Sam Rick Scores 31 Points Against Redfield 

The Bulldogs hosted the Redfield Pheasants at the Milbank Armory on Thursday, January 15. In a clean sweep, Milbank won all four of the JV and varsity match-ups and the C-team game. Sam Rick scored 31 points for the Bulldogs in their varsity boys’ 65-42 victory.

Logan Diede, head coach for the Bulldogs, said, “Sam is now the third 30-plus point scorer in the last nine years for Milbank Boys Basketball!  It was good to see him get it going in a conference and region win.”

The Bulldogs started with a 3-point bucket from Rick. Rick then fouled, but Milbank intercepted the ball on the throw-in and got it in the hands of Jeter Scoular. Scoular connected for a basket, and the Bulldogs were off to an early 5-0 lead. Layten Osowski followed with a field goal for Milbank. Micah Zastrow made a basket for Redfield to take the score to 7-2. On a foul by Bulldog Jack Howard, Eloi Carcinero went to the line for two shots. He made his second attempt. Emmett Snaza made a basket for the Dawgs on a put-back and the score sat at 9-3. Rick then raced down the court and took it all the way to the rim for two to get Milbank ahead at 11-3. Redfield hit two free throws. Rick then also went to the line to collect two. Suddenly the Bulldogs, spurred by seven points from Rick, were up by eight at 13-5.

Redfield’s Jacksan Rude got a field goal and followed it with a reverse layup to get the Pheasants back to 13-9. Lincoln Holscher picked up his second foul of the game. It was Milbank’s fifth team foul, so it put Redfield’s Austin Snell at the line to shoot two. He missed both. Harley Zemlicka, fresh off the Milbank bench, was slapped with a foul on the rebound, and Zastrow went to the line. He secured two points. The score sat at 13-11. The Pheasants had edged their way back to a one-possession game, but Ryan Keeton saw his chance and  launched a bullet from the top of the key. It was good, and Milbank went up by five again at 16-11 just as the first quarter ended.

In the second quarter, Scoular, Rick, and Osowski put up points for Milbank and Carcinero got two baskets for Redfield to get the score to 29-17. Rick then made his way to the line for two shots. He sank them both to rack up his 18th point of the game. Holscher with an “O” then went to the line for Milbank. He made one of two. Hulscher  with a “U” went  to the line for Redfield. He also sank one of two to put the score at 32-18. With 1:46 to go in the half, Snaza dropped in a two, and Keeton hit his second three in the game to put the Bulldogs ahead 37-18.

In the early minutes of the third, the Pheasants went on a 5-0 run to take back some territory. They got to 37-23.  Holscher then landed back-to-back twos, and Redfield got two buckets for a wash, to keep Milbank’s lead at 14 at 41-27. Rick then hit two threes in a row to zip to 47-27 and up his tally for the night to 24 points. Carcinero landed a two to get the score to 47-29. Snaza  secured a rebound, landed his shot, and drew a foul. He also made a free shot to stretch Milbank’s lead to 50-29. Rick cooked up another 3-pointer – his fourth of the game for a total of  27 points. Milbank was ahead 53-29. Snell hit a two-point bucket at 1:10 for Redfield and Scoular slammed in a triple – his first of the night – for Milbank with 52 seconds to go.  It was the last basket of the third quarter and the score rested briefly at 56-31.

The Pheasants mounted a comeback in the fourth. Redfield used a successful field goal, a circus shot, a free throw, and a 3-point bomb to bolster their score, but the horse was already out of the barn. The Pheasants could only climb back to 59-40. Rick added two more baskets to finish north of 30 and push the score to 63-42. Aiden Kelly put the icing on the cake with a 2-pointer, and the Bulldogs bagged the Pheasants 65-42.

Diede commented, “Our guys really locked in on the defensive end to help build and keep the lead against Redfield.  Redfield is much improved from previous years, and they have a couple guys who can score the ball. So being good on the defensive end was a priority for us.” 

Rick recorded 31 points, an assist, and four rebounds. Holscher added eight points and five rebounds. Scoular scored  seven points, four assists, nine rebounds, and two steals. Snaza also scored seven points. He added five rebounds and one steal. Keeton counted six points, an assist, and a rebound. Osowski dropped in four points and added an assist, five rebounds, and a steal. Aiden Kelly made two points, a rebound, and a steal. Howard grabbed seven rebounds and an assist. Zemlicka contributed three rebounds and one assist.

The Bulldogs made 25 of 60 shots from the floor for 42 percent. They claimed 28 percent of their attempts from long range. Milbank also downed eight of 10 from the free throw line.

The Pheasants hit 39.5 percent of the shots from the floor. They secured 12.5 percent from behind the arc. Redfield sank six of 13 from the.stripe for 46 percent.

Rude led Redfield’s scoring with 12 points and three rebounds. Carcinero made 11 points and two rebounds. Hulscher had nine points and one rebound. Zastrow scored four points and three rebounds. Isaac Banister put up two points and five rebounds. Snell also made two points. He added two rebounds. Hulscher and Carcinero had one assist apiece. Rude, Hulscher, and Carcinero each pulled off two steals.

The JV boys also played earlier in the evening. Milbank defeated Redfield 59-20. The C-team won 43-10.