The Roland-Story Norsemen basketball teams returned to action on Tuesday night, as they made the short trip south on Highway 69 to take on the Gilbert Tigers in non-conference action at Gilbert High School. The Norsemen girls entered at 1-0, while the Norsemen boys were in their season-opener.
Roland-Story’s girls looked to avenge an early-season loss to the Tigers last season, and started off in a tight one with their county rivals, trailing 16-15 after the first quarter. Gilbert would build on the lead to take a 34-29 advantage going into halftime, but the Norsemen fought back in the 2nd half, evening the score at 46-46 after the 3rd quarter, Roland-Story’s defense led to offense in the 4th quarter, outscoring Gilbert 19-10 in the frame to pickup a 65-56 win. Matilde Motta led Roland-Story with 22 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, while Kam Lande and Claire Truesdell added 13 points each. Mia Kautman led Gilbert with 20 points.
Despite it being late-November, the boys game proved to be an early candidate for game of the year between the Norsemen and the Tigers. Gilbert took the early advantage, leading 23-17 after the first quarter, but the Norsemen offense came to life in the 2nd quarter with 22 points to take a 39-34 halftime lead. The defenses would slug it out in the 2nd half, with the game knotted at 47-47 going into the 4th, and a late Gilbert rally saw them tie it up at the end of regulation at 60-60 to send it to overtime. In the overtime, Roland-Story led by 3 in the final seconds, but Gilbert’s Preston Stensland nailed a buzzer-beating 3 to second the game into double overtime. Neither team could get separation in the 2nd overtime period, with Jonovan Wilkinson missing the potential game-winner, and sent the game into triple overtime. In the 3rd overtime frame, Roland-Story’s defense made the plays to allow fastbreak buckets and for the Norsemen to finally hang on for a 94-87 win.
Jonovan Wilkinson had a career night, finishing with a career-high 44 points and 15 rebounds, while Boaz Clark was 2 rebounds away from a triple-double with 10 points, 8 rebounds and 10 steals. Preston Stensland was Gilbert’s leading scorer with 20 points on the night.
Roland-Story returns to action on Friday, when they travel to State Center to take on West Marshall in their Heart of Iowa Conference opener.