Patriot Boys Improve to 8-6
By: Morgan Bunner, a freshman at Leigh High School
The Clarkson-Leigh Basketball team beat the Twin River Titans in a close battle on Friday, January 21, on the road.
After falling short in the first quarter, and trailing 13-21, the Patriots battled hard to regain a lead and steal a victory from Twin River.
The final score ended 56-46 in favor of the Patriots.
Against the Titans, the Patriots were led by Eli Hays with 16 points and 3 steals. Carter Hanel also put up 14 points and pulled down an impressive 20 rebounds.
Stats vs. Twin River:
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
Clarkson-Leigh 13 10 22 11 56
Twin River 21 5 10 10 46
Individual Stats: (points, rebounds, assists, steals)
Lance Paprocki––6, 5, 3, 0; Eli Hays––16, 3, 2, 3; Kyle Kasik––12, 4, 3, 2; Mason Whitmore––0,1, 0, 0; Trevor Zulkoski––8, 10,1, 0; Carter Hanel––14, 20, 1, 0; Mitch Beeson––0, 5, 1, 0;
The next night at home in Leigh, on January 22, the Patriots squared off against the Lutheran High Northeast Eagles.
After being stopped by the Eagles and unable to score sufficient points in the first half, the Patriots come out after halftime and try their best to make a comeback. They did outscore LHNE by 3 points in the third quarter and 1 in the fourth, but it was not enough.
“I was pleased with our effort and felt we played a good defensive game against the Eagles, but we didn’t have the legs to score enough points unfortunately,” said Head Coach Jeff Bachman.
Sophomore Kyle Kasik said, “Coming off two wins earlier in the week, the team was ready mentally to go undefeated for the week. Ultimately we couldn't come out with one we should have won. Now we just have to move forward and try to make a run in the conference tournament.”
After these two games, the Patriot boys’ record stands at 8-6, and they have secured the 6th place seed in the East Husker Conference Tournament.
Stats vs. Lutheran High Northeast:
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
Clarkson-Leigh 6 6 8 14 34
Twin River 11 12 5 13 41
Individual Stats: (points, rebounds, assists, steals)
Lance Paprocki––8, 4, 3, 1; Eli Hays––0, 5, 3, 3; Kyle Kasik––2, 4, 2, 1; Mason Whitmore––0, 1, 0, 0; Trevor Zulkoski––10, 5, 2, 0; Carter Hanel––10, 15, 1, 0; Mitch Beeson––4, 0, 0, 0