Kimball boys have a strong showing

A strong showing by the Kimball High boys this past weekend including a surprising upset win over North Platte St Pats. Despite playing well on the home court Friday evening, they let one slip away in an overtime 67-62 loss to visiting Sutherland, but then came back strong on the road Saturday to upset the favored St Pats Irish 58-53 at their house.

Coach Luke Dea praised the play of his team both nights.

“We played very good both nights, but just didn’t finish out on Friday against Sutherland” Dea said. “We got outstanding effort by all of our guys like we have for the most part all season, but Trent Rutledge really came through this past weekend. He scored well both nights and was strong on the boards. Jordan (Greenwood) got his scoring back on track at North Platte and that helped us secure that win,” Dea said.

The Horns did a good job of taking care of the basketball on Friday night with only 9 turnovers total. They held a narrow 16-15 lead at the quarter break, then outscored the Sailors 17-8 in the second period to go up 33-23 at half time, but were outscored 14-4 in the third period to enter the fourth period knotted at 37-37. Foul trouble hurt the Kimball cause in the fourth quarter as they lost Greenwood with 5 fouls with 2:30 left to play and Creg Barker and Angel Flores in the closing seconds.

Coach Dea had to bench starters throughout the contest because of foul problems. With :24 seconds left in regulation, Trent Rutledge gave Kimball a 52-50 lead after pulling down a rebound and going to the foul line. The Sailors tied it on a drive to the basket and Rutledge’s 16 footer came off the rim in a final shot as time expired.

The lead exchanged hands throughout the overtime period with both teams going to the foul line numerous times and the visitors getting the edge in this department to make the difference.

In the final team stats, Kimball had 28 fouls and Sutherland 26 for a total of 54. The Horns converted 25 of 36 free throws and the Sailors 26 of 41 with 77 free throws attempted. The Horns were only 3/27 on 3 point attempts, 14/44 on 2 point field goals, had 13 offensive and 21 defensive rebounds for 34 total, had 13 steals, 7 assists and 1 blocked shot. Sutherland had 38 rebounds, were 1/9 on 3 pointers and 19/43 on 2 point field goal attempts.

Four players in double figure scoring for Kimball with Angel Flores high with 15 on 5/8 shooting from the field including 2/3 on 3 point shots and 3/4 at the line. The speedy senior point guard also charted 5 steals. Trent Rutledge had a solid all around game displaying lots of hustle and determination. The 6’1” senior had 14 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double. Tyler Magninie ended up with 12 along with 5 rebounds. Jaden Withrow had 10 points with 1 trey. Creg Barker 6 points and 6 rebounds, Jordan’ Greenwood 4 points, and Brandon Barker 1 rounded out Kimball’s scoring.

Brook Blomstedt, 6’5” senior had 22 for the winners, matched by team mate Kadin Copeland with his 22. Trey Rongisch chipped in with 9, Jordan Richardson 5, Zach McMillan 4, Ryan Richardson 3, and Blake Scott 2.

Kimball 16 17 4 15 10---62

Sutherland 15 8 14 15 15---67

The St Pats Irish, like Sutherland, had a height advantage along with quickness, and like Sutherland played man defense, which coach Dea likes to go up against as it suits the speed and quickness of his own club. The Irish also were boasting a record of 13-5 but went down to defeat on this night to a determined group of Longhorns who wanted to enjoy the long trip home basking in the glory of the win.

Jordan Greenwood was back on track with his scoring leading the winners with 19 points including 3 treys and 4/4 foul shooting. Rutledge followed up his 14 point Friday night with 17 on Saturday and showed he can convert from long range too with a pair of treys. Tyler Magninie had 9 points with

1 trey. Jaden Withrow had 6 points on 3/4 shooting. Angel Flores 4 points and 4 rebounds. Creg Barker had 2 points and a team high 8 rebounds, and Brandon Barker had 1 point.

In team stats for the Horns, they were 23/54 from the field for 43%, 6/24 on 3 point attempts for 25%, 6/8 at the line for 75%, had 12 offensive and 13 defensive rebounds, 15 steals, 9 assists,15 turnovers, and 13 fouls. (St Pats stats were not available at time of this writing).

The Kimball boys will take a 6-10 win-loss record into Western Trails Conference play this week where they are the number 4 seed and hosting a first round contest with number 5 seed Mitchell. This game is set for this evening (Thursday) at the Kimball site with game time at 6:30 p.m. following the Kimball-Bridgeport girl’s game at 5 p.m.

Kimball 12 5 21 20---58

St Pats 4 6 21 22---53