Boys basketball: Jeffrey Probst, Indian Creek hold off DePue rally for Little 10 win

Indian Creek coach Nolan Govig talks to his team during a timeout against DePue on Tuesday, January 10, 2023.

SHABBONA – Indian Creek never trailed DePue in the second half, but that didn’t stop the Little Giants from keeping the game interesting, cutting the lead to six points late behind a 25-point performance by Oscar Lopez.

But Jeffrey Probst scored the next three Timberwolves field goals and IC held on for a 65-52 Little 10 Conference win Tuesday.

“He’s been our horse all year,” Indian Creek coach Nolan Govig said of Probst, who had 25 points and 16 rebounds in the win. “He just battles, and that’s what makes him so great. He just works hard. Hardest worker on the floor at all times, and that’s going to lead to success.”

The Timberwolves (5-13, 1-4 Little 10) led most of the game except for a brief back-and-forth stretch in the late first and early second quarters. A 9-0 Indian Creek run gave the Timberwolves a 28-22 lead. The Little Giants (2-13, 1-4) never led again.

But DePue kept it close, especially at the free-throw line. Both teams were whistled for a lot of fouls, with two DePue players fouling out and the Timberwolves playing with four players with four fouls on the court late in the game.

“We just kept battling and didn’t give up,” Probst said. “We kept the energy up, the crowd was great tonight, too. We kept battling the whole night, too.”

Landon Schraded added 19 points and eight rebounds for the Timberwolves, who held a 44-23 edge on the boards. They grabbed 15 offensive rebounds leading to eight points.

Indian Creek also finished with a 28-23 turnover edge.

“I think we just played hard,” Govig said. “The shots weren’t falling, but I think we were getting after it defensively and crashing the boards offensively and that led to success.”

The Little Giants were coming off a win Friday against Hiawatha but were without starters Brock Coates and Pancho Moreno. Throw in the fact that starters Osvaldo Morales and Jonathan Garcia fouled out, and DePue coach Trae Blumhorst said he was happy with the way his team played.

“This may be the first game we’ve seen 32 minutes of pure effort and heart,” Blumhorst said. “It’s hard for them to see it because they lost, but they’re learning winning basketball. We’re so young and inexperienced, and they haven’t been in that position very much. But they’re really learning how to play winning basketball. and figuring out what it takes to be there at the end.”

Erick Perez scored eight points off the bench for the Little Giants, while Garcia had seven. Lopez led the team with eight rebounds as well and grabbed two steals.

Blumhorst said it was the second straight strong game for Lopez.

“We had a big win Friday, and he took five charges,” Blumhorst said. “He was the reason we won. He was our anchor on defense, and I couldn’t be more proud of the player he is developing into.”

Schrader had eight rebounds and three steals in the win for Indian Creek.

“As young as we are, starting a freshman [Schrader] and two sophomores [Tyler Bogle and Everett Willis], it’s those kind of experiences that are going to make us better in the long run,” Govig said. “I’m glad we played a tight game and we got the win there.”

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