Kimball’s Longhorn basketball team is still searching for its first win of the season after a rough week against three tough opponents.
On Jan. 12, Kimball first hosted the dangerous Potter-Dix Coyotes, a team with both speed and length in their favor, and the Longhorns held their own through the first period.
Kimball was able to score some points and played good defense through the first period, but the Coyotes found their groove in the second frame and went on a scoring outburst, putting up 29 points in the quarter against just 3 by Kimball to put the game out of reach.
The Coyotes added 34 more points in the second half and coasted to an 82-26 victory. Junior Roy Tarango led the Longhorns offense with 14 points.
On Friday, Jan. 15, the competition was even tougher when the Longhorns traveled to Bridgeport. The red-hot Bulldogs exploded out of the gate and quickly built a 31-7 lead after the first quarter. After piling up another 25 points in the second quarter and taking a 56-13 lead, the Bulldogs went on to an 87-22 win.
Freshman Wyatt Cords led the Kimball scoring with 11 points.
Unfortunately for the Longhorns, another tough opponent was on deck as the Kimball boys traveled to Gordon-Rushville on Saturday to face off against the Mustangs.
Kimball did score in the first period, but every run was met by a Gordon-Rushville response, and the Mustangs led 30-10 at the end of the first period. Gordon-Rushville put up another 30 points in the second quarter, putting the game out of reach at halftime, 60-18. The Mustangs cruised to an 85-25 victory. Senior Ethan Ratzlaff led the Kimball offense with seven points.
On Monday, Jan. 18, the Longhorns fell to Hershey, 69-19. Now it’s on to the SPVA tournament for Kimball on Jan. 21 and 23 at NPCCC.