Boys Roll Over Hershey To Ease Memory Of Last Season's District Finals

Hershey humbled the Longhorns 55-37 in last season’s district finals. The blowout loss left a stain on an otherwise glorious 20 win campaign and knocked Kimball from state contention.

After Friday night’s 51-38 win on the Panthers’ home court, Kimball’s Jordon Berger expressed the complex feelings of redemption in one word.

“Payback,” he said with a smile.

The Longhorns never trailed in the contest. Zach Rockhold-O’Brien and Caleb Reuter staked them to a 6-0 lead from the opening whistle. Hershey’s Dylan Johnson battle under the net put the home side on the board. But Berger responded with a three from the top of the key.

As the first period ended, Austin Pile had drained a jumper, Reuter cruised along the baseline to deposit a fingertip flip and the Longhorns’ advantage stood at 17-4.

“Dribble penetration and dish--that opened up their defense,” Pile explained.

Colton Stull opened the second quarter by bouncing a pass through a narrow seam to Jake Reader. The big junior shouldered his way into the paint for a turnaround jumper.

Over the next few minutes Hershey tried to keep pace. Landan Maassan drained a three, but Rockhold-O’Brien answered with a three of his own. Then Berger cancelled out two Hershey free throws with another all cotton fling from beyond the arc.

“Jordon has a good perimeter game,” observed head coach Bruce Tjosvold. “He’s a good shooter.”

Late in the period, however, the Panthers--behind Tyson Osborne and Josh Margritz--crafted an 8-0 run, closing the gap to 27-17.

During the stretch, Kimball turned the ball over twice, missed a few opportunities and began to exhibit some frustration.

“I kind of got a little irritated,” Bernie Bridge admitted of a foul that sent Johnson to the line.

But that’s as close as the Panthers approached. In the third quarter Kimball began to pull away. Rockhold O’Brien and Reader each put 6 points on the board over the eight minute span--including a spectacular (though inadvertent) alley oop by Reader.

The final period was a mere formality.

“It was a good win,” Tjosvold said. “It’s a tough place to play.”