There was plenty of action and excitement Tuesday night between the Wausa and Elkhorn Valley girls and boys basketball teams.
The Lady Falcons overcame a sluggish second quarter to defeat Wausa, 67-37. “It was a difference of halves,” stated EV girls coach Brendan Dittmer. “I don’t what the answer is, but we started playing our game in the second half. Our defense was good and lively, but we got better looks in transition. We weren’t playing too fast, but we were playing fast enough.” The Lady Falcons opened the game on a 9-0 run claim the early momentum. After a pair of Hannah Ollendick free throws pushed EV's lead to 16-9, the Lady Vikings answered with an 8-0 run, thanks to two 3-pointers by Clara Schindler. “Schindler got hot and I knew she maybe would,” Dittmer said. “She’s a good player and was getting a lot of good looks early. They just weren’t falling for her. When we got up 9-0 nothing, it was indicative of them not shooting well, rather than us rebounding and playing good defense. They shot the ball really well when she got going.” The two teams exchanged the lead three more times, but the Lady Falcons led 26-23 at the break. “Wausa is not a slouch by any means,” Dittmer continued. “They’re a dangerous team and you can see it on film. They have some good players and they’re young, which is exciting for them, moving forward.” Following a Schindler triple, which knotted the game at 26, the green and white exploded with a 22-0 run to end the third. “When they tied it up we really didn’t notice, we just kept playing,” Ollendick spoke. “We didn’t worry about the score and after we started hitting a couple of shots, everyone got into it and it helped us.” Ollendick netted the first 8 points of the run and Olivia Nall added another 7 points during the run. A 9-point fourth quarter by Amber Miller sealed the Lady Falcons’ third-straight win. “Tonight’s win was good for us,” Ollendick said. “Lately we’ve been struggling in our last couple of games, both on offense and defense. We had a tough loss against Ewing, but our weekend games, and tonight’s game, was good for us to get back into the rhythm and play our game.” Wausa (3-9) was led by Schindler’s 13 points. Morgan Kleinschmit tallied 7 points, Paige Nissen pitched in 6 points and Esther Nelson had 5 points. Ollendick paced EV (12-2) with 21 points, six rebounds, six steals and five assists. Miller recorded 22 points and six rebounds and Nall accounted for 16 points, six boards and four assists. “Shots are falling and I’m being smarter with my shot selection,” Ollendick added about her recent surge on the offensive end. “I’m not forcing a lot of stuff and I’m being smarter about the plays In the boys contest, Ghatlin Hegge's layup with five seconds remaining in the game guided the Vikings to a 39-38 win over Elkhorn Valley. “It was a good win for us,” commented Wausa boys coach Tim Schindler. “Elkhorn Valley is a talented, young team. They are dangerous, they have shooters, athleticism and shot blocking. We knew it was going to be a tough one and I was worried about it. There was a couple of times our team could have folded, but they battled back, worked hard and were able to get the victory at the end.” Trailing by 1 with under a minute remaining in the game, Drew Munter's layup attempt was off the mark. After the Falcons snagged the rebound, they turned the ball back over to Wausa. Both teams exchanged turnovers in the next 30 seconds, giving the Vikings the ball under EV's hoop. With nine tics remaining on the clock, Tyson Kaiser found an open Hegge, who laid the ball up and in. “Coach (Schindler) drew up a play and didn’t like it very much,” Hegge recalled. “So coach Reid (Friedrich) was like ‘We’re going to run what we always run.’ It was just a great play call by coach. That last second shot is just great to do.” Brandon Evans' 3-point at the buzzer was off the mark, as the Vikings captured their third consecutive victory. “We’ve been having great practices,” Hegge continued. “We had one practice to prepare and we had a pretty decent practice. We were ready to go at them.” An 11-4 run to start the game gave the Falcons the early edge in the first quarter. The Vikings answered with a 7-0 run in the second to tie the game at 11, but Julio Sierra's buzzer beater gave EV a 13-11 advantage heading into the locker room. It was a back-and-forth battle to gain the momentum in the third. After Wausa (9-4) opened the quarter on a 11-2 run, the Falcons responded with a 14-4 run to end the quarter with a 29-28 lead. “It’s a great feeling, but it’s also the worst feeling,” Hegge remarked. “I hate always being close. I like winning by a lot, but it feels great when you pull ahead in a close game.” A Sierra putback with a little more than minute remaining in the game gave EV (6-8) a 36-35 advantage, but a steal and basket by Kaiser cut the lead to 1, setting up for a crazy final minute. A key to the Vikings’s triumph was their defense, who held the Falcons to their second lowest point total of the season and held the Falcon’s top shooter, Braedyn Ollendick, 9 points below his season scoring average and his second lowest offensive performance of the season. “That’s our bread and butter,” Schindler said. “We’re going to play defense, we’re not going to turn the ball over and we’re going to get shots. If the shots fall, we’ll win, and if they don’t, we’ll live with the results. We coach defense a lot, we practice it a lot and the kids have bought in. They realize that’s our staple. If we don’t play defense, we don’t have a chance.” EV was led by Sierra’s 12 points, five rebounds and three assists. Bryson Anderson collected 7 points and five boards, Ollendick accumulated 6 points and 12 rebounds, while Carter Rautenberg and Brandon Evans each scored 5 points. Drew Munter led the Vikings with 16 points. Hegge chipped in 12 points, Kaiser notched 8 points, Ethan Baue had 2 points and Daniel Timmerman added 1 point. The Lady Vikings travel to Santee Thursday, while the boys host Allen East at 6:15 p.m. “We’re on a good streak,” Schindler concluded. “They’re playing well and playing together. You can sense the enthusiasm in the team, the community and the coaches. We have a tough Allen team coming up on Thursday. They are very similar (to Elkhorn Valley). They are young, talented, they play good defense and we have to be ready to play. It will be nice to be at home and we’re excited.” Elkhorn Valley welcomes Creighton to Tilden Friday at 4 p.m. In two tight Antelope County battles, the Warriors weathered the storm to sweep the Cyclones in Orchard on Tuesday night.
