Gladbrook-Reinbeck senior Tristen Sanford-Anders (40) puts a layup off the backboard during the second half of the sixth-ranked Rebels’ 85-41 victory over HLV. Photo by Noah Rohlfing

An early push from underdog HLV Monday night could have derailed the sixth-ranked Gladbrook-Reinbeck boys’ basketball team’s postseason run. Instead, the Rebels used it as an opportunity to turn up the pressure offensively in an 85-41 Class 1A District 7 quarterfinals victory over HLV.

After the game was tied at 9-9 halfway through the opening quarter, Gladbrook-Reinbeck (21-1) went up 22-9 and never led by less than nine points for the rest of the game — jumping to a 31-18 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 55-28 advantage at the half.

Head coach Scott Kiburis said the Rebels were able to score well from start to finish, but it was on defense where the slight changes needed to be made.

“It was frustrating for us to see us give up points so easily,” Scott said. “We wanted to make some adjustments, and I think we got better in the second quarter, got them to turn it over and travel a little bit.

“We changed up our pressure in the third quarter and they broke it a couple times pretty easily so that wasn’t as effective.”

Photo by Noah Rohlfing

Despite the strong effort from HLV to try and bypass the Rebels’ press by going with long passes from backcourt to frontcourt, G-R was able to curb the scoring enough to extend the lead once baskets from Caleb Egesdal and Tristen Sanford-Anders began to fall. Sanford-Anders ended the first half with an 8-0 run on his own and both players scored 16 points in the first 16 minutes, ending the night with 25 points each.

Egesdal’s ability to hit 3-point shots with regularity is key to providing alternate options offensively for G-R, as most opponents try to stop and limit William Kiburis’s production. William had 14 points and missed a few shots in the paint, but his and Sanford-Anders’ ability to find others has been key to the team’s success, Scott said.

Egesdal said it creates a situation where defenses have to pick their poison when guarding the Rebels.

“It’s really important,” Egesdal said. “When they collapse in on Will, it’s important for us to have his back and make our shots. It’s good when we can get that going.”

HLV’s 1-2-2 zone was aggressive and something Scott said the Rebels hadn’t seen a lot of as of late, but as the game went on G-R’s zone sets began to work more frequently and the comfort level of breaking down the defense grew. The high-low action between William and Sanford-Anders, a staple of the Rebels’ zone offense, was particularly effective in finding open looks on the baseline in the second and third quarters.

Photo by Noah Rohlfing

Sanford-Anders, William and Luke Riffey all rested the entire fourth quarter as the Rebels ran down the clock. Riffey and Drew Eilers scored seven points each.

On Thursday G-R will host Belle Plaine at 6:30 p.m. for a chance to move on to the district finals.

Scott said the team’s ability to adjust and adapt on offense will be key as the postseason continues.

“We need to work on, when they overplay a certain thing, what our reads are,” Scott said. “I think it’s really important to have different things.”

Gladbrook-Reinbeck 85, HLV 41

Photo by Noah Rohlfing

HLV (5-18) — Brayen Shaull 0 0-0 0, Beau York 2 4-4 8, Ethan Licht 1 0-0 3, A.J. Gensley 4 0-3 8, Landon Hall 5 0-0 13, Peyton Roth 0 2-3 2, Donnie Kruse 1 0-0 3, Ben Thys 0 0-0 0, Jack Cheney 1 0-0 2, Lane Conaway 0 0-0 0, Camden Kennebeck 1 0-0 2, Sully Smith 0 0-0 0, Zander McCulley 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 15 7-11 41.

GLADBROOK-REINBECK (21-1) — Isaac Clark 1 0-0 2, Luke Riffey 3 0-0 7, Caleb Egesdal 10 0-2 25, William Kiburis 6 2-3 14, Tristen Sanford-Anders 9 7-8 25, Isaac Baer 0 0-0 0, Logan Giesking 0 0-0 0, Austin Vaverka 2 0-0 5, Drake Blakesley 0 0-0 0, Luke Sienknecht 0 0-0 0, Drew Eilers 3 1-2 7, Nick Tscherter 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 34 9-14 85.

HLV 18 10 9 4 — 41

G-R 31 24 25 5 — 85

3-Point Goals-HLV 5 (Hall 3, Kruse, Licht), G-R 7 (Egesdal 5, Riffey, Vaverka). Team Fouls-HLV 13, G-R 9. Fouled Out-Licht.