The Roland-Story Norsemen basketball teams returned to action on Friday night, as they made the trip into Dallas County to take on the Perry Bluejays in Heart of Iowa Conference action at Perry High School. The Norsemen girls entered at 12-2, while the Norsemen boys entered at 3-9.
Roland-Story’s girls would come out of the gates hot, putting up 18 points in the opening frame, and playing suffocating defense en route to a 31-3 halftime lead. The Norsemen would let off the gas in the 2nd half to cruise to a 50-15 win.
Claire Truesdell and Riley Johnson would lead the Norsemen with 8 points each, while Johnson added 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 7 steals. Lily Myers led Perry with 7 points and 14 rebounds.
The boys game followed as Roland-Story looked to build off their near-upset of Nevada on Tuesday night, and were knotted up with the high-powered Bluejays at 15-15 after one, and led 30-29 at halftime. The Norsemen offense reached its apex in the 3rd quarter, putting up 19 points to lead 49-41 going into the 4th. However, Perry put together a furious rally and were able to hold on and claim a 60-58 win.
Luke Thoreson had a game-high 20 points for the Norsemen, with 11 rebounds as well, while Jack Birkland had 16 points off the bench. Owen Myers and Gustavo Drahos led Perry with 15 points a piece.
Roland-Story’s boys followed by facing off with the Carroll Tigers on Saturday at the Gilbert Tournament. After trailing by 5 after the first quarter, the Carroll offense would hit another gear for the final 3 quarters as the Tigers came away with a 63-40 victory. Luke Thoreson led the Norsemen with 8 points and 8 rebounds, while Jake Berggren and Jack Birkland each had 6 points.
Roland-Story basketball returns to action on Tuesday, when they host longtime rivals South Hamilton in Heart of Iowa Conference action at Roland-Story High School at 6 PM.