The Neligh-Oakdale girls picked up a 35-26 win in a defensive matchup, while the boys surged ahead in the final minutes for a 63-53 victory over Clearwater/Orchard. The girls started things off with see-saw scoring, as Taylor Sanne, Avery Cheatum and Maryssa Long each hit a bucket for OC and Claire Whitesel hit a trey, Haley Kerkman went 1-2 at the line and Paige Furstenau drained 3-4 free throws for N-O. The first quarter ended in a 7-6 advantage for the Lady Warriors. The N-O girls went on a 10-0 run in the second with Brooke Frey going 2-2 at the line and Furstenau hitting two from beyond the arc and swiping a steal for a layup. OC's Julia Thiele and Katie Stearns each added a bucket and Julian Tuttle tallied a three to close the gap before the break, 17-13. Neligh-Oakdale extended its lead in the third as Trinity Kurpgeweit laid one in for two and Frey, Kerkman and Furstenau added to their totals. Tuttle and Stearns added five for the home team, but still trailed 26-18 heading into the final quarter. Thiele netted a jumper and a triple to tighten up the game at 26-23 with 3:00 left to play. Furstenau drove the lane for two, but Cheatum answered with a jumper. The lady Warriors went on to add nine more while a Sanne free throw ended the scoring for OC. "We just didn't have a very good shooting night and they play pretty tight defense which sometimes makes it difficult for our girls to get past them," Thiele said. Furstenau said N-O (5-11) executed their game plan, which included moving the ball around well. "We just had to move the ball and work it in, and then if we drove, we had to kick out for open shots on the outside," she said. "And that was just working for us." Thiele led the (2-12) Cyclones with 7 points, followed by Tuttle with 6, Cheatum 4 points and 8 rebounds, Stearns 4 points, Sanne 3 points and 4 steals and Maryssa Long 2. "This week we have Osmond and Plainview and they have similar records as us so we're hoping to get a couple wins," Thiele said. "We're just taking it game by game. We know we have the potential for sure, it's just putting it together and trusting our teammates and trusting coach." Leading the Lady Warriors was Furstenau with 20 points and 8 rebounds, Kerkman 5 points and 9 boards, Kurpgeweit 4 points and 10 rebounds and Whitesel and Frey with 3 apiece. "Getting this win will help us push through the rest of the season because we really needed it right now," Furstenau said. "It will just help us keep climbing higher and higher and higher." To start the boys game, there were several lead changes as the Warriors and Cyclones traded buckets. It was raining threes for the Warriors as Cole Belitz and Beau Murray each drained two triples in the first quarter. Isiac Kurgpgeweit added a bunny and went 3-6 at the line. For the Cyclones, Blake Hoke made two field goals and two free throws, Jacob Long laid one in and Ryan Wilhelm banked in two shots and made his free throw to complete a 3-point play. OC trailed 17-13 after one. The Cyclones loomed closer in the second, making it a 1-point game about midway, but the Warriors answered and took a 33-30 into halftime. Just when it looked like Neligh-Oakdale would extend their lead, the Cyclones came storming back. Trailing by just two, OC's Chris Kester swiped a couple of quick steals on inbound passes and converted them into layups for a 43-41 lead late in the third. Warrior senior Austin Rice scored a layup to knot it at 43-all. Hoke responded with a field goal, but Julien Hearn nailed a trey for a 46-45 N-O advantage after three. Back and forth scoring in the fourth put the Warriors up by one at the midway point. A Belitz triple and Kurpgeweit bunny extended the Warriors lead to 57-51. Wilhelm powered one in for two, but Rice answered with a layup. Down six with just 35 seconds left, OC was forced to foul. Belitz was clutch as he went a perfect 4-4 at the line to seal the win and complete the sweep. Belitz led the Warriors with 20 points, 7 boards and 7 assists, followed by double-doubles from Austin Rice and Isiac Kurpgeweit. Rice scored 13 points while pulling down 15 rebounds and Kurpgeweit tallied 11 points and 12 boards. Rounding out the team scoring were Murray with 9 points, Hearn 6 and Hunter Charf 4. Cyclone Ryan Wilhelm led all scorers with 24 points and 8 rebounds. Other OC scorers were Hoke with 13 points and 3 steals, Long 10 points and 8 rebounds and Kester 6 points and 4 steals. Belitz said his N-O team much executed better against OC than the previous night in their loss to O'Neill. "Our game plan was exactly what we didn't do last night," he said. "Last night we were open, but we had a really off shooting night, and we were supposed to be getting the ball in the middle and we didn't. So tonight, we were focused on trying to get it in first and then kicking it out, and that seemed to be working pretty well. And we had a really good shooting night. There were multiple people that had multiple threes and had a good shooting percentage, so that helps too." Heading into the game, OC Coach Jim Schutt said his team wanted to get their running game going against the Warriors. "They've played a lot of ball games here lately, back to back with their schedule, and I thought we could catch them with some tired legs," he said. "But credit to them, they did a good job getting back defensively on us." Belitz said the long string of games recently may have them a little more tired, but it offers its advantages too. "We're coming into games probably a little more tired than other teams, so we just got to make sure our focus is there and just know our strengths," he said. "A plus, though, is that we can look at what we did the night before and see what we did wrong and then fix that right away in another game, so you get good experience with that too. That will only help us later on in the season." The schedule for OC (8-5) doesn't let up much this week as they have two more games to play this week. "We got Plainview on Thursday night and Friday night we go to Osmond, they're state-rated, and then next week we have two games and the conference tournament starts," Schutt said. "Like when I was talking to Coach Larsen, he goes, 'Just another night in the Niobrara Valley Conference.' It just seems like everybody is in that same tucked in area where anybody can beat anybody on any given night." Neligh-Oakdale (9-6) will play again on Friday as they host Randolph. "We've had two games in a row and now we'll have two days off so we'll kind of know what helped us succeed tonight and put that to use on Friday," Belitz said. The invading O’Neill girls and boys basketball teams left Neligh with two big wins over the Warriors Monday evening.
The Lady Eagles soared to a 69-41 triumph over N-O. “We took care of business,” stated O’Neill girls coach Brock Eichelberger. “I’m happy with the overall effort. All of our girls got in and a couple of younger girls stepped up and knocked down some shots at the end. We saw a lot of good things tonight.” After a pair of Paige Furstenau free throws cut the deficit to 12-9 late in the first quarter, the Lady Eagles used a 21-9 run to end the half with a 33-18 advantage. O'Neill cashed in on its opportunities in the first half, turning 16 Lady Warrior turnovers into 20 points. “We knew if we kept pressing, pushing the issue and trying to run out they were going to sooner or later get tired,” coach Eichelberger said. “We wore them out in the end and we had a lot of easy opportunities because they were gassed.” The Lady Eagles pulled away in the second half with a 36-23 run. “The effort was there,” commented N-O girls mentor Christy Knutson. “They were a fast team and a good shooting team. We’ve played a lot of games in a short amount of time and our legs were not there. We have to be mentally prepared for every game and I felt like when we get frustrated, we stop. Getting through adversity will be a big key moving forward.” O'Neill scored 36 points off of turnovers and put back 19 second-chance points, to improve to 9-4. “We told them we have to be active, we have to move, make ourselves hard to defend, hard to guard and hard to box out,” coach Eichelberger noted. “I thought in the second half we were a little fresher than them and we got a lot of those second-chance opportunities.” Seven Lady Eagles netted at least 5 points in the win. Meg Schluns led the way with 13 points and five rebounds. Claire Morrow netted 13 points, Alyssa