Patriot Boys Struggle in Conference Tourney
It’s that exciting time of year again as the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams battle it out in the highly competitive East Husker Conference Tournament.
The #9 seed Patriot boys took on #7 seed Howells-Dodge in the first round of the tournament on February, 1. They started out rough during the first quarter but stepped up their game in the second. At the end of the first half, the score was 22-26, Jaguar lead.
After halftime, the Patriots kept a steady pace with the Jaguars. They kept pushing, but it wasn’t enough to keep up in the end. This nail-biting game went back and forth, but the Patriots never closed the gap. The final score of the game was 46-51, Patriot loss.
Freshman, Kyle Kasik, led the team with 10 points, while sophomore, Carter Hanel, contributed 10 rebounds to the team’s stats.
In the second round of the tournament, the Patriot boys played # 10 seed Pender on February 7th. As this was another nail-biting game, and the Patriots didn’t give up. They stayed ahead of Pender during the first half with the score being 29-24, Patriot lead.
They kept up with Pender throughout the game but fell a little short during the third quarter. As this high-strung game continued, both teams fought for glory. Unfortunately, Pender pulled ahead a little bit and finished the game with a 58-52 win over the Patriots.
Sophomore, Jarred Novotny, led the team with a notable astounding 25 points, while Carter Hanel contributed 16 rebounds.
Freshman, Kyle Kasik, said, “We played a solid game, but with key players in foul trouble, we couldn't quite knock them off. Now we have to continue to play at the level that we know we can and finish the year out strong.”
Head Coach, Jeff Bachman said, “I was pleased with the effort we played with, but in both games we had bad stretches that put us behind. Our scoring wasn't enough to get us out of those holes and ultimately cost us the game.”
Boys
1 2 3 4 Final
Clarkson-Leigh 7 15 11 13 46
Howells-Dodge 16 10 13 12 51
Individual Stats: (points, rebounds, assists, steals)
Lance Paprocki: 9, 2, 2, 1; Jarred Novotny: 9, 3, 2, 0; Eli Hays: 4, 4, 0, 0; Kyle Kasik: 10, 7, 1, 1; Drew Beeson: 0, 0, 1, 0; Mason Whitmore: 0, 0, 1, 0; Isaak Wiese: 2, 1, 1, 0; Carter Hanel: 9, 10, 0, 1; Mitch Beeson: 3, 0, 0, 0
Boys
1 2 3 4 Final
Clarkson-Leigh 15 14 9 14 52
Pender 9 15 18 16 58
Individual Stats: (points, rebounds, assists, steals)
Lance Paprocki: 6, 0, 4, 0; Jarred Novotny: 25, 4, 1, 2; Eli Hays: 4, 7, 3, 2; Kyle Kasik: 2, 4, 0, 2; Isaak Wiese: 0, 0, 1, 0; Carter Hanel: 10, 16, 1, 2; Mitch Beeson: 5, 0, 0, 0