WEST FORK -- Ryan Roebke staggered Mountainburg early in its nonconference boys basketball game Saturday afternoon, but teammate Jessie Slavens applied the knockout punch as West Fork rolled over the Dragons 57-35 at the Tiger Dome.
Roebke, a 5-foot-10 junior, scored 11 of his game-high 18 points in the first quarter to help the Tigers (8-6) grab a 19-9 lead. But Slavens came off the bench to score all 13 of his points in the second half, including consecutive 3-pointers that spurred a 16-0 run.
How They Scored
West Fork 57, Mountainburg 35
Mountainburg^9^8^7^11^—^35
West Fork^19^7^16^15^—^57
Mountainburg (2-11): Volk 13, Patterson 5, Merritt 4, Vaught 4, Rutherford 4, Pixley 3, Hobson 2.
West Fork (8-6): R. Roebke 18, Slavens 13, Hays 9, Johnson 5, C. Roebke 5, Poplin 4, Crawford 3.
West Fork coach Cody Vaught said Roebke and Slavens both played key parts in the win, but the Tigers finally just wore down the Dragons, who lost at Hector less than 24 hours earlier.
"We just tried to push the ball up the floor," Vaught said. "We have post players who can run the floor. They played real well last night. Had a tight game.
"Slavens hit three 3-pointers off the bench and those were huge," Vaught said. "I told the guys in the locker room we have to have other guys step up. People know what we're trying to do. We're trying to get the ball down low. We have to have people step up and make shots. It was big-time for him to make those."
Mountainburg (2-11) pulled within 29-21 on Evan Merritt's short jumper with more than four minutes left in the third quarter. But the Dragons wouldn't score another field goal for more than seven minutes. West Fork outscored Mountainburg 21-3 over that span to take command.
Slavens, a 6-1 junior, scored nine of his 13 points during that decisive West Fork run.
Mountainburg coach Michael McDonald agreed his team suffered from fatigue as the game wore on.
"We were definitely a little dead-legged," McDonald said. "We played (Friday). We don't have much depth. Legs got to us. They did a good job defensively. We had a hard time getting into our offense. We had a lot of turnovers. Then that kid hit two or three threes that kinda put us away."
Dakota Volk, a 6-7 junior, led Mountainburg with 13 points, including 11 in the first half.
Roebke's quickness caused the Dragons all kinds of trouble as he finished with five steals, including four in the first quarter that led the four layups. Mountainburg finished with 24 turnovers for the game.
Vaught said Roebke sets the tone for the Tigers with his level of play.
"He plays so hard," Vaught said. "He wore down a little bit himself. He's a great player for us. Plays so hard. Gives us so much energy."
West Fork continues 3A-1 West Conference play when it hosts Greenland on Tuesday.
Sports on 01/05/2015