Eichelberger contributed 11 points, four boards, two assists and six steals, Lauren Young accounted for 8 points, five rebounds and three steals, Blair Gutshall had 8 points, four boards and two take aways, while Zelie Sorensen and Brianna Bauer each added 5 points. After a slow start Furstenau paced N-O (4-11) with 16 points. Brooke Frey accumulated 13 points, Haley Kerkman tallied 7 points, Claire Whitesel pitched in 3 points and Trinity Kurpgeweit notched 2 points. “We knew coming in, Furstenau was averaging 16 points a game and Frey showed her shooting capability at the end,” coach Eichelberger said. “We did a good job in our man (defense). We had good defensive possessions, created some turnovers and made it hectic for them where they were uncomfortable.” In the boys contest, a second-half rally guided O’Neill past N-O, 46-42. “Neligh is a really good team,” remarked O’Neill boys coach Seth Kallhoff. “That’s a good, tough team and we’re going to continue to face tough teams like that all year round. That’s how you get better. To beat a team like this, it can build momentum. Our guys really wanted this one and really needed this one to get our energy back up.” Monday’s loss marked the first time the Warriors dropped a home game this season. “It is tough, especially knowing we did most everything we needed to do defensively to put ourselves in a position to win,” said N-O boys coach Ethan Larsen. “Tonight it was our execution on offense that was the the difference in the game between us and them.” A sloppy first half by the Warriors kept O'Neill in the game in the first half. N-O turned the ball over eight times in the first 16 minutes of play. With under a second remaining in the first quarter, Eagle senior Francisco Perez drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut N-O's lead to 1. Clutch triples by Hunter Charf and Cole Belitz gave the home squad a 25-20 advantage at the half. The comeback was on for the Eagles. Thanks to a 12-2 run to start the third, O'Neill turned a 5-point deficit into a 5-point lead. “We didn’t spend a lot of time talking at halftime because I wanted them to rebound and come out with good, positive energy,” Kallhoff spoke. “I didn’t try to overload them with anything earth-shattering. We drew up a couple of plays that we thought would be effective against them. We went back out there with confidence and ran through what we needed to do offensively.” A Beau Murray trifecta cut the deficit to 2 late in the third, but the Eagles responded with a 9-4 run to extend their lead to 41-34. It was the Warriors (8-6) turn to rally. Belitz netted a trey with eight tics remaining to cut the lead to 44-42. After a O'Neill (4-8) turnover, N-O had a chance to tie or take the lead. But the Warriors threw the ball away and Keegan Moore drained two freebies to ice the game. “Although it was a turnover in the end, we had eight turnovers in the first half and two in the second,” Larsen recalled. “That last one came at an inopportune time, but it wasn’t that play that was the difference in the game. There were a lot of plays in both halves where we didn’t do a good job looking inside. We shot 28 shots from outside the arc, and only 20 inside. That’s the story of the game today.” Isaac Kurpgeweit recorded a double-double with 13 points and 16 rebounds. Belitz contributed 17 points, six boards, three assists and two steals, Austin Rice had 6 points and five rebounds, Charf accounted for 3 points and six boards and Murray added 3 points. For the Eagles, Perez led all scorers with 21 points, Moore tallied 11 points and Dennis Hererra pitched in 8 points. O’Neill hosts Wagner (SD) Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. “It’s going to be a busy January,” coach Eichelberger commented. “We’re in the meat of our schedule and we’re excited with the direction we are going. Some of our younger girls are growing up and starting to show some maturity. We are playing the way we thought we could and I’m excited to see where we are going.” Neligh-Oakdale travels to Orchard to take on county foe Clearwater/Orchard Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. “They’ve had a little more rest than we have,” Larsen concluded. “We’ve played a lot of basketball and that has given us a lot of opportunities to see what we have in front of us and to be ready for any opponent that shows up. They have a nice record and are playing decent basketball. We’ll have our hands full, but I like our guys and I trust them going forward.” The Neligh-Oakdale wrestling squad placed third as a team at the Weeping Water Invitational Friday.
The Warriors scored 133.5 points. Weeping Water won the team title with 168 points and Winside took second with 135 points. Senior Andrew Herley was the lone individual champion for N-O, after recording a pin in his all four of his victories, on his way to the 132-pound crown. Cameron Wilkinson (113), Brock Kester (120) and Kaleb Pofahl (170) each took second, Dawson Kaup (195) placed third and Colton Klabenes (220) finished sixth. Neligh-Oakdale competes at the Niobrara Valley Conference tournament Thursday at Elgin’s Pope John gym at 5 p.m. The Elkhorn Valley girls and boys basketball teams wrapped up a busy week with a 1-1 record at Bloomfield Saturday.
The Lady Falcons cruised to a 59-27 victory over the Bees. Leading 24-15 at the break, EV (11-2) outscored Bloomfield (5-11), 35-12, in the second half to secure the Alexandra Eisenhauer led the Queen Bees with 8 points. Bree Eisenhauer recorded 7 points and five rebounds and Brooklyn Eisenhauer added 6 points and seven boards. The Lady Falcons were paced by Hannah Ollendick’s 21 points, four rebounds, three assists and four steals. Olivia Nall accounted for 13 points, six boards, three assists and two steals and Amber Miller had 11 points, six rebounds, five assists and three take aways. In the boys contest, Bloomfield surged to a 79-68 win over EV. Leading 15-14 after the first, the Bees (10-6) used a 20-9 run in the second to take a 35-23 lead into the locker room. The Falcons (6-7) were led by Carter Rautenberg’s 17 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Brandon Evans netted 15 points, Braedyn Ollendick accumulated 12 points, seven boards and six helpers, Bryson Anderson pitched in 11 points and Trevin Hanson notched 8 points. Braden Eisenhauer scored a game-high 26 points to lead the way. Trenton Holz contributed 15 points, Dade Davis recorded 14 points, Adam Johnson had 12 points and Mitchell Mackeprang added 8 points. Bloomfield hosts Osmond Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Elkhorn Valley welcomes Wausa to Tilden Tuesday at 4 p.m. The Elgin Public/Pope John boys and girls basketball teams swept Winside Saturday.
In the boys contest, the Wolfpack recorded their first win of the season with a 52-16 triumph. After claiming a 16-5 lead in the first, EPPJ (1-13) shutout the Wildcats, 12-0 in the second quarter. The Wolfpack outscored Winside, 24-11, in the second half to seal the win. Kyle Schumacher paced the Wolfpack with 15 points, five rebounds and two assists. Colton Wright recorded 11 points and five boards, RJ Lierman netted 10 points, Adam Dreger scored 7 points, Conor Ramold had 2 points, five assists and five rebounds, Layne Bullock contributed 3 points and Trinity Graham notched 4 points. The Lady Wolfpack rolled to a 61-11 victory over the Lady Cats. EPPJ (12-3) got off to a hot start, outscoring Winside, 42-3, in the first half. Kirsten Krebs led the way with 18 points. Allyson Wemhoff netted 15 points, Grace Rittscher accounted for 8 points and Kayce Kallhoff added 7 points. The Lady Wolfpack welcomes Ewing to Pope John Gym Friday at 6 p.m. The boys return to action Jan. 22 against Battle Creek. The Clearwater/Orchard wrestling team placed fourth at the West Holt Invitational Saturday.
The Cyclones scored 136 team points. Burke/Gregory won the team title with 187 points, followed by Plainview and Burwell. Tommie Peed (285), Donaven Nolze (220) and Clay Thiele (195) led OC with second-place finishes. Codey Snider (182), Spencer Kester (113) and Houston Marino (152) took third, Austin Pokorny (170), Eli Macke (160), Eli Theile (126) and Anthony Ferris (106) each finished fourth. Clearwater/Orchard competes at the Niobrara Valley Conference Tournament Thursday at Elgin’s Pope John Gym at 5 p.m. The Warrior basketball teams slayed the Dragons on Saturday afternoon to earn their fourth sweep at home.
