Patriot Boys Extend Win Streak To 9
By: Kanyon Held, a senior at Leigh High School
The Patriot boys’ basketball team hosted Tekamah-Herman on January 8th in Clarkson. Clarkson-Leigh came into the game with a record of 8-1 and Tekamah Herman came into the game with a record of 4-6.
The night started off with a JV victory, but it didn’t come easy. A slow start for the Clarkson-Leigh boys’ JV left them down after the first quarter 4-13. A better defensive second quarter for the Patriots helped them hold the Tigers to six points. After scoring four points in the second quarter the Patriots were down 8-19. The Patriots turned it around in the second half, outscoring the Tigers 10-8 in the third quarter, making the score at the end of the third quarter 18-27. A very strong offensive and defensive fourth quarter helped the Patriots to a victory. The Patriots outscored the Tigers 13-2 in the fourth quarter, making the final score 31-29.
Top players for the Patriots’ JV were Korbin Lemburg with 10 points and Kyle Holmberg with 8 points.
The Varsity game started right after the JV game between the Patriots and the Tigers. A close start to the game left the Patriots up 14-11 at the end of the first quarter. A very good quarter for the Patriots helped them out score the Tigers 19-7 in the second. This put them up 33-18 going into halftime.
Tekamah-Herman certainly didn’t lie down in the second half. They outshot the Patriots in the third quarter, outscoring them 17-6, making the score at the end of the third quarter 49-35 Clarkson Leigh. But any momentum Tekamah-Herman had in the third was brought to a grinding halt in the fourth. The Patriots dominated the fourth quarter, holding the Tigers to 4 points.
The Patriots won the game 66-39, extending their win streak to 9 and making their record 9-1 on the season.
The game was a total team effort. Jarred Novotny scored 26 points to lead the team, with Eli Hays adding 17. Carter Hanel dominated the glass with 20 rebounds, and Kyle Kasik played a well-rounded game with 8 points, 5 boards, 4 assists, and 3 steals.
When asked about the game, assistant coach Willie Hollatz said, “We started out really good and then kind of relaxed but we still finished strong.”
Senior Logan Schroeder kept it simple, saying, “We played good and got the win.”
This is the best start the Patriot boys have had in program history.
Game Stats:
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
Clarkson-Leigh 14 19 18 17 66
Tekamah-Herman 11 7 15 4 39
Individual Stats: - (Points, Rebounds, Assists, Steals, Turnovers)
Jarred Novotny - 26, 5, 3, 1, 1; Eli Hays - 17, 1, 2, 2, 3; Carter Hanel - 0, 20, 0, 1, 2; Mitchel Beeson - 4, 0, 0, 0, 0; Kyle Kasik - 8, 5, 4, 3, 4; Mason Whitmore - 5, 4, 1, 2, 1; Logan Schroeder - 2, 0, 0, 1, 3; Dalton Zulkoski - 2, 0, 1, 1, 0; Isaac Rodenburg - 2, 1, 0, 0, 0; Jacob Eisenmann - 0, 2, 0, 0, 2