Longhorns Look To Build On 13-7 Record

The Kimball Longhorns boys basketball team is nearing a late season rematch with Mitchell and the 2023-24 post season after improving to 13-7 with wins this past week at Pine Bluffs and over visiting Heminford.

Kimball’s scheduled game Feb. 10 against Minatare was cancelled due to weather and will not be rescheduled.

Mitchell rolls into The Arena this Friday, Feb. 16, when the Horns will look to avenge a one-point loss in the WTC tournament.

Here’s a recap of the victories over Pine Bluffs and Hemingford.

Kimball 61,

Pine Bluffs 58

Feb. 6

In our only out of state contest this season we were in a back and forth game all evening. We knew they had a few good shooters on their team and Pine Bluffs always has players that go hard and are fundamentally sound. In the beginning we wanted to pressure the ball with some trapping and also switch to a 4 man 1 zone defense.

Unfortunately their post player was able to convert on a couple 3 point shots early in the first quarter so we mainly stayed in a straight up man defense switching to a trap defense once in a while. The first half saw both teams convert on a barrage of 3 pointers with Pine Bluffs hitting 6 and Kyler Lusche hitting on 4 of our 7 in the half.

In the third quarter, Kyler hit on another 3. However, after that it was mainly “get the ball inside and let Brandon Paxton go to work.” Brandon ended up scoring 14 in the third, 8 from the charity stripe, while Pine Bluffs was attacking from all angles and getting 6 of their players to convert on field goals.

In the fourth quarter our players were able to string together a few stops and score on consecutive possessions to take a ten point lead only to tighten up a little in the final three minutes. Pine Bluffs was able to convert after a couple missed free throws by us to cut the lead back down to 2 points with only 27 seconds to go.

Pine Bluffs’ press, however, then left Wyatt Cords open by the basket and was able to get another field goal, putting us up by 4 and get the 3 point victory in the end.

Team highlights included hitting 10/21 (47.6%) from deep while shooting a total 63.9% eFG%. Individually Kyler Lusche and Brandon Paxton both had big nights with Kyler hitting 6 of 9 from deep and leading us with 24 points while Brandon Paxton made 10 free throws and ended his night with 23. Kyler’s (6) 3’s is tied for third all-time for most threes in a game and Brandon’s 10 made free throws ties him for sixth all time for free throws made in a game. Brandon also added 11 rebounds to add to his Double-Doubles on the season while also adding 4 steals and 3 blocks.

Wyatt Cords finished with 5pts, Braxton Miller 3pts and 8 assists, Trevor Fuss 3pts, Bransyn Kiefer 2pts, and Ryker Behrend 1pt. All in all, it was a great game to be a part of and our first victory versus Pine Bluffs since 2014.

Kimball 63,

Hemingord 44

Feb. 9

Hemingford has been playing better here as of late and we wanted to make sure we were prepared for their tough style of play. The first quarter was a real battle, trading baskets and ending the quarter with a couple made free throws by Ryker Behrend to put us up 13-11.

The second quarter and third quarters were a little different though as we were able to get them to turn the ball over more giving us more possessions and scoring opportunities. Scoring 21 and 19 while holding Hemingford to under 10 both quarters gave us the 53-26 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Kyler Lusche was able to get the crowd going in the fourth with his baseline drive and dunk and from there we were able to get our younger freshmen some more playing time.

Team highlights included: shooting 14/18 (77.8%) from the line, grabbing 42 rebounds, getting our opponent to turn the ball over 21 times, and scoring 19 points off turnovers and 32 in the paint.

Individual highlights included Brandon Paxton’s and Kyler Lusche’s Double-Doubles. Brandon ended with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks while Kyler added 18 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks of his own.

Braxton Miller went for 8 points, 6reb, 4ast, and 4 stl. Ryker Behrend had 7 points and 2 blocks. Trevor Fuss led us in efficiency with a 3.25 VPS Rating while adding 4pts and 2stl. Wyatt Cords and Bransyn Kiefer both added 2pts and 2asts while Kaymen Lusche ended the evening hitting a three pointer and making the final score 63-44.

With all the festivities of the Souper Bowl in the student center, the 5th & 6th grade students doing their basketball routine, the KSID 3 point shootout during halftime, and the girls team winning as well, it was a great night and we very much appreciated all who came out and supported all of the activities.

Pine Bluffs JV 61,

Kimball JV 34

Greg Bingham (19), Matias Sokac (5), Kaymen Lusche (5), Landon Norberg (3), and Trey Cook (2)

Kimball JV 48,

Hemingord JV 24

Greg Bingham (16), Luke Berger (15), Kaymen Lusche (8), Matias Sokac (4), Frances Cagnoni (3), Trey Cook (2)