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Prater scores 13, Reinartz adds 10
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
The Rochester boys basketball team returned their top six scorers from last year’s team. Culver’s top three scorers from last year no longer play for Culver.
The mismatch in experience led to a rout on the court at the RHS gym Wednesday as the Zebras prevailed 55-12 in the season opener for both teams.
Owen Prater outscored the entire Culver team with 13 points, and Tanner Reinartz added 10.
Rochester committed only five turnovers, and two of the turnovers came in the fourth quarter after the benches had emptied and the game had gone to a running clock, per the IHSAA Mercy Rule. Rochester also had a 17-0 advantage in bench points.
Logan Caudill led Culver with eight points.
Rochester led 34-8 at halftime, and the game went to a running clock after a Bryce Baugher free throw with 4:26 left in the third quarter.
The Zebras opened the game with a 15-0 run, and it took Culver over five-and-a-half minutes before they scored against Rochester’s fullcourt press.
Drew Bowers started the opening run with a 3-pointer, Reinartz scored in the post from the right block, and Jonas Kiser hit a lefty half-hook and then a 13-footer to make it 9-0.
After a Culver timeout at the 4:41 mark, Jack Reffett hit a 19-footer, Grant Clark split a pair of free throws, and Baugher drained a 3.
Freshman Braylon Jackson scored his first two career points on a runner from the right baseline for Culver, but Carson Paulik hit two free throws, and Reinartz hit a 3 from the right wing to make it 20-2.
Prater hit four free throws and a post layin to start the second quarter and make it 26-2.
Alone with fellow seniors Bowers and Reinartz, Prater is one of three double-figure scores who return from last year. However, he noted that anybody can lead the team in scoring.
“Last year, it didn’t matter who scored, and especially this year,” Prater said. “Any of the juniors who come in, they could end up being our leading scorer. Any of the seniors could end up being our leading scorer. It just depends on the night and just depends on how the ball is flowing.”
As for the defense, they had to contend with Culver’s methodical offense and multiple screens each possession.
“I thought we did a good job talking,” Rochester coach Rob Malchow said. “I thought we did a good job hedging the screens and the help and recover. So I thought all facets there were pretty good.”
Meanwhile, Culver first-year coach Drew Mosson said “our timing was way off all night.”
One of the nine players who scored was 6-5 senior center Xavier Vance, who missed last season after suffering an ACL injury in a sectional football game in October 2023. He had four points in the third quarter.
Malchow called Vance, who was three inches taller than Culver’s tallest player, “a new tweak in our offense.” But he acknowledged that as a team, they will have to finish better around the basket against Tippecanoe Valley on Saturday.
Valley features 6-6 center Stephen Akase.
As for Culver, Mosson complimented his players on their effort. Starters Jackson and Jordan Green were making their first varsity start, and sophomore Eli Woodward made his first varsity appearance off the bench.
“You can’t discredit their effort tonight,” Mosson said. “That’s something as a coaching staff that we were proud of. At least their effort was there all night regardless of how the scoreboard looked. And we talked about that at halftime. Regardless of what it looks like, you just got to play hard and play through it. With a new system, there’s just a lot of learning curves, and there’s just a lot of differences from what they’re used to. So we’re just going to keep learning and keep grinding.”
Prater and Reinartz hit 3-pointers in the third quarter as the lead got to 49-10.
Prater had two more buckets in the fourth quarter as the Zebras largely played keepaway.
Rochester also won the JV game 45-32. Brady Coleman had 16 points to lead Rochester, Conner Dunfee added 10, Trenton Meadows had nine, Mitchell Clark had six, and Parker Casper had four.
Woodward had 12, and John Carr had 10 for Culver. Green had four, and Isaiah Gonzalez and Kolton Howard had two each.
Rochester 55, Culver 12
CULVER (12) (0-1)
Braylon Jackson 1 0-0 2, Jonas McCuen 0 2-2 2, Caleb McCuen 0 0-2 0, Jordan Green 0 0-0 0, Logan Caudill 4 0-0 8, Adam Peterson 0 0-0 0, Eli Woodward 0 0-0 0
TEAM: 5 2-4 12
ROCHESTER (55) (1-0)
Drew Bowers 2 0-0 5, Bryce Baugher 2 1-2 6, Tanner Reinartz 4 0-0 10, Owen Prater 4 4-4 13, Xavier Vance 2 0-0 4, Brady Coleman 0 0-0 0, Conner Dunfee 0 0-2 0, Carson Paulik 0 2-2 2, Jonas Kiser 2 0-0 4, Grant Clark 3 1-2 7, Jack Reffett 2 0-0 4
TEAM: 21 8-12 55
Three-point field goals:
Culver 0,
Rochester 5 (Reinartz 2, Prater, Bowers, Baugher)
Total fouls: Culver 8, Rochester 11
Turnovers: Culver 15, Rochester 5
Score by quarters
Culver 2 6 2 2 – 12
Rochester 20 14 15 6 – 55
JV: Rochester 45, Culver 32