Winning by more than 30 points, the Lady Warriors cruised to a dominating 60-27 win over Madison, while the boys picked up a 60-48 victory to remain perfect on their home court. In the girls matchup, Neligh-Oakdale went on a 5-0 run to start things off, with Paige Furstenau and Claire Whitesel driving in for layups and Trinity Kurpgeweit going 1-2 at the line. The Lady Warriors rolled to a 14-2 advantage at the end of the first. Kurpgeweit hit a jumper, Haley Kerkman drove in for two and went 1-2 at the line and Brooke Frey laid one in to extend their lead to 21-5. Furstenau added six points to finish out the half and give the N-O girls a 27-7 lead at the break. The second half was more of the same with steady scoring by the home team. Furstenau drained 15 more, Kerkman and Kurpgeweit each added 6, Frey had 4 and Emma Boggs put in 2. The Lady Warriors improved to 4-10 on the season. "The win just helps boost our confidence, especially when we have 8 games in 15 days coming back from break," Kerkman said. "This helps us get a little pep in our step before we go on to the next one." She said her team has a "We Before Me" motto and really wanted to implement it against Madison. "And we always make sure not to underestimate teams because if we do that, we end up not playing to our best potential," Kerkman said. "Overall, the goal was just to get everyone shots and to really get our posts working a lot because we are usually an outside shooting team." Three players were in double figures, led by Furstenau with 28 points. Kerkman and Kurpgeweit both earned a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds apiece. Frey added 6 points and Whitesel and Boggs each had 2. In the boys game, Neligh-Oakdale jumped out to a 5-0 lead, sparked by a Beau Murray 3-pointer and a bucket from Austin Rice. Cole Belitz drove the lane for two and then he stepped back for a trey. Julien Hearn and Hunter Charf each connected from beyond the arc and Belitz stole the ball for an easy layup and an 18-4 first quarter lead. Isiac Kurpgeweit hit a bucket to start the second, followed by two free throws and a trey by Rice for a 25-8 advantage. The Dragons were able to cut the lead to 28-17 right before halftime. Madison went on an 8-0 run midway through the third and trailed by just three heading into the final quarter of play, 40-37. In the fourth, the Dragons tied it up at 40-all and then surged to a 44-43 lead with just 5:20 left. The Warriors went to work with Kurpgeweit scoring a layup, Charf and Rice going 2-2 at the line, Belitz going 4-4 and Rice adding two field goals to seal the win and the perfect 6-0 record at home. They improved to 8-5 overall. "At the end of the third, we kind of let up and we were all slowing down, but then we kicked it back in gear during the fourth," Kurpgeweit said. "Going in we knew that they're a good threat, and we had to watch Keaton (Hendren) and make sure we guarded him well. We knew they were going to be quick and run the floor a lot, so we knew we had to play our game and we'd come out on top." Madison's Hendren, who averages more than 15 points per game, was held to just 7. The Warriors had four players in double figures led by Belitz with 17 points and 8 assists. Double-doubles were earned by both Rice and Kurpgeweit. Rice put up 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Kurpgeweit tallied 11 points and pulled down 10 boards. Charf hit double digits with 10, followed by Hearn with 6 and Murray 3. Kurpgeweit said defending their perfect record at home "feels pretty good." "We keep going in saying that no one can beat us here, and we gotta keep it like that," he said. Neligh-Oakdale will continue their grueling schedule on Monday night when they host O'Neill. Several area grapplers had strong showings at the Battle Creek Invitational Saturday.
Elkhorn Valley led area teams with a third-place team finish. “It was a pretty solid tournament,” stated EV coach Joey Tegeler. “We had a few matches we wanted back, but our kids wrestled tough. We finished the tournament well. The semifinals went really good and our seniors wrestled a good tournament. Overall, I’m happy with it.” Creighton placed sixth, Crofton-Bloomfield was ninth and Niobrara/Verdigre was 17th. “Coming in our goal was to make top-five,” commented Creighton coach Zac Kliment. “We are getting closer and dropped a few matches. We’re wrestling competitively and I was happy with a lot of the stuff we are doing. We are improving and getting there, but it was a tough tournament with some good competitors. It was some good experience.” Falcon seniors Prestin Vondra (145 pounds) and Josh McFarland (160) each won their respective weight classes with perfect 5-0 records. “Today’s matches were pretty tough,” Vondra spoke. “I felt little out of shape after four matches and ended up getting a decision in the semifinals, but I was able to get pins and I was happy to get those points for my team.” Vondra scored four pins on his way to the 145-pound title, including a first-period fall in the championship match.. “You have to be able to catch every mistake and catch them on those mistakes,” Vondra added. “If you can capitalize, you can get something major and something like a pin like that can definitely contribute to your team points.” After cruising in his first four matches, McFarland was in a dog fight in the 160 championship contest against Stanton’s Issiah Borgmann. Tied at zero after the first, McFarland scored a reversal and a takedown in the second period, to take a 4-1 lead into the third. McFarland rode out Borgmann in the third to secure the win and the title. “I feel like it’s important to get through tough periods and wrestle through anything,” McFarland recalled. “If you’re down by a few points, or up by a few points, you have to stay level headed and wrestle through tough periods.” C/B’s William Poppe fell in the 126-pound title tilt to Battle Creek’s Carter King, 7-5. “I’ve gotten progressively better and I thought I did pretty well,” Poppe said. “This is my best finish this year at a meet. This is the first time I’ve made finals. Carter King is a really good wrestler. It was a close match, and a fun match, and I thought it was pretty good.” Trailing 6-3 in the third, Poppe scored a crucial to takedown to cut the lead to 1, but was called for an illegal Full Nelson, and failed to complete the comeback. After falling behind early in the 170-pound championship match, Randolph’s Noah Scott rallied past Creighton’s Bryce Zimmerer for the senior Bulldog’s first loss of the season. Zimmerer scored a first-period take down and led 2-1 after the opening period. Zimmerer pushed his lead to 3-1 thanks to an escape in the second. Following an escape, Scott scored the eventual championship-winning takedown and won the 170 crown, 5-3. “It will eat at him for a while,” Kliment mentioned. “I know one of his goals was to go undefeated the whole season. Now that’s done, you just have to keep moving forward and put the same work in. He’ll just be a little more motivated next time around.” Other placers for Elkhorn Valley included Hunter Bennett (106), Adam Miller (120) and Christian Yaw (285), who each placed second. Taking third place was Brock Schaecher (182), Gavyn Clause (195) was sixth, Caden Reikofski (220) finished seventh, while Reed Bennett (126) and Hunter Klinetobe (132) placed eighth. “I think the team did pretty good today,” McFarland said. “We had some kids lose some matches that I don’t think they should have lost, but we’ll only get better. We have to go from here and keep improving.” The Falcons scored 19 pins to help take third as a team. “Part of our game plan is trying to get those extra points,” Tegeler noted. “We try to turn a decision into a major or something like that. Obviously once you get to the finals, it’s harder to do because you’re wrestling harder competition. Overall I’m proud of our kids today.” For C/B Jared Janssen (220) took third, Hudson Barger (106) placed fifth, Tyson Sauser (132) finished sixth and Calvin Dather (182) was eighth. “Before this meet we talked about how we have a month left and we have to get our momentum going in the right direction,” said C/B mentor Caden Alexander. “This was a great example of what we want to see. We have a young team, but we’re all working hard and learning a lot. It is showing every round and they’re doing a good job.” For the Bulldogs Cody Hanvey (132) placed third, Bode Wortman (152) and Bode Vrooman (285) finished fourth, RJ Wilmes (138), Brenden Waldow (160) and Terance Burrell (195) took fifth, JD Kuhlman (152) and Sam Vortherms (145) earned a sixth-place finish and Shane Farnik (120) was eighth. “We always preach to be wrestling our best in the first two weeks of February and into state,” Kliment spoke. “We’ve been building and hopefully we can be wrestling at our best by time we get there.” Toby Ives (126) and Beau Hrbek (195) placed seventh for the Cougars, while Gavin Chohon (170) took eighth. “I thought we did OK,” commented N/V coach Jason Simons. “We’re young, but I think we could have wrestled a lot better. Today was the first day we filmed our matches I’m going to send the video to the kids so they can watch it and they can build off of what they need to work on.” Creighton and Crofton/Bloomfield head to Randolph to wrestle at the Lewis and Clark Conference Invite Thursday at 1 p.m. “It’s important to be hitting on all cylinders at the end of the year,” Alexander said. “We got a bunch of freshmen and sophomores that want to get better every day. We are seeing that. We’re in phenomenal shape, our technique is getting better and we knew this was a rebuilding year, but we’re doing much better than I thought we would be at this point in the year.” Niobrara/Verdigre competes at the O’Neill Junior Varsity Invite Monday at 5:30 p.m. “We’re improving every day,” Simons noted. “I see it in practice and in meets, but we are young and some of the kids are soft. The only way to fix it is more mat time and more competition. They have to get tougher with what they’re doing.” Elkhorn Valley travels to Elgin’s Pope John Gym Thursday to participate in the Niobrara Valley Conference tournament at 5 p.m. “It’ll be fun,” Tegeler concluded. “Our toughest tournaments are at the end of the year. We’ll be ready." The Elkhorn Valley boys and girls basketball teams traveled to Niobrara to take on the Cougars Friday evening.
