Rogersville slips past Marshfield (Rebroadcast Available)

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The Wildcats hit a trio of decisive 3-point shots in the second half, slipping past Marshfield 50-46 in the semifinals of the Logan-Rogersville High School Basketball Tournament Friday night.

“The ironic thing is, this was the first game we’ve played almost exclusively man-to-man defense,” Marshfield coach Tom Stokes said. “But we went to a zone on inbounds plays, and they hit 2 of those threes on inbounds plays.”

Rogersville improved to 12-5 on the season with the win. Marshfield is now 9-9. The Wildcats will play in the championship game at 7 p.m. tonight. Marshfield will play for third at 5:30 p.m.

“I thought the guys played well,” Stokes said. “They did everything I asked them, except hit some shots.”

Marshfield fell behind 6-0 in the opening moments after missing their first 4 shots. The Blue Jays got 4 points each from Justin Jones, Justin Drane and Alex Bartow in the first quarter, and trailed 17-12 entering the second stanza.

Senior guard Denny Revell scored 7 points in the first period for Rogersville.

Marshfield came roaring back in the second quarter with senior Nathan VanDiggelen scoring 7 points, taking a 26-25 halftime lead. VanDiggelen and senior Kelby Phelps each hit a trey in the quarter for Marshfield, and the Blue Jays defense allowed just 2 field goals in the period.

The third quarter was a defensive battle which ended with Rogersville on top 34-32, thanks to a pair of long 3-point shots. Junior Brett Robb and Revell each hit a trey for Rogersville in the period, and senior Ethan Slaughter drilled a long 3-pointer in the fourth quarter to help the Wildcats grab a 5-point advantage. Rogersville also got a pair of field goals each from Revell and Drew Dunton in the final period and 4 points from Brett Robb.

Marshfield stayed within striking distance with a trey from Justin Drane and 4 points each from Justin Jones and Nathan VanDiggelen.

But the Wildcats defense stood strong, and Rogersville got pressure free throws from Robb to hold on for the win.

Three Blue Jays wound up scoring in double figures. Justin Jones led the way with 12 points, hitting 6-of-8 field goals with 3 rebounds, a steal and 2 assists.

Justin Drane scored 11 points for Marshfield with 4 rebounds and an assist, hitting a trey and all 4 free throws he tried in the game.

Nathan Van Diggelen also scored 11 points in the contest for the Blue Jays, hitting a trey and both free throws he attempted, with 3 rebounds and a steal.

Senior Kelby Phelps hit a pair of treys, scoring 6 points with 6 assists, 4 steals, 2 rebounds and 2 blocked shots in the game for Marshfield.

Senior Alex Bartow added 4 points and 4 rebounds to the Jays attack.

Junior Charlie Williams scored 2 points with 3 rebounds and 2 blocked shots in the game for Marshfield.

Cameron Keenan finished with 4 assists, Jason Young pulled down a pair of rebounds, Jordan Jones had a steal and Derek Welch handed out an assist for the Blue Jays.

Denny Revell led all scorers in the game with 14 points, pulling down 4 rebounds with a steal and an assist in the game, hitting a pair of treys for Rogersville.

Drew Dunton was the leading rebounder in the game, finishing with 10 boards while scoring 8 points for the Wildcats.

Brett Robb also scored 8 points for the winners with a rebound.

Logan Lea finished with 8 points, hitting 2-of-3 field goals and 4-of-5 free throws in the game for the Wildcats, with 4 rebounds and a blocked shot in the game.

Wes Bird added 5 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists to the winner’s effort.

Ethan Slaughter also scored 5 points for Rogersville with 3 steals, a rebound and an assist.

Chad Yates scored 2 points, Austin Fax had a rebound and an assist and Ethan Garrett picked up a steal for the Wildcats.

Click on pics below to enlarge.  Thanks to Rogersville’s Roy Cole for taking shots!