win in the JV game.
Rochester 69, North Miami 30
NORTH MIAMI (30) (2-3, 0-2)
Landen Hunt 1 0-0 2, Alex Masters 0 0-0 0, Parker Johnson 2 1-3 5, Braden Burns 3 0-0 8, Keagan Donaldson 5 0-0 10, Dolan Blakely 0 0-0 0, Trevor Simons 0 0-0 0, Conner Pugh 0 0-0 0, Isaac Beam 0 0-0 0, Brayden Binnion 1 0-0 3, Seth Ireland 1 0-0 2
TEAM: 13 1-3 30
ROCHESTER (69) (3-0, 1-0)
Grant McCarter 6 0-0 14, Tarick McGlothin 5 0-0 12, Kyle Reinartz 8 0-0 16, Trenton Reinholt 3 0-0 6, Blake Hughes 6 3-5 15, Aaron Huffman 0 0-0 0, Hunter Campbell 0 0-0 0, Dryden Vance 1 0-0 2, Aidan Smith 1 0-0 2, Reece Renie 1 0-0 2
TEAM: 31 3-5 69
Three-point field goals:
North Miami 3 (Burns 2, Binnion),
Rochester 4 (McCarter 2, McGlothin 2)
Total fouls: North Miami 10, Rochester 8
Turnovers: North Miami 19, Rochester 7
Score by quarters
North Miami 7 4 7 12 – 30
Rochester 23 15 18 13 – 49
JV: Rochester 45, North Miami 12
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