The Lady Falcons surged for a 46-33 victory over N/V. After falling behind a 20-15 in the first half, the Lady Cougars (10-6) cut the deficit to 1 with a 12-8 run in the third. EV (10-2) answered with an 18-6 run to end the game. Sierra Rystrom led the Lady Falcons with 8 points, five steals and 12 rebounds. Carney Black had 8 points and 10 rebounds, Olivia Nall recorded 10 points, six steals and nine boards, Hannah Ollendick accounted for 10 points and seven rebounds, Kaylee Bacon scored 6 points and Amber Miller pitched in 4 points, three rebounds and three steals. In the boys contest, N/V rallied, and then held on, for a 53-52 win over the Falcons. Entering the fourth trailing 42-37, the Cougars used a 10-0 run to claim a 5-point advantage. EV (6-6) answered by knotting the contest at 47, but NV (6-8) scored 6 of the next 9 points, and held on for the 1-point victory. Rane Vesely led the Cougars with 17 points and five rebounds. Camden Eisenhauer recorded 13 points, three rebounds and three assists, Mathis Gierga had 6 points and four boards and Angel Grant added 5 points and six assists. Niobrara/Verdigre hosts North Central Tuesday at 5 p.m. The Clearwater/Orchard girls and boys basketball teams went up against one of the top teams in the area in Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family Friday.
The potent Bulldog offense proved to be too much in HLHF’s 75-43 win over OC. After opening the game with a 24-13 run in the opening quarter, the Dogs extended their lead to 43-25 at the break and cruised to the win. Ryan Wilhelm led the Cyclones (8=4) with 12 points and seven rebounds. Gage Clifton netted 8 points, Jacob Long tallied 8 points and six boards, Blake Hoke recorded 7 points, three boards, two assists and three steals, Chris Kester had 4 points two rebounds and two assists, while Gage Switzer and Anthony Umphress each added 2 points. In the girls contest, Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family won 76-35 over the Lady Cyclones. The loss drops OC to 2-11 on the year. Clearwater/Orchard hosts county rival Neligh-Oakdale Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Orchard. It was a tough go-round for the Elgin Public/Pope John wrestling team at the SEM Invite in Sumner Friday.
Luke Henn was the lone Wolfpack wrestler to win. Henn scored two wins at 132 pounds, but fell in the semifinals and the third-round of the consolation bracket to end his day. River Romej (106) and Cory Romej (138) each went 0-2 Friday. EPPJ returns to the mats Friday at the Madison Invite at 10 a.m. The Elgin Public/Pope John girls and boys cagers split Friday’s matchup against Stuart.
The Lady Wolfpack opened with a 45-36 victory over Stuart. “The girls came back and had a good effort,” stated EPPJ girls mentor Randy Eisenhauer. “After Tuesday night (EPPJ’s loss to Fullerton), I didn’t know what to expect right away. But then we came back and had two solid practices on Wednesday and Thursday. The effort is always there with these girls. The effort was there Tuesday and tonight, the defensive effort won us the game.” Both teams exchanged 7-0 runs to start the game before the Lady Wolfpack used a 15-5 run to claim a 22-12 lead midway through the second. “Coach (Eisenhauer) always says pull out in the beginning and start fresh,” spoke EPPJ sophomore Kirsten Krebs. “If they pull ahead, just pull ahead faster.” A 6-0 run by the Lady Broncos cut the deficit to 4, but Kayce Kallhoff's jumper gave EPPJ a 24-18 lead at the break. Leading 29-25 heading into the final stanza, the Lady Wolfpack picked up the defensive pressure to pull away for the win with a 16-11 run to end the game. “It’s been a great journey so far,” Krebs said. “It’s nice to get a win since we played Fullerton on Tuesday. It was nice to bounce back and just a good win overall.” EPPJ turned six Stuart fourth-quarter turnovers into 7 points, and scored 19 points in total off of turnovers. “At the end we have to push through all the fighting and do the best we can,” Krebs continued. Krebs and Allyson Wemhoff each netted 13 points to lead the Lady Wolfpack. Kallhoff tallied 8 points, Ally Selting contributed 6 points and Grace Rittscher added 5 points. The defense was stellar for EPPJ (11-3) in the win. The Lady Wolfpack held the Lady Broncos to its lowest point total of the season and caused 19 Stuart turnovers. “We pride ourselves in our defense,” Eisenhauer noted. “We try to extend our 2-3 (zone) and it’s something some teams struggle with. In order for us to run something like that, our girls have to really be moving, talking, communicating and getting after it. I thought we did that tonight.” In the boys contest, the Broncos capitalized off of EPPJ’s miscues and surged to a 67-47 win. “We talked after the game about valuing the basketball and taking care of it,” commented EPPJ boys coach Michael Becker. “We did some really good things at times, and then we had some mental lapses for a couple possessions where we gave them some easy buckets on the other end. When a team outscores you by 4 and 6 points every quarter, the game gets out of hand later in the game.” Despite a sloppy first half, the Wolfpack remained within striking distance at the break, trailing 34-24. The Broncos turned 13 EPPJ (0-13) miscues into 18 points, but the host squad stayed alive thanks to three triples and a 3-point play by Colton Wright. The Wolfpack's mistakes finally caught up to them in the second half, as Stuart added 16 points off turnovers, for a game total of 34. “We have to to take better care of the basketball and be confident when it’s in our hands,” Becker remarked. Kyle Schumacher led the way with 17 points, - 12 of those coming in the fourth quarter - seven rebounds and six assists. Conor Ramold recorded 13 points, Wright had 8 points and four boards, Adam Dreger collected 7 points and seven rebounds and RJ Lierman pitched in 2 points. Elgin Public/Pope John returns to action Saturday as the Wolfpack travel to Winside at 2 p.m. “We have to continue to improve, play hard and to do the things we’re trying to do correctly to be effective,” Becker stated. “If we can do that, then success will continue to come.” The Winside contest wraps up a busy week for EPPJ, which plays its third game in five days Saturday. “We got one game left before we begin the end of the year push,” Eisenhauer concluded. “We have to come ready to go tomorrow against Winside, push ourselves, both offensively and defensively, and finish the season.” The Warriors felt the bite of the Bulldogs on Thursday night as the girls and boys both fell to Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family in a road game.
