Boys Basketball: Genoa-Kingston rides inside game to win

Genoa-Kingston had a game plan to get the ball inside on Saturday, and the Cogs weren’t about to stray from it even when it didn’t go so well to start.

The Cogs’ perseverance paid off as they defeated visiting Westminster Christian 59-49 in nonconference action. G-K outscored the Warriors 21-2 in the post. Matt Rasmussen, a 6-foot-3 center, led the way with 18 points and seven rebounds.

G-K (4-3) fell behind 10-4 early on as they struggled to get shots to fall inside, hitting on just 1-of-10 attempts to start the game. But eventually Rasmussen and company got it cranked up. Late in the first quarter he powered his way under the basket for a pair of buckets and then added a putback just before the end of the quarter to tie the game at 10-10.

G-K continued its roll in the second quarter as Rasmussen gave the Cogs the lead 12-10 with another power move inside on the first possession. Adam Price followed with three straight baskets in the post to finish off a 14-0 run to give the Cogs an 18-10 lead.

“We have guys who just keep battling,” said G-K coach Corey Jenkins. “They respond to any thing with great character. We knew we had an advantage inside. And even when the shots weren’t falling early on we just kept on pounding it into the post. We weren’t going to give up on it. Once Matt got a couple to fall that’s when we settled in.”

More like camped out. Rasmussen continued his damage in the second half with 10 more points. He had a three-point play in the third quarter. Followed by another layup as the Cogs extended their advantage to 44-26 heading into the fourth quarter.

“The game plan was to go inside,” said Rasmussen. “That’s where we knew we had an advantage and we wanted to exploit it. We struggled early but we kept working. The guards did a great job of getting us the ball.”

The Cogs also worked the inside outside game by adding six three-pointers. Andrew Opit had three treys and finished with 14 points. Mason Lucca, Eli Thurlby and David Garcia also knocked down three-pointers. Price finished with 11 points.

The Warriors (4-4) missed eight straight shots and turned the ball over seven times during their nearly 10 minute scoring drought in the first half.

“That really hurt us,” said Westminster coach Bruce Firchau. “That’s when you have to be patient and make the extra pass, but instead we started to force some shots. That’s part of the growing pains a young team goes through.”

Westminster made a late run to get to within seven points late in the game, but could get no closer.

“They were just too strong and quick for us,” said Firchau. “We tried to zone up, but they just punished inside on the boards.”

Will Woodhouse had 22 points to lead Westminster. Josh Beachler added 12 points.

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