Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Kimball High's resilient Longhorns huddle up during their 53-45 victory over Bayard in the first round of Subdistricts.
It's on to the C12 Subdistrict final Thursday in Gordon, weather permitting, for the Kimball Longhorns boys basketball team after its 53-45 win over Bayard on Monday in the first round.
The Horns went into Subdistricts after holding on for a 53-52 victory last Friday at Mitchell. They go into the final looking for their fourth straight win.
Here's Kimball head coach Chad Miller's take on the Mitchell game and how his team is looking as the season winds down – and heats up.
"Mitchell's game this past Friday was a game that saw us take control numerous times before slipping up and letting Mitchell back into the game on a few occasions. However, even though we let them back in the game and even take a lead with 40 seconds to go, our players overcame that adversity again and again to put us back on top to secure the win. The experience our players got in the middle of the season by losing so many close games has paid dividends here in the latter part of the season by learning from those earlier mistakes. We now play with a confidence that no matter the situation, if it is still within a possession or two, we will execute down the stretch and overcome that adversity.
"Highlights include Kyler Lusche's double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds along with 3 assists and 3 blocks. Brandon Paxton was 2 stats away from a Triple-Double as he recorded 20 points, 9 boards, and 9 blocks. Wyatt Cords finished in double figures with 10 points and 3 steals along with taking a charge. Cords' last steal came with just 23 seconds to go, securing us one more possession with the lead.
"Braxton Miller had a solid game with 4 points, 5 rebounds, 5 deflections, and 6 assists while only turning the ball over twice despite a lot of pressure from Mitchell's Desmonde Smith in the second half. Ryker Behrend had 2 points and two nice assists, one to Trevor Fuss on a back cut and another to Brandon Paxton with 35 seconds left while down by 2 in which Brandon was able to convert and get fouled for an old fashioned 3 point play and putting us up by 1 point.
"Trevor Fuss added 2 points as well as adding a nice assist to Kyler in the last seconds of the third quarter to extend the lead back to 10 points. Bransyn Kiefer hustled all over keeping Mitchell's leading scorer at bay in the first half and was able to pull and track down 4 key rebounds."
