Pipestone Area’s Shandon Jones was again forced to step up big for the boys’ basketball team, this time in Saturday evening’s tilt with Murray County Central.
With senior center Eric Stark (foul trouble) taking an early seat for the third consecutive game, Jones once again became the Arrows go-to player, and the senior responded in earnest, dropping in 20 points to go along with 10 rebounds and four steals in leading Pipestone Area to a 57-43 non-conference victory over the Rebels in Slayton.
“I thought we played well defensively, again,” Pipestone Area head coach Ed Gustafson said following the tilt. “Shandon really gained some confidence in the Redwood game, and I think that carried over into tonight’s game.”
While Stark came back to post an11-point, 11-rebound double-double of his own, it was Jones who had the range from start to finish. The mild-mannered forward opened the contest by hitting back-to-back 3-pointers and concluded his game-high scoring performance by converting more than 50 percent from the charity stripe.
PAS junior guard Jason Nettik (11 points, three assists), who struggled with his perimeter shooting coming into the game with the Rebels, finally found his range, netting four jumpers on the night, including a pair from beyond the arc.
“I thought we shot the ball real well in the first half,” Gustafson said. “Shandon shot the ball pretty well the last couple of nights, and we have to hit some of those 3s to keep the pressure off Eric inside.”
On the shooting of Jones and Nettik, the Arrows opened up a quick 16-3 advantage. The Rebels, however, came back from a timeout called for by head coach Tim Bobeldyk with nine unanswered points. MCC senior forward Tayler Streff (12 points) opened the run with two inside buckets, and senior guard Eric Wieneke followed with the first of his three treys on the night. Kyle Lewis then muscled up a bucket, and the Rebels found themselves down by a mere three markers with eight minutes, 42 seconds left in the first half.
Over the final seven minutes of the half, the Rebels continued to convert from the perimeter. The Arrows, meanwhile, struggled with an uncooperative rim. PAS junior forward Tyler Rieck (three points, three assists) was the recipient of a tricky pass from senior Michael Merrill. Rieck then returned the favor by assisting Jones for a deuce, but points were hard to come by. Tate Van Roekel’s (10 points, four steals) 3-pointer with a minute left in the half was the final bucket of the period and tied the game at 23-all at the break.
Stark quickly broke the deadlock with a strong drive to open the second half. Van Roekel picked up right where he left off, canning a trey, and the Arrows started inching away from the host Rebels.
MCC responded with a bucket by Streff and a 3-pointer from Justin Lassen, but Nettik wiped those markers out by draining two consecutive treys. A 3-point play by Stark followed, and the Arrows were in the driver’s seat, 37-30, with 8:46 to play.
With Stark back in the lineup, the Rebels struggled to mount an attack inside. While Lewis and Wieneke managed to knock down a couple of shots from the perimeter, the Rebels couldn’t bridge the gap and the Arrows maintained their advantage with patient team play.
In the end, the Arrows were effective enough at the foul line to counter the Rebels’ shooting from the wings and Pipestone Area walked away with a key road victory.
“All the kids gained confidence from the Redwood game, and we’re starting to play more consistently as a team,” Gustafson said. “We just have to keep working hard and things will continue to get better for us.”
The Arrows will look for their third consecutive victory Thursday evening when they host the Windom Eagles.

Pipestone Area 23 34 – 57
MCC 23 20 – 43

B-squad
MCC 50, Pipestone Area 46
Despite an 18-point output by Reid Schiebout, the PAS B-squad bowed out to the Rebels in Saturday’s first tilt.
Blake Olsen and Aaron Kozlowski each finished with eight points for the game, while Sawyer Pals totaled six on the night. Jacob Derby and Brady Claussen pitched in with four and two points, respectively.