Defense, offensive rebounding allow Bombers to put finishing touches on opening-round victory

MACOMB, Ill. — The Macomb boys basketball team imposed its will when it mattered most. By doing so, the Bombers created the separation they needed to advance to the second round of the Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament.

The Bombers trailed Canton (Ill.) 28-26 with 35 seconds left in the third quarter and took a 30-28 lead on a Drew Watson jumper just before the third quarter buzzer. Macomb then held the Little Giants to 2-for-10 shooting and four points in the final eight minutes to pull away to a 46-32 win at Western Hall.

“When you have evenly matched teams, it’s going to come down to who can impose their will on the other team,” Bombers coach Jeremy Anderson said. “What’s our will? Our will is making them score against our half-court defense. In the first half, we gave up a couple runouts and some second-chance points. We can’t have that. In the second half, we did better.”

Bombers senior guard Braden Holthaus noticed a difference in the Bombers’ defensive discipline during the stretch run.

“We knew we had to sit down and defend,” Holthaus said. “We switched up who we were guarding and once we switched, sat down and got comfortable, we were fine.”

The Bombers also hit timely shots to create separation. After going 0 for 6 from the field in the first half, Macomb senior guard Malachi Conley converted a three-point play and made a contested stepback jumper on consecutive possessions, which gave the Bombers a 36-30 lead with 4:48 left.

Anderson said this two-possession lead felt more like four.

“In a game like that, six is like 12 in a regular up-and-down game,” Anderson said.

Conley knew his team needed him.

“That was big for us,” Conley said. “We really needed those plays. I had to step up in the second half.”

While Conley’s run helped springboard Macomb to a more comfortable lead, one of the Bombers’ 13 offensive rebounds led to a shot that gave the Bombers one final boost.

With Macomb leading 37-32 and 3:14 to play, Bombers junior forward Nolan Hoge missed the second of two free throws. Holthaus grabbed the offensive rebound and brought the ball out to preserve time. The Bombers worked the ball around the perimeter and took 30 seconds off the clock before Watson buried a 3-pointer from 27 feet.

“Right when I shot it, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s in,’” Watson said of his only 3-pointer in the game.

Watson said the shot zapped any momentum the Little Giants had after they narrowed the deficit to five.

“That just killed their whole momentum,” Watson said. “That game could have gone 20 different ways. That one little thing kind of sealed the deal.”

Offensive rebounding had been a focus for the Bombers leading up to the tournament, and their 13-10 advantage in that category pleased Anderson.

“When a shot goes up, you’re either a ‘go get it’ guy or a ‘get back guy.’ Don’t get caught in between,” Anderson said. “I think the light started to come on there for these guys.”

Holthaus’ efforts that led to Watson’s 3-pointer did not surprise Watson.

“I think we’re one of the best offensive rebounding teams off of free throws that I’ve ever seen, to be honest,” Watson said. “We probably have 20 to 30 of those this year. It’s kind of crazy.”

Holthaus led the Bombers with 16 points. Watson was the Bombers’ other double digit scorer with 12. Hoge finished with eight points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Conley had eight points, six rebounds and four steals.

The Bombers (9-2) will face Mercer County in the second round at 7 p.m. Friday. The Golden Eagles shot 72.7 percent from the floor in defeating Pittsfield 64-36.

“I don’t know if they’re going to be hitting shots like they were last game, but they’re definitely a good team,” Holthaus said. “I think they’re a little underrated going into the tournament, so we’re just going to have to sit in on defense, make our shots and we’ll be fine.”