Dressler leads Bruins over Liberty

COLUMBIA — According to the program, Rock Bridge junior Jordan Dressler plays guard.

Even he doesn’t even know why.

“I’m definitely a center,” Dressler said.

Dressler stands 6 feet 8 and towers above most players. He uses his size advantage to help the Bruins(20-2) win including Tuesday night’s 62-55 win over No. 10-ranked Liberty (15-6).

“We just didn’t score as many points in the paint as we needed to,” Liberty coach Roger Stirtz said.

In the paint was Dressler, who scored 10 points and forced the Blue Jays to take outside shots while grabbing rebounds and forcing turnovers.

“Even when we got the ball down low, we turned it over,” Stirtz said.

Liberty brought 6-foot 6-inch forward Shaun Adams and 6-foot 5 inch forward Bryan Adams which presented Dressler with a bigger challenge than usual.

“The game was a lot more physical and aggressive tonight,” Dressler said. “Honestly, I didn’t feel like I played my best game.”

While Dressler did not play his best game against Liberty, he dominated last friday against Raytown South. Dressler scored 30 points in the Bruins 66-64 win.

“He constantly does that for us,” Rock Bridge coach Jim Scanlon said. “Friday night he just got the ball and kept putting it in the basket over their smaller players.”

Dressler presents matchup problems for other teams because of his ability to distribute the ball when teams double team him.

“Whenever teams double up on me, I just kick out the ball and if they don’t I go to the basket,” Dressler said.

Scanlon said he felt Dressler’s performance on Tuesday reflected the entire team being beat down mentally.

“After that many big games in a row, the team just mentally gets tired,” Scanlon said. “The game just felt like that all night.”