HLHF cruised to a 61-26 victory in the girls game and then downed the N-O boys, 67-37. In the girls matchup, Brooke Frey started the scoring for the Lady Warriors by draining a triple on her first attempt. The Bulldogs answered with a trey of their own, and then another as they went on a 14-0 run. Before the quarter ticked away, Frey went 1-2 at the line and Trinity Kurpgeweit added a layup to end the first, 18-6. HLHF went on a 9-0 spree to start the second. Paige Furstenau hit a bucket, Frey drained a jumper and Kurpgeweit went 1-2 and Furstenau was 2-4 on free throws to round out the half, 36-13. Furstenau added one from the charity stripe and Kurpgeweit laid one in for two as N-O trailed, 53-16 at the end of three. Claire Whitesel connected from behind the arc, but the Bulldogs surged ahead and forced a running clock in the fourth. In the fast final quarter, Furstenau drove in for two, Haley Kerkman went 1-2 at the line, Frey was 2-2 and freshman Grace Shabram knocked one in for two before the buzzer. Frey led the team scoring with 8 points, followed by Furstenau with 7, Kurpgeweit 5, Whitesel 3, Shabram 2 and Kerkman 1. "They were the best team I've seen shooting-wise and bench-wise, it was hard to defend," Coach Christy Knutson said of the Bulldogs. They would keep coming and they were really tall. So I told the girls you just have to play your game and play the best that you can." She said the team "did a lot of good things" despite the loss. "That was the best I've seen us handle full-court pressure," Knutson said. "That's something we've been working on. I'm not disappointed in this game, I just hope we learn something from it." In the boys game, it was a tale of two halves. "The first half of the game was a back and forth battle with each team looking for an opportunity to seize momentum to go on a run," Coach Ethan Larsen said. "Coming out of the half, we were unable to get a lot of flow going as our shots weren't falling and some of our guys fell into foul trouble." Beau Murray got the offense started in the first quarter with a triple, followed by an Isiac Kurpgeweit lay in. Cole Belitz finished out the first quarter scoring for the Warriors, driving in for two, netting a trey, going 2-2 at the line and then putting in a layup to give N-O a 14-11 advantage. In the second, Murray swiped a steal for a layup, Kurpgeweit laid one in off the glass and went 2-2 on free throws, Belitz scored on a layup and Austin Rice added a layup and went 1-2 at the line to trail 30-25 at the break. Cold-shooting and turnovers plagued the Warriors in the second half as they only added 12 more points. Kurpgeweit went 1-2 on free throws and added two more field goals, Belitz hit a jumper and Charf drained a trey and went 2-2 at the line. "In the first half, we managed our turnovers even as they came," Larsen said. "We had 11 statted at halftime—too many for us. That's a game total for us. But it was manageable. Ultimately, in the second half, we turned the ball over entirely too many times and it just thwarted us from getting into our offense." Belitz led the Warriors with 13 points and 4 assists, followed by Kurpgeweit with a double-double, 11 points and 10 rebounds. Murray and Charf each tallied 5 points and Rice had 3. Neligh-Oakdale looks to get back on track as they host Madison on Saturday. The girls JV game is set to tip off at 1 p.m. The Neligh-Oakdale wrestling team picked up three wins at the Centennial Quad Thursday evening.
The Warriors opened the night with a 55-15 victory over Fillmore Central. In its second match, N-O held on for a 42-31 triumph over Bishop Neumann. After Kaleb Pofahl’s pin gave the Warriors 36-12 lead, Bishop Neumann won three of the final four matches. However the deficit was too much to overcome as N-O earned the sweep. N-O ended the night with a 60-12 win over Centennial. Cameron Wilkinson (113), Brock Kester (120), Andrew Herley (132), Pofahl (170) and Dawson Kaup (195) won three matches of their matches for the Warriors. Caleb Payne (138), Cade Wilkinson (145), Jose Luna (152), Conor Dempsey (160), Jayden Arehart (182) won two matches each, while Isaias Juarez (126), Colton Klabenes (220) and Griffin Claussen (113) won one match each. Neligh-Oakdale returns to action Friday as the Warriors compete at the Weeping Water Invitational at 3 p.m. Despite the scoreboard showing a dominant Clearwater/Orchard win over Randolph Thursday night in wrestling action, head coach Dan Roeber knows the Cyclones have a long way to go to reach their full potential.
“We knew coming Randolph only had four (wrestlers), but they have three really quality wrestlers and even their fourth one is not a bad wrestler,” Roeber stated. “We need to fight off of our backs. I can stand losing, but giving up pins, especially in duals. It is going to be the difference coming down with NVC (Niobrara Valley Conference), our dual with North Central and if we have any expectations of making it to the state dual tournament. We have to protect those extra bonus points in there, and score them when we can.” OC won 10 matches by forfeit. But in the four matches wrestled, the green and black went 1-3. Eli Macke was the lone winner for the Cyclones, scoring a first-period pin in his 160-pound match. “I got a takedown early and got him on his back right away,” Macke recalled. “I had him in a headlock, then I readjusted to a half (nelson). I settled down, got chest to chest and got the pin.” Thursday's match was the junior's first match of the year. “It was nice to have my first match be a win,” Macke added. “(I) just have to keep on going.” Alex Arroyo (145), David Arroyo (152) and Austin Pokorny (170) each fell in their matches by fall. Anthony Ferris (106), Spencer Kester (113), Rafe Grebin (120), Eli Thiele (126), James Kester (132), Tyson Rix (138), Codey Snider (182), Clay Thiele (195), Donaven Nolze (220) and Tommie Peed (285) each won by forfeit to help OC remain perfect in dual matches this season. “We’ve been harping on the young guys all year to get their records back to .500,” Roeber commented. “We’ve done a pretty good job here lately. We’re not there yet, but we’re getting closer. We need to keep chipping away there so when it’s district time, we get those guys seeded.” Clearwater/Orchard returns to action Saturday, as the Cyclones travel to the West Holt Invitational at 9:30 a.m. “We went after it pretty hard in practice this week,” Roeber concluded. “We knew with Randolph not having a bunch of numbers, we didn’t have a pre-meet this week. We got right after it, fixed a lot of issues and fixed some conditioning issues out of Christmas break. We made sure we are in shape going in. West Holt is not a lot of teams, but they are high caliber teams and we better be ready.” There has been a change in the scheduled games for Elgin Public/Pope John vs Ewing, according to Michael Becker, EPPJ activities director.
The girls game against Ewing will still be played on Friday, Jan. 18, but the boys will not be playing on that date. The Lady Wolfpack will play 2 quarters of JV girls, starting at 6 p.m., followed by girls varsity. The games will still be played in Pope John's gym. The boys game vs Ewing will now be played on Saturday, Feb. 9 at 3 p.m. in the Elgin Public gym. This will be a varsity-only game. It was a tough night for the Elgin Public/Pope John basketball squads, as both the boys and girls fell to Fullerton.
