Kimball boys claim tournament title

The Kimball High boys opened the season with a pair of wins in capturing the championship of their own four team tournament this past weekend as new head coach Luke Dea saw his new role as the head man start off in the right way. The Longhorns won over Dundy County-Stratton 58-56 in first round play and took out Morrill 61-53 in the championship contest.

The game with Dundy County-Stratton was a rough and tumble affair with 44 fouls called (26 on DCS) with Kimball making runs that gave them comfortable leads only to see the visitors come back each time to secure the win in the closing seconds. The Horns were up by 11 entering the fourth period, but the Tigers scored the first 7 points of the final quarter and it was a see-saw battle from that point to the final horn. After DCS took a lead of 52-50, Angel Flores hit a trey to put Kimball back on top by 1, Colton Stull had a steal and layin, the Tigers scored again, Trent Rutledge tallied a field goal on a drive to the basket leaving Kimball on top 57-54 with :58 seconds remaining. The Tigers scored inside to close to within 1, but Rutledge hit a free throw with :11 seconds left, and then rebounded a mis-fired 3 pointer by the Tigers to secure the win.

Coach Dea was using ten players in his rotations and had 9 players score on the night. Senior Colton Stull led all scorers with 16 points including a pair of treys, had 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 assists. Trent Rutledge had 9 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 assists. Jordan Greenwood ended with 9 points, Angel Flores 7 along with 4 rebounds, 3 steals and a pair of assists. Michael Ferguson had 7, Jaden Withrow 4, Ethan Land 2, Jon Withrow 2, and Enrique Cajero 2. Cajero, a 5'11" senior, also led Kimball rebounding with 11.

In team stats, Kimball had 18 turnovers, 18 fouls, were 11/26 at the foul line, 19/53 on 2 point field goals, 3/9 on 3 pointers, had 11 offensive and 27 defensive boards, 11 steals, 11 assists, and 1 blocked shot. DCS had 39 rebounds, 26 fouls, were 8/17 at the line, 18/48 on 2 pointers and 4/16 on treys. They were led in scoring by Kameron Krutsinger with 15, and Trey Haisleip with 13.

Score by quarter

Kimball 12 20 14 12 - 58

Dundy 12 13 10 21 - 56

In the championship game the Horns found themselves up against a scrappy Morrill Lion club featuring a pair of sharp shooting outside guards plus some good inside height that won the rebound battle.

Kimball senior Michael Ferguson scored early on a drive to the basket but picked up 2 quick fouls that brought him bench time. Sophomore Jaden Withrow checked in an promptly hit a trey and had a steal. Trailing 10-7, Kimball senior Enrique Cajero hit a pair of free throws, Tyler Magninie scored on a drive, and Cajero hit a trey to put Kimball up 14-10 at the end of the opening period of play.

In the second quarter, Jordan Greenwood checked in and hit 3 straight baskets on drives to the hoop, Rutledge and Stull had 4 points each and Kimball led 28-23 at half time. The Lions outscored Kimball 17 to 12 in the third period to knot the score at 40-40 at the end of the quarter.

In the final quarter, Stull took over and showed his senior leadership qualities as he scored 11 of his team high 15 points in the final stanza, going a perfect 6 for 6 from the line in the closing minutes to secure the win as Kimball outscored the Lions 21-13 in the fourth period. Senior Michael Ferguson was also strong on the boards in that final period with 6 rebounds.

Stull got his 15 points going 6 for 6 at the line, had a trey and 3 two point field goals. All 10 players in the Kimball rotations scored with Greenwood, Rutledge, Cajero, and Ferguson all with 7 points each, Magninie had 5, Jon Withrow 4, Jaden Withrow, Ethan Land, and Flores all 3 each. Stull, Cajero, Magninie, Land, and Jaden Withrow all nailed treys.

In team stats, the Horns held their turnovers to just 5, had 16 fouls, were 18/25 at the foul line, 14/34 on 2 point fielders, 5/16 on 3 point fielders, had 4 offensive and 15 defensive boards, 5 steals, and 8 assists.

Morrill controlled the boards with 31 rebounds, had 17 fouls, were 6/13 at the line, 10/27 on 2 point field goals, and 9/19 on 3 pointers. Ryan McMackin and Jorge Lara both finished with 4 treys each and 17 points each. Tyler Gibson had 8, Victor Valles 7, Josh Harvey 2, and Zech Larson 2. Morrill was a 59-19 winner over McPherson County in first round play. Dundy County won over McPherson County 67-25 to take third place honors.

Score by quarter

Kimball 14 14 12 21 - 61

Morrill 10 13 17 13 - 53

In post tournament comments, coach Luke Dea said, "Two wins, that's good. It's a good way to start out and gives the kids some confidence. Our low number of turnovers against Morrill was a positive." Coach Dea said there is a lot of competition on the squad right now and he wants to give everyone playing time. "We do have a lot of competition on our squad and we are looking at all of them. I want everyone playing hard at all times. We have two big concerns right now and that is guarding people at the post and rebounding. We will be working hard on those two concerns." As far as singling out anyone, Dea said Colton Stull really showed his leadership and made some important plays that were keys to the wins.

This weekend Kimball hosts Perkins County on Friday night with the boys varsity game to tip off at around 7 p.m. following the girls varsity game. Both JV games are set for 4 p.m. Rebounding and boxing out will be very important against the team from Grant as they have a 6'9" post player. "We have a real test inside this Friday night," said Dea. On Saturday night Kimball is off to Morrill to face the Lions again and Dea said, "Morrill is a tough place to play. With their outside shooting and their size inside, it will be a tough test again at their house." Early game times at Morrill with both JV games to start at 1 p.m., the girl's varsity at 2:30 and the boy's varsity at 4 p.m.