Gray’s 24 points move Dutchmen into Belle tournament title game

By Will Johnson, Sports Editor
Posted 1/29/20

BELLE — Survive and advance.

That was the goal Saturday afternoon for Todd Rehmert’s Owensville Dutchmen in the championship semifinals of the Fourth Annual Belle Boys Basketball …

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Gray’s 24 points move Dutchmen into Belle tournament title game

Posted

BELLE — Survive and advance.

That was the goal Saturday afternoon for Todd Rehmert’s Owensville Dutchmen in the championship semifinals of the Fourth Annual Belle Boys Basketball Tournament.

Dispatching Newburg 62-50 in first-round action last Tuesday, OHS had to wait four days to play their semifinal showdown with Cuba’s Wildcats due to Mother Nature’s latest round of winter weather causing road conditions to be unsafe.

When the weather finally cleared out, Owensville took full advantage Saturday afternoon at Belle High School against their Highway 19 neighbors to the south.

Nursing a 15-12 lead after one quarter, the Dutchmen went on to outscore Cuba 54-37 the rest of the game en route to a 69-49 victory moving them into Saturday’s championship game at the Belle Tournament against the winner of the other semifinal tonight (Wednesday) between top-seeded Richland and fifth-seeded Chamois.

“I was very pleased with the way we came out and played in spite of not having much practice due to the weather,” Rehmert said.

Down 2-1 in the opening minute, Owensville quickly grabbed the lead and never relinquished it the rest of the way.

Starting an 11-2 run at the 6:55 mark of the first quarter, Trevor Abernathy hit back-to-back 3-point shots before assisting on an Austin Terry basket and a Cason Gray 3-pointer capping the run with 4:17 for the opening period.

Taking a 15-12 lead into the second quarter, Owensville once again got off to a hot start.

Behind a Daxton Mehrhoff 3-pointer and two more from Gray, the Dutchmen scored the first 12 points of the second period before taking a 38-20 halftime lead.

Hitting a trio of 3-point shots each, Gray and Abernathy both put in a dozen points to pace the Dutchmen offense in the first half.

In addition to his 12 points, Abernathy dished out five assists in the first half putting him right on pace for a double double.

In spite of a 17-14 edge by Cuba in the third quarter, Rehmert’s Dutchmen still went into the fourth quarter leading 52-37.

Gray added six points in the third quarter giving him 18 for the game.

Returning the favor 17-12 in the final eight minutes, Owensville went on to post their second win over the Wildcats after handing Cuba a 59-54 defeat back in early December on the road.

Having arguably his best game of the season, Gray led the Dutchmen with a game-high 24 points to go with six steals and five rebounds.

Dishing out six assists in the second half, Abernathy finished with a double double of 16 points and 11 assists.

Scoring nine second-half points, Tyler Heidbrink made it three Dutchmen in double figures with 13 points in addition to six rebounds.

Austin Terry came off the bench to score six points and pull down a team-high seven rebounds.

Brendan Decker and Mehrhoff both added three points while Derek Brandt chipped in a second-quarter bucket for two points.

Dropping 28 points on Missouri Military Academy in their first-round upset, Cuba’s Logan Chilton was held to 13 points by the Dutchmen in the semifinals.

Dutchmen vs. Newburg

Witnessing the second-seeded Missouri Military Academy (MMA) Colonels upset by seventh-seeded Cuba to open the Belle Boys Basketball Tournament, Todd Rehmert’s Owensville Dutchmen looked to avoid a similar fate as the third seed taking on the sixth-seeded Newburg Wolves.

Trailing 33-29 at halftime, the Dutchmen opened the second half on a 12-2 run helping them to a 41-35 lead that they never relinquished.

Outscoring Newburg 18-11 in the fourth quarter, Owensville advanced to the championship semifinals following their 62-50 win over the Wolves.

First-quarter action felt like a busy day on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

Seeing the lead change hands 12 times in the opening eight minutes, it was only fitting that the first quarter ended in a 19-19 tie.

Taking a brief 23-21 lead on two Brandt free throws, OHS was outscored 12-6 the rest of the half to trail Newburg 33-29 at halftime.

Down 35-34 with 4:50 for the third, a Terry bucket with 3:42 left in the quarter but Owensville ahead for good against the Wolves.

Terry led OHS against Newburg with a near double double of 16 points and eight rebounds.