By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
Winners of four of their last five games, the Rossville Bulldawgs welcomed Abilene on Friday night -- and rode a historic 40-point performance from senior Jack Donovan to a dominant 95-48 victory.
Senior Jack Donovan scored 40 points Friday night as Rossville rolled to a 95-48 win over Abilene. [File photo/TSN]
Rossville got on the board first when junior Cael Horgan knocked down a 3-pointer for a 3-0 lead. Abilene responded quickly with two baskets to go up 4-3, but Bulldawg senior Cameron Miller attacked the rim to reclaim a 5-4 advantage.
The Cowboys answered with a three, and Miller followed with one of his own to tie the game at 8-8.
Abilene pushed ahead 12-8, but the Dawgs responded with a 7-0 run to take a 15-12 lead. The Cowboys countered with back-to-back 3-pointers to go up 18-15.
Senior Jakoby McDonnell scored inside to cut it to one, and Conner Bush added a basket late to tie the game at 19-19 after the first quarter.
Abilene opened the second quarter with a free throw before McDonnell attacked the rim and drew a foul. He calmly sank both free throws to put Rossville back in front, 21-20.
That’s when Donovan took over.
After scoring just three points in the first quarter, Donovan erupted during a 10-0 run, hitting two 3-pointers to spark the surge.
He added another three and a layup to extend the lead to 34-22.
After both teams traded baskets, Donovan buried yet another three, followed by a layup and a three-point play.
By halftime, Donovan had poured in 20 points -- 17 of them coming in the second quarter alone -- and Rossville held a commanding 50-32 lead.
“Jack's starting to settle in and see the game a little bit more,” Rossville coach Brandon McDonnell said. “I think there were times where we got to a point where we were searching for the shot instead of letting it just settle and come to him. I haven't given Jack the red light -- if he feels hot and decides to heat-check a couple, you kind of let that ride.
"He's a fantastic basketball player. Today he threw that ball up there and they fell through the net, and you can't go wrong when that happens.”
“It really depends on where he takes that first shot from,” Jakoby McDonnell added. “Sometimes I’ll pass it to him and he’s right on the 3-point line, and other times he’s near halfcourt. If he makes the really deep one, he’s probably going to have a good night because he’s feeling it.”
Rossville wasted no time extending the lead after halftime.
Donovan opened the third quarter by drawing a foul and hitting both free throws. He added four more points to push the lead to 62-36, then knocked down another three for his 29th point of the night.
By the end of the third quarter, Rossville had blown the game wide open, leading 79-37.
“I wasn't really thinking about it that much,” Donovan said of his big night. “I was just trying to hit the shots I was putting up. They don’t always go in, but it was nice that they were going in tonight. It was a good feeling.”
Brandon McDonnell credited the growth of his core players for Rossville's recent success.
“A lot of experience, man,'' he said. "These guys got thrown into the sharks as freshmen. From then on, it’s been about growing and seeing the development and putting each other in great positions. Jakoby is obviously a fantastic point guard. He loves seeing his guys in position to win.
"When you put Cam Miller in an inside-out rotation and set Jack up for a great look because Jakoby penetrates and the defense collapses -- that’s just good basketball. Nothing fancy about it.”
Donovan wasn’t finished. He added 11 more points in the fourth quarter to cap off his 40-point performance.
Rossville (12-6) will host Silver Lake on Tuesday after dropping a 71-68 nail-biter in their previous matchup with the Eagles.
“That rivalry -- the history of it -- if you don’t know about it, look it up,'' Brandon McDonnell said. "It’s always intense no matter what day we play on. We just have to play Rossville basketball, cross our T’s, dot our I’s, and go out there and have fun with it.”
ROSSVILLE 95, ABILENE 48
Abilene 19 13 5 11 -- 48
Rossville 19 31 29 16 -- 95
Abilene (4-14) -- Becker 7-9 6-8 21, Evans 4-7 0-0 10, Funston 3-7 3-5 9, Rogers 1-1 0-0 3, Altwegg 0-1 1-2 1, Hartman 2-5 0-0 4, Bathurst 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-31 10-15 48.
Rossville (12-6) -- Donovan 15-18 4-4 40, Donovan 6-8 5-5 17, Miller 6-10 0-1 14, Johnson 3-5 2-3 8, Horgan 1-4 1-2 4, Lewis 4-4 0-0 8, Bush 2-2 0-0 2. Totals 37-51 12-15 95.
3-point goals -- Abilene 4 (Evans 2, Becker, Rogers), Rossville 9 (Donovan 6, Miller 2, Horgan). Total Fouls -- Abilene 21, Rossville 11. Fouled out -- Funston, Rogers. Technical fouls -- none.
