WOODVILLE &045; There’s not a smile coming from the face of Dustin Case now that the holidays are over &045; no one is out of the woods yet.

But it’s a face of confidence and a sigh of relief of sorts after the Adams Christian Rebels put together another solid game Friday in the WCCA Shootout. In a tournament where most teams are trying to shake off the holiday funk and find the groove from before Christmas, the Rebels may have found something much better.

Right now they’re playing some of their best ball yet after downing a good Bowling Green team, 48-30.

&uot;That’s the best team we’ve beaten,&uot; said Case, who led the way with 16 points. &uot;We haven’t beaten anybody real good until them. We finally decided to play defense today. We know we’re 0-3 in district and everybody else has won some games. We’ve got to get back in the race. We’re trying to win out and get ready for the tournament.&uot;

The Buccaneers may have still been reeling a bit from the holiday blues, but that wasn’t the case with the Rebels, who stuck with a man-to-man for most of the game instead of dropping into a zone during stretches while trying to at least stay in the game.

The man defense worked from the start, and the Buccaneers had just 18 points heading into the fourth quarter. Once the Rebels (7-6) cutting down the number of turnovers on one side of the court, it made it a little easier to play harder on the other side.

&uot;I told them to go out there and just focus on defense and let the defense work for you,&uot; Adams head coach Kyle Smith said. &uot;Actually, they started off a little better than I thought they would. Giving up 18 points midway through the fourth quarter was pretty good. I just don’t think the intensity has been there.

&uot;Every time we go to a zone defense we give up some easy baskets. But I thought we played great defensively and the kids prepared themselves mentally for this. I thought we played 3 1/2 quarters of good basketball.&uot;

The Rebels held a 42-18 lead at the start of the fourth quarter thanks to some easy buckets off turnovers and fast breaks. John Michael Powell put one in off the glass underneath at the start of the fourth for a 44-18 lead before the Buccaneers finally found an offensive rhythm of sorts when the Rebels began working on a 1-3-1 zone with the game out of reach.

Bowling Green rolled to a 11-2 run that included a 3-pointer from Robbie Crain and six points from Dustin Hall, but the game was out of reach.

&uot;I don’t know if it’s the holidays or what,&uot; BG head coach Richy Spears said. &uot;I have no idea. Right now I’m kind of speechless. You hold somebody to 40-something points, and you ought to be in the ball game. We didn’t play real well, and I don’t know what to tell you.&uot;

The Rebels kept with the defensive pressure for three quarters after pulling away late in the first quarter. The biggest gap came in the third when the Buccaneers had just one field goal and three points, leaving the Rebels to turn a 28-15 halftime lead to 42-18 heading into the fourth quarter.

&uot;We held them to 18 points for a while, and they’re a good team,&uot; Case said. &uot;We just came to play defense. We played man most of the game and started to go zone but got out of that. We settled back into a man and kept doing what we were doing the whole game. They had some big guys &045; a lot bigger than us. We executed on offense for the most part and played great defense. That’s what it takes.&uot;

Case had the team’s first two buckets of the third quarter after Bowling Green got the first score when big man Hunter Creel tossed in a bucket just under a minute in. Case’s two buckets started a 14-1 run to finish the quarter, including a Casey Gould putback off a Case miss for a 34-17 lead.

Foster and Case had the last two buckets while the Buccaneers struggled, including a three-shot foul opportunity where they clanged out all three.

&uot;We had plenty of turnovers,&uot; Spears said. &uot;We didn’t play very well. If we made our free throws and layups, we’re at least in the game. We won’t win, but we’re in the game. I’m not making excuses &045; we got beat. I’m just surprised we scored 30 points. I told them at the beginning of the fourth quarter our goal was to score 20.&uot;

The Rebels pulled away in the first quarter leading 13-7 heading into the second before Clay Floyd canned a 3-pointer at the start of quarter. Robbie Crain hit a 3-pointer for Bowling Green with 2:39 left to trim the lead to 24-15, but the Rebels held them scoreless and finished with Gould’s putback at the buzzer for a 28-15 lead.

&uot;That was a good game for us,&uot; Smith said. &uot;We had too many turnovers and forced passes that we can’t have. But we’re cutting those down. They’re down from what they were before the break. Because our turnovers are low, we’re a little more patient on offense and can work harder on defense. When we have 20 turnovers, we get tired on defense because that’s what we’re doing most of the game.&uot;