In the boys contest, the Warriors surged to a 69-28 win. After taking an early 18-12 lead in the first, Fullerton went on to outscore EPPJ (0-12) 51-16 in the next three quarters of play. Adam Dreger led the Wolfpack with 11 points and nine rebounds. R.J. Lierman tallied 8 points, Cotlon Wright recorded 4 points, Conor Ramold had 3 points and Kyle Schumacher pitched in 2 points. An early hole costs the Lady Wolfpack in their 34-25 loss. After taking a 10-6 lead in the first quarter, EPPJ (10-3) was outscored, 28-15, the rest of the game. Kirsten Krebs and Kayce Kallhoff each netted 6 points to lead the way. Grace Rittscher scored 5 points, while Kaylee Ramold, Harlie Bode, Allyson Wemhoff and Ally Selting each added 2 points. Elgin Public/Pope John hosts Stuart Friday at 4 p.m. at Pope John. The Clearwater/Orchard girls and boys basketball teams went 1-1 Tuesday night at
The OC boys rallied for a 42-40 victory over the Bulldogs. After falling behind 27-18 at the break, Creighton (3-9) used a 17-7 run to claim a 1-point advantage heading into the final stanza. The Cyclones rallied with an 8-5 run to improve to 8-3 on the year. Ryan Wilhelm recorded a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Blake Hoke recorded 13 points seven boards, two assists and five steals and Gage Clifton added 6 points and five rebounds. In the girls contest, the Lady Bulldogs surged to a 41-25 victory. Leading 10-8 after the first eight minutes of play, Creighton (6-7) outscored the Lady Cyclones, 20-8, in the next two quarters of play. Maycee Zimmer led the way with 8 points, seven rebounds and 10 take aways. Ashtyn Fritz accounted for 8 points and four steals, Brenna Fanta netted 8 points and Jessica Stevens pitched in 6 points, four boards and three steals. For OC (2-10), Katie Stearns had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Avery Cheatum notched 5 points, Julia Thiele and Taylor Sanne each scored 3 points, while Holly Schacht and Elly Herley each contributed 2 points. Creighton hosts Laurel-Concord-Coleridge Friday at 4 p.m. Clearwater/Orchard welcomes Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family to Clearwater Friday at 6:30 p.m. Fans were on the edge of their seats as the Neligh-Oakdale girls and boys basketball teams lost a couple of nail-biters in Osmond on Tuesday night,
Osmond narrowly topped the Lady Warriors, 42-39, and the undefeated Tigers nipped the boys in the final seconds, 66-63. Haley Kerkman started off the scoring for the girls by converting her first bucket into a 3-point play, followed by an easy two by Brooke Frey and a put back and a bunny shot by Trinity Kurpgeweit. Kerkman grabbed an offensive board and put it in for another two to finish out the first quarter down by one, 12-11. Paige Furstenau scores and-one to take the lead in the second, and then drives in for a layup on the next trip down the court. Kurpgeweit hits a jumper in the lane and then Furstenau takes it to the hoop twice more to pull ahead, 22-12. A pair of shots by Claire Whitesel and Kerkman kept the first half scoring alive, but a Tiger buzzer beater brings Osmond back within 1 at the break, 26-25. Kerkman pulled down a rebound for a put back and Furstenau swiped the ball for a layup to lead 30-27 midway through the third. Tied at 30, Kurpgeweit scores and-one and then converts on a put back on the next play to lead 35-30. Frey drives in for two more to end the score at 37-36 heading into the final quarter of play. Osmond ties it up 37-all after a free throw and the score remained tied until halfway through the fourth. Furstenau went 2-2 from the line to take the 39-37 lead. Osmond free throws knot it back up at 39-39 with 1 minute left in the game. A turnover by the Lady Warriors gave the Tigers the ball back with 46 seconds left. With 25 seconds on the clock, an Osmond layup put the Tigers up by two, and a forced turnover and one more from the line gave Osmond the 3-point win. Furstenau led the team with 13 points and 5 steals, followed by Kurpgeweit with 11 points, Kerkman with 9 points and 8 rebounds, Frey 4 points and Whitesel 2. "We didn't play to our potential," Coach Christy Knutson said. "We wanted it so bad. We put a lot of time and effort in, and sometimes you can want something so bad, and you don't think about the little things to make the big things happen. Sometimes we get ahead of ourselves and look past the moment. That's what I just told the girls, 'You know, in life you have to be right here. You can't look past and look beyond. You have to live every day like today.' It's something they need to learn, and our inexperience and young group showed tonight. Just not finishing. It will just take time and we'll bounce back and be a better team from it." In the boys matchup, the Warriors and Tigers started off the game trading buckets in an offensive showdown. Isiac Kurpgeweit got the first two before Hunter Charf went 1-2 at the line and then nailed a trey. Austin Rice and Julien Hearn each added two more. Rice drove to the hoop for a layup and then Kurpgeweit hit one before Rice poured in another to capture a 16-8 lead. The Tigers clawed their way back by hitting back-to-back shots, but Hearn answered with a triple. Kurpgeweit converted his shot into a 3-point-play to end the first quarter with a 22-18 lead. Kurpgeweit hit consecutive field goals, followed by a bucket by Cole Belitz and then Kurpgeweit stepped outside the arc for another. Belitz grabbed a steal for a layup and then Beau Murray drained a trey for a 36-29 advantage heading into the locker room. A bucket by Rice got things going in the third before Charf hit a triple and a jumper for two more. Belitz got in on the action, driving in for two before getting open for a jump shot. Charf added another trey and Rice tallied a put back to lead 52-45 at the end of the third. Belitz went 1-2 at the line, Rice added a bucket, and Belitz and Charf each scored a layup to lead 59-51 midway through the final quarter. Osmond put up 6 unanswered points before Belitz went 2-2 at the line for a score of 61-57. The Tigers hit another bucket before Belitz again was 2-2 on free throws, leading 63-59 with just 1:03 to play. Osmond pulled within 2 with just 47 seconds left. A Warrior turnover gave the Tigers the ball back and an Osmond trey gave them a 64-63 lead. The Tigers regained possession on a jump ball with 12 seconds left, forcing the Warriors to foul. With 6 seconds left, Osmond makes both shots at the line for a 3-point win. Four Warriors scored in double digits, led by Belitz with 15 points, 4 steals and 8 assists; followed by Kurpgeweit with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks; Charf with 14 points, Rice 12, Hearn 5 and Murray 3. "You know Osmond has a lot of offensive weapons on their bench, but their best attribute is their defense," Coach Ethan Larsen said. "Knowing this going in, Merrix Denn is a heck of a shooter and their leading scorer. We tried to do everything we could to make sure we limited his touches, but we needed to make sure, in terms of our game plan, that we executed well on offense against their very stingy defense. It's no consolation prize, but I think we did a lot of good things tonight, and it just shows me that our best basketball is yet to come." The Elkhorn Valley girls and boys basketball teams split Tuesday’s doubleheader against Ewing.
