This time Aberdeen owned the second half as the Bobcat boys concluded their boys basketball season in triumph.
Shooting 67 percent from the floor in the second half, the Bobcats rallied for a 64-51 victory over Rochester in an Evergreen 2A Conference finale Friday at Sam Benn Gym.
Junior guard Ben Dublanko scored 19 points and senior forward Jeshua Manwell attained a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds as the Cats closed up shop at 3-7 in league and 6-14 overall.
Aberdeen’s 40-point second half was somewhat ironic in the context of the season. The Bobcats struggled in the third and fourth quarters for much of the campaign — a factor that likely cost them a district playoff berth.
They flipped the script Friday in a victory that came harder than the final score indicated.
Seeking its first league victory, Rochester used its long-range shooting to lead for much of the first half. With junior wing Bryce Lollar doing most of the damage, the Warriors knocked down six 3-pointers in the opening 11 minutes in building a 26-19 lead.
After scoring the half’s final five points to trim the margin to two, the Bobcats began taking the ball inside much more effectively in the second half.
“There were some mismatches. They’re not very big and we felt we could exploit their small guards,” AHS coach Mark Buckman said. “We wanted to attack the rim. That’s what we’ve been trying to do all season.”
Alonzo Coburn, Manwell and Javier Bojorge combined to open the second half with a 10-1 run that put Aberdeen on top to stay.
Still connecting periodically from beyond the arc (although they tailed off to a .274 field-goal percentage), the Warriors hung tough until midway through the fourth quarter. Then Manwell scored on a drive and a 3-point jumper to ignite a spurt of 10 successive points that gave the Cats a 60-47 advantage with 2:43 remaining.
Coburn and Bojorge finished with nine points each. In addition to his scoring output, Dublanko contributed six assists and six rebounds.
The sharpshooting Lollar led all scorers with 19 points.
Buckman saluted the six players — Coburn, Manwell, Dayln Barragan, Daniel Elrod, Austin Timmons and Bryan Sidor — honored in Senior Night ceremonies.
Acknowledging disappointment in failing to qualify for postseason play, Buckman noted some positives in the season.
“Within our family, we knew we were more competitive than our record showed,” he said. “Hopefully, some of the close games we lost will help our players who are coming back.”
Rochester 14 12 12 13 — 51
Aberdeen 12 12 21 19 — 64
Rochester (51) — Erickson 7, Robinson 5, Riley 5, Lollar 19, Goldrick 15, Sommer, Hansen, McCarthy. FG — 17-62 (.274). FT — 7-12.
Aberdeen (64) — Manwell 11, Barragan, Bojorge 9, Dublanko 18, Coburn 9, Timmons 3, Elrod 8, Pisani 6, Farrer, Tinnell. FG — 26-56 (.464). FT — 3-7.
JV — Aberdeen 62, Rochester 48. Wyatt Johnson 15 points for Aberdeen.
C squad — Aberdeen 52, Rochester 27. Nate Mosqueda 11 points for Aberdeen.
