The Chelsea Standard
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Late steal keys Chelsea win
By Don Richter, Sports Editor
PUBLISHED: February 7, 2008
Chelsea's boys' basketball team stemmed a recent, uncharacteristic two-game losing streak with a 66-64 victory over host Ypsilanti Lincoln last Thursday.
Advertisement
Prior to their two-game setback, the Bulldogs (9-5, 7-3) had won five straight contests.
Chelsea righted the ship against the Railsplitters, who entered the night on a three-game winning streak, nailing 5-of-8 three-pointers. Overall, the Bulldogs shot well from the field, finishing 27-of-49 for 55 percent.
In contrast, Chelsea's defense forced Lincoln into a tough shooting night, holding the Rails to 25-of-63 from the floor for only 40 percent.
"I thought to go into that game and play as well as we did, I was pleased with the kids' effort," said Chelsea coach Robin Raymond. "It was a big win for us. Lincoln is a much-improved team."
To begin the game, Chelsea and Lincoln tied 21-21 after one quarter.
In the second frame, the Bulldogs outscored the Railsplitters 19-17 taking a slim 40-38 advantage into the locker room.
In the third quarter, Chelsea doubled up on Lincoln netting 20 points, while limiting the Rails to 10 points increasing its lead to 60-48 heading into the fourth stanza.
In the fourth quarter, however, Lincoln rallied.
"We scored the first basket of the fourth quarter," Raymond said. "Then they (Lincoln) had a 10-0 run in the next three minutes. They went to a half-court trap and we had a few turnovers and a few missed shots. The last four minutes it was back and forth."
With 30 seconds left, the Rails had fought back to tie the score at 64-64. Chelsea senior forward Greg Rebuldela stole a pass on the wing and went coast-to-coast converting a lay-up for the game-winning points.
"That was a great defensive play and finish by Greg," Raymond said.
At the free throw line, the Bulldogs ended up 7-of-13 for 54 percent. Lincoln was 13-of-19 for 68 percent.
On the boards, the Railsplitters out-rebounded Chelsea 38-31, including 19-9 on the offensive glass.
The Bulldogs forced 11 turnovers, while coughing up the ball 13 times themselves.
Individually for Chelsea, Rebuldela had 16 points, including two three-pointers, five rebounds, three steals and three assists to lead the Bulldogs.
Junior center Michael Stratman (6-foot-7) added 12 points, four boards and one blocked shot, while senior post player Stu Mann had nine points and five rebounds for Chelsea.
Junior forward Jake Mantel finished with eight points, six rebounds and five assists, while junior guard Michael Roberts had seven points and three rebounds for the Bulldogs.
Senior guard Matt Schwarze had six points and a team-high seven assists, while senior guard Elliot Marshall had six points and two assists and sophomore forward Tyler Zegarzewski had two points, six rebounds, two steals and one assist for Chelsea.
Raymond said the Bulldogs' balance on offense was an important factor against Lincoln.
"We had a nice combination of an inside-outside game," he said. "We had 21 points from our two centers (Stratman and Mann), 24 points from our forwards (Mantel and Rebuldela) and 19 points from our guards (Schwarze, Marshall and Roberts). We have great balance by position."
The Bulldogs next host Ann Arbor Pioneer, ranked No. 2 in the state in Class A, Friday at 5:30 p.m. The game is part of a varsity boy-girl basketball extravaganza. Chelsea's varsity girls' hoops team will take on the Pioneers at 7:15 p.m. after the boys' contest.
Also Friday, throughout the basketball event, Chelsea softball will be holding a spaghetti dinner and silent auction in the high school commons from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. A minimum donation of $10, or $25 for a family of four, is asked. All proceeds will help support the Bulldog softball program.
On Tuesday, Chelsea travels to Saline for a game at 7 p.m.
On Feb. 15, the Bulldogs host Adrian at 7 p.m.
Sports Editor Don Richter can be reached at 475-1371 or at drichter@heritage.com.
Not all stories are guaranteed to appear
online. The Web edition contains a reasonable
sampling of the print edition stories.
For the most complete news coverage, we invite you to
subscribe
to the print edition of the paper.
Expanded
Web
Coverage
TOP JOBS
