Kimball Boys Sink Sailors In Home Finale

Throughout the opening eight minutes of Saturday’s 63-40 Kimball win, visiting Sutherland looked like potential giant killers. They connected on four of five three point attempts and rushed out to a 16-14 lead.

“They shot lights out in the first quarter,” Zach Rockhold-O’Brien said.

The Longhorns sprang to life in the remaining three periods, knocking down 64 percent from inside the arc in the second, squelching the visitor’s offense in the third and eventually cruising to their 15th win of the season.

“It’s always best winning in front of the home crowd,” Caleb Reuter noted. “We have great fans.”

Reuter hit from four feet out at the end of the first, taking a feed from Jake Reader to bring the Longhorns within two on Senior night, the squad’s final home game of the year. To start the second, Reader grabbed a loose ball along the baseline and again whipped it to Reuter while falling to the floor.

Reuter sank a jumper and drew a foul, completing a three point play.

“Jake was getting smothered and the lane was open,” Reuter reported.

Shortly afterward, Reader banged in two put backs, Rockhold-O’Brien scored after tapping the ball from his mark and racing coast to coast for a lay up and Mike Daum drained an open three-pointer.

By halftime the Longhorns held a 35-27 lead.

“When we switched to man defense that shut them down,” Rockhold-O’Brien said. “We started getting steals and a lot of transition points.”

The third quarter was all Kimball. Reuter zig-zagged through three defenders for two, Daum rolled in the first of a pair from the paint, Reuter again sliced into the lane for a jumper, Rockhold-O’Brien sank a three and Reuter followed suit.

“When we came out after half, we stepped it up,” head coach Bruce Tjosvold pointed out.

Kimball’s 14-3 outburst was due in part to the defensive effort of Jordon Berger, who clamped down on Sutherland’s long range shooters, scrambled to corral loose balls and generally made a nuisance of himself.

“My offense hasn’t been going, so I made it a goal to work on defense,” he said.

Late in the period, he held his ground while six-footer Tyler Fear screamed into the lane, taking the charge.

“It was two on one and he decided to keep the ball,” Berger explained. “I just planted my feet and closed my eyes.”

In the runaway fourth, the little senior guard even hit a flying put back, beating taller opponents to the ball.

“This is a true team,” Tjosvold said. “We have more than one guy who can score.”

Indeed, four Longhorns scored in double figures, Reuter leading the way with 17. Daum, Reader and Rockhold-O’Brien followed closely in his wake.

For the seniors, it was their final career appearance in the Arena.

“It’s kind of bittersweet,” Bernie Bridge explained. “You still want to go out there and play.”

While Austin Pile pointed out that the win meant a lot, they all expect a strong home crowd showing at the subdistricts in Alliance.

“We have great fans,” Rockhold-O’Brien said. “They’ll make the trip.”

Kimball faces Gordon-Rushville in the subdistrict opener on Tuesday in Alliance.

Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m.