Longhorns Battling, Tasting Victory

The Kimball Longhorns basketball team is showing some promise with an 8-4 record and two sweet victories of late over rivals Potter-Dix and Bridgeport.

But on Jan. 16, the Horns dropped a hard-fought SPVA game in Hershey, 49-48. They return Jan. 20 with a tournament game at North Platte Community College. Then comes some home cooking Jan. 25 against Sutherland.

Kimball 68,

Potter-Dix 31

It was a complete team effort in the win on Tuesday vs. our neighbors to the east, and a very strong opponent. As a team, our goal was to respect our opponents and stay focused throughout as we knew supporters from both sides would be cheering loudly for both squads. It was a great atmosphere and we were very proud of how our players responded.

We had a very efficient evening while sharing the ball well and hitting an excellent 60.6% eFG% (9/19 from beyond the arc alone with 6 different players hitting from deep), 40 rebs, 21 asts, 13 stls, and 5 blks. In the 4th quarter we were able to catch fire from deep, hitting 5 threes and a total of 17 points in the first 2min & 45sec alone!!

Overall the team had a very efficient VPS rating of 1.54 for the game. Defensively we were able to hold our opponent to just two 2nd quarter points and 10 for the 1st half.

Individually Wyatt Cords was able to lead us in efficiency with a 2.33 VPS rating, going 2/2 from deep and scoring 8 points. Bransyn Kiefer also shot the ball well from distance going 2/3 and scoring 6 points. Brandon Paxton once again had a Double-Double on the night with his 16pts and 15reb while also leading us with 6ast, 3stl, and 3blk.

Kyler Lusche added another 15pts, 9reb, 4defl, and 2 blks. Braxton Miller was able to find success with his mid-range this particular night, hitting 5/6 from inside the arc and providing 10 of his 13pt total. He also provided a 6.0 ast/to ratio and a VPS rating of 2.29.

Ryker Berend finished with 7pts while going 75% from the line and Kaymen Lusche finished the game with 3pts hitting from distance late. And while Trevor Fuss did not end up in the scoring column, he and Bransyn did an excellent job of staying in front of our opponents' leading scorer, averaging close to 20pts a contest, and keeping him to only 7 for the game. Proud of each and everyone of our players for a great night of team basketball!! Each team competed hard and it was good to see the fans from both sides cheering loudly for each team!!

Kimball 57,

Bridgeport 48

What an atmosphere as our Kimball Longhorn team took on a very tough and scrappy team from Bridgeport.

The night started with our seniors and their parents being honored before the boy's contest and I cannot say enough wonderful things about our senior contributors and their parents who have given our team much support throughout the years. Wyatt Cords, Landon Norberg, Brandon Paxton and Matias Sokac have all worked really hard to make themselves and their teammates better and all of their contributions to our Boys Basketball Program will be cherished for years to come!!

Another one of our seniors who has made great contributions to this team and program throughout her 4 years is Katie Kilgore. Her role as a student manager does not always get noticed by outside supporters but internally we all know just how much value she brings and cannot thank her enough for her willingness to do those tedious tasks that enhances all of our experiences within the program.  

As far as the game goes, AMAZING!!

As a team our Longhorn boys were challenged to not only match our opponent's intensity, but exceed it. Coming out on a 9-0 run to start the game I thought our players did just that. We were challenging for every loose ball and working hard to grab every rebound.

Even though our lead would shrink some here and there, the boys always came back with an answer. Our second quarter we were able to hold Bridgeport to just 7 points total while scoring 18 ourselves. This put us going into the halftime break with a 15 point lead.

However, we did not want to get comfortable yet as we knew that Bridgeport had come back on some pretty good teams earlier this season. Our 3rd quarter definitely did not start how we would have liked as Bridgeport went on an 8-0 run to cut the lead back down to seven quickly.

We then responded with a 7-0 run of our own to regain our 15 point advantage going into the final quarter. Down the stretch we were able to make 7 of 11 from the line in the 4th quarter and take the 9 point victory in front of our very supportive home crowd!!

Individually, Wyatt Cords once again had a very efficient outing, leading us once again with a VPS rating of 3.50 while pulling in 8 rebs and dishing 3 asts. His 5 pts came in the 3rd quarter when we really needed some buckets and were able to extend our lead back to 15.

Brandon Paxton battled all night inside where he was able to score 14 pts along with 2 pts from the line. He also was able to pull 7 rebs, dish 3 asts, and get 3 blks. Kyler Lusche also scored 16 pts while hitting 3/5 from downtown and 3/4 from the line, and pulling a team leading 11 rebs.

Braxton Miller hit 2 from beyond the arc and finished with 9 pts, 3 ast, 2 stl, an efficient VPS of 2.09. Trevor Fuss added another 6pts, Ryker Behrend 4pts, and Bransyn Kiefer 1pt as each of them hustled all night getting out on shooters and keeping Bridgeport to a 3 point shooting percent well below their season average.

All of our players made an effort to do whatever was asked of them and give everything they had when their number was called. It was a total team effort, from the players on the court to their teammates cheering them on from the sidelines. Anytime you can come out victorious versus a program that has been tough for so many years, it takes team effort and a togetherness that only can be described as special! 

And now, here are our scoring stats for the freshmen game and JV game that took place last week.

Kimball FR/SO 62,

Pine Bluffs 32

In our freshmen game with Pine Bluffs, our players came out playing good defense, holding our opponents to just 5 first quarter points. In the second quarter it was more of the same defensively but got the offense going a little more outscoring them 23-6 in that quarter alone.

Three Longhorns ended in double figures with Luke Berger leading the way with his 4 makes from behind the arc and 22 points. Kaymen Lusche and Greg Bingham got the rim consistently with finishing moves and tough inside play, finishing with 16 and 14 points apiece.

Trey Cook added another 4 along with Landon Nunley, Sam Anderson, and Wyatt Cook rounding out the scoring with 2 each.

It was a great opportunity for our younger players to get more experience on the court and was pleased with just how well we worked together as a team to get good shots.

Bridgeport JV 54,

Kimball JV 34

The boys played hard in their JV game vs Bridgeport this past Friday, keeping it a close battle in the first half 18-21.

However, in the second half Bridgeport started to hit from distance consitanty and it was just too much for our young team to overcome. Greg Bingham led the way for the Longhorns with 18 points. Then came Luke Berger with 3, Kaymen Lusche 3, Trey Cook 3, Landon Norberg 3, Landen Nunley 2 and Eddie Duran 2.