A big second-half run propelled the EV boys past Ewing, 61-36. “We started out sluggish, both offensively and defensively,” stated EV boys coach Deric Werner. “(This past) Saturday we played the best basketball our program has since I’ve been coaching (a 44-43 loss to West Holt). So I was extremely frustrated with our effort tonight.” It was a tightly contest ball game to start. The first 16 minutes of play saw five ties and the largest lead was 4 by Elkhorn Valley. After a Julio Sierra jumper and Derek Hahne layup pushed the Falcons' lead to 4, Joey Wright netted a layup just before the buzzer to cut EV's lead to 23-21 at the half. A pair of free throw by Wright tied the game at 23 to start the third. The Falcons responded by blowing the game open with a 25-8 run to end the quarter. “The biggest adjustment we made in the second half was we quit standing still on offense,” Werner noted. “So much of our offense is dictated on movement. The first half, we didn’t move without the ball. In the second half, we moved and got some easier shots.” EV's (6-5) defense picked up the pressure, which led to some easy buckets in the quarter. Big Green turned 9 Ewing (0-11) turnovers into 11 points. “Our defense really kicked in,” Sierra spoke. “Coach (Werner) drew up a game plan to have us press and it put more pressure on the other team, which led to easy baskets. Our defense helped a lot and carried over to our offense, because our energy was really good with the defense and it helped with our offense.” The big run proved to be enough as the Falcons won their second game in three tries. “It feels really good (to get the win),” Sierra added. “We as a team, have been playing much better and all in all it just helps.” Braedyn Ollendick netted 13 of his 23 points during EV’s big third quarter run, to go along with his 11 rebounds. Carter Rautenberg tallied 13 points and seven boards, Sierra accounted for 12 points and nine rebounds, Bryson Anderson notched 6 points and seven assists, Hahne had 5 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals and Conner Larson added 2 points. Wright paced the Tigers with 19 points. Conner Napier had 6 points and Wyatt Wagner contributed 4 points. The girls contest was one of the most highly anticipated matchups in the area, and the Lady Falcons and Lady Tigers did not disappoint. Four quarters was not enough and Ewing rallied to defeat EV, 49-41, in overtime. “We told them to keep playing and the lid might come off,” commented Ewing girls mentor Greg Appleby. “We got good shots, we just didn’t get them in. Then we went into a little bit better of an attack mode in the fourth quarter. Elkhorn Valley hit big shots and we were down by 6 with 90 seconds, and our girls stepped up with two 3s and a tied ball game. The defense won the ball game for us. We played a 3-2 defense and were able to get to their shooters and still stop their touches inside.” It was a defensive struggle to open the contest, as Ewing led 9-7 after the first eight minutes of play. “It sure seemed like what I would envision as a 1920s ball game to be,” remarked EV girls coach Brendan Dittmer. “There was poor shooting on both sides for a while. We had a lot of opportunities, but our shots didn’t fall.” After an Olivia Nall 3-pointer opened the second, the Lady Tigers used a 14-7 run to take a 23-17 advantage into the break. “We were short tonight,” Appleby said. “We were without Sidney Stallbaum, who is probably our second or third leading scorer. We needed to hang in there and I was worried because they (EV) are a great shooting team, they were in their gym and us getting shot out of this thing early. Our goal was to hang around early, and we did more than hang around. We controlled the first half and it was good, we needed to hang in there early.” The Lady Falcons began their comeback the third. EV (9-2) held Ewing to just 1 point, while netting 10 points of its own to take a 27-24 advantage into the fourth. Back-to-back Sierra Rystrom triples, pushed the Lady Falcons' lead to 37-31 with 90 seconds remaining in the game. “They were leaving the corner open and Sierra Rystrom got hot,” Dittmer recalled. “That was good to see because we needed that. We were lacking confidence with our shots. She hit two baseline 3s and that really got us going in the right direction for a while.” The Lady Tigers answered with trifectas by Brenna Wagner and Tiana Thramer to knot the game at 37. Tied at 39, Wagner's runner was off the mark and Hannah Ollendick was unable to get a shot off before the buzzer. A Thramer trey, Ashley Koenig steal to layup and Jaidyn Schindler 3-pointer gave the orange and black a 47-39 lead in the first minute of overtime. “It took the air out of their balloon,” Appleby mentioned. “It was bam, bam and we got that lead early on. You could feel we sucked all momentum and we were tired, but it gave our girls energy to keep playing. That was huge.” While the Ewing (9-2) offense was humming, EV's offense went ice cold, netting just two free throws in overtime. Three Lady Tigers scored in double figures, led by Wagner’s 13 points. Koenig and Thramer each netted 12 points, Miranda Summers had 6 points, while Schindler and Hailey Rotherham each added 3 points. “We do a good job,” Appleby stated. “We got girls that pass the ball and look for each other. We’re not a team that has one superstar we rely on for 25. We got a number of people that can hit shots. One of the keys was passing against their 1-3-1. Passing was our No.1 key we talked about and we needed to be a good passing team.” Hannah Ollendick recorded a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Rystrom accumulated 11 points and seven boards, Nall pitched in 7 points and seven rebounds and Amber Miller accumulated 7 points, six rebounds and four steals. Ewing travels to O’Neill to take on St. Mary’s Thursday at 6:30 p.m. “It’s time to beat someone really good and Elkhorn Valley is really good,” Appleby said. “It was time to beat someone good and hang that thing up on the wall and say ‘That’s a good win.’ The Niobrara Valley Conference is tough. We’ll take that one and move on to the next one.” Elkhorn Valley heads to Niobrara to face Niobrara/Verdigre Friday at 4 p.m. “We talked on the way home on Saturday about how important this week was to get the confidence back,” Werner stated. “Hopefully this will be a good week for us.” Dittmer hopes the the Lady Falcons can learn from their tough loss and bounce back against an improved Lady Cougar squad. “We’re playing for February and March basketball,” Dittmer concluded. “This is hopefully a learning experience for us. Moving forward we won’t ever shoot this poorly again.” The Elkhorn Valley girls and boys basketball teams had two hard-fought battles with Niobrara Valley Conference foe West Holt Saturday.
The Lady Falcons defeated West Holt, 57-44. Leading 24-21 at the break, EV (9-1) used a big 17-6 run in the third to put the game out of reach. Three Lady Falcons scored in double figures, led by Olivia Nall’s 16 points and six rebounds. Sierra Rystrom netted 13 points, Amber Miller accounted for 14 points, five rebounds, four assists and five steals, Kaylee Bacon had 6 points and five boards, while Hannah Ollendick and Carney Black each added 4 points. In the boys contest, a fourth-quarter rally was not enough, as the Falcons fell to the Huskies, 44-43. Trailing 35-26, EV (5-5) went on a 17-9 run in the final quarter, but fell just short of completing the comeback. Braedyn Ollendick led the way with 17 points, nine boards and two steals. Bryson Anderson recorded 8 points, Julio Sierra and Derek Hahne each scored 6 points, Brandon Evans accumulated 4 points and five rebounds and Carter Rautenberg pitched in 2 points and four boards. Elkhorn Valley hosts Ewing Tuesday at 4 p.m. The Clearwater/Orchard wrestling team took runner-up honors at the 50th Winside Invitational Saturday.
The Cyclones scored 161 team points, just one point behind team champion Winside. Tommie Peed (285) and Codey Snider (1820 each placed first for OC. Second placer finishers included Donaven Nolze (220), Clay Thiele (195) and Tyler Bellar (160). Austin Pokorny (170), Houston Marino (152) and Rafe Grebin (120) finished third, Logan Mueller (285), Tyson Rix (138), Spencer Kester (113) and James Kester (132) took fourth, Jaccob Bennett (220), Alex Arroyo (145) and Anthony Ferris (106) placed fifth, Gaby Gamez (152) and Eli Thiele (126) were sixth, Anthony Marino (220) took seventh and David Arroyo (145) finished 13th. OC hosts Randolph in a dual match Thursday at 6 p.m. at Orchard. The Neligh-Oakdale wrestling team had a solid showing at the tough Amherst Invitational Saturday.
The Warriors placed third as a team with 162.5 points, behind Amherst with 172 and team champion Plainview with 194 points. Kaleb Pofahl, Jayden Arehart and Cameron Wilkinson led N-O with a first-place finishes. Pofahl recorded four pins on his way to a 170-pound title. After recording pins in his first two matches, Arehart won the 182 championship with an 802 decision over Cambridge’s Drew Sprinkle. Wilkinson remained unbeaten on the year and captured the 113 crown with a 4-0 record Saturday. Colton Klabenes (220) and Caleb Payne (138) placed second, Brock Kester (120) took third and Conor Dempsey (160) and Andrew Herley (132) were fourth. Dawson Kaup (195), Cade Wilkinson (145), Isaias Juarez (126) and Griffin Claussen (106) also competed for the Warriors. Neligh-Oakdale returns to action Thursday as the Warriors travel to the Centennial quad-match at 5 p.m. Numerous feats were accomplished for the Elkhorn Valley wrestling team at the Central City Invitational Saturday.
As a team, the Falcons took third with 128.5 points. Senior Josh McFarland surpassed the 150th career win milestone on his way to first-place finish at 160 pounds. Senior Brock Schaecher also made history Saturday, recording the fastest fall in school history, after pinning Kyle Frederick, of Grand Island Central, in six seconds. Schaecher ended up capturing the 182-pound crown. Prestin Vondra (145) and Hunter Bennett (106) placed second, Mitchell Petersen (170) took third and Christian Yaw (285) was fourth for the Falcons. Reed Bennett (126) and Adam Miller (120) each won one match, while Caden Reikofski (220) and Hunter Klinetobe (132) also competed for EV. Elkhorn Valley wrestles at the Battle Creek Invitational Saturday at 9 a.m. |
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