Basketball Recap: Isaac Underbakke Key Part of a Team Effort in Cougars Win

After losing to Houston the last time they met, Mabel-Canton decided to demonstrate that turnabout is fair play. The Mabel-Canton Cougars narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past the Houston Hurricanes 61-58. The Cougars' offense checked out after the first half but had enough points banked to take the game anyway.

Mabel-Canton got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Isaac Underbakke out in front who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 14 boards. Underbakke is becoming a predictor of Mabel-Canton's success: when he posts at least ten rebounds the team is 2-1 (and 7-10 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Darian Hershberger, who went 6 of 11 on his way to 14 points and six boards.

Loss or not, Houston got some senior leadership from Morgan Rohweder and Carter Geiwitz. Rohweder dropped a double-double on 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Geiwitz posted 13 points in addition to six boards and five assists. The match was Rohweder's seventh in a row with at least 18 points. Another player making a difference was Zach Olson, who put up seven points along with five rebounds and three steals.

Mabel-Canton is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games, which provided a nice bump to their 9-11 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.0 points over those games. As for Houston, their defeat dropped their record down to 13-7.

Mabel-Canton didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 74-55 loss against LeRoy-Ostrander on the 7th. As for Houston, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next match, a 58-51 victory against Lanesboro on the 8th.