CFX scored the first 13 points of the game against Worth County and held on to win 50-42 in semifinal action Wednesday night at the Northwest Missouri Basketball Tournament. After the bad first quarter, the Tigers fell even farther behind at the start of the second before finally settling down and playing ball with the Hornets. Take away the first 11 minuts of the game and the Tigers win. But, as Coach Chris Healy said, "there are 32 minutes in a game for a reason."
The Tigers struggled against the press, forcing passes and letting CFX guard Jacob Beck run wild in the first 11 minutes. "That was the first real press we have seen all year," explained Coach Healy. Beck scored the first nine points of the game, getting four free throws, a fast break bucket, and a 3-pointer from the left wing. Kevin Dodson added a putback after nobody got back on defense after a fast break, and then nobody helped out on a backdoor cut by Spencer Barnes, which made it 12-0.
Worth County finally got on the board, although the refs were not making it easy for them during that stretch. Dylan Kinsella scored from the high post to break the shutout and Zach Harmening hit a 3-pointer from the right wing. Todd Harding followed with a steal to make it 13-7. But then the refs lent a helpful hand as an official completely out of position made a phantom foul call that gave Jordan Sipes a free throw to make it 14-7. Worth County had the final possession in the period, but the officials let the CFX players bump the Tiger shooters with their bodies twice and didn't blow the whistle.
But the officials did not make the Tigers play through the lapse at the start of the second quarter in which they let Nathan Hinrichs get all alone for a wide open layup in transition to start another CFX run. Panic set in as Beck scored the next eight points, three of them on steals to make it 24-9 at the 5:25 mark of the second quarter. At that point, Beck had scored 17 of CFX's 24 points in the game. Finally, the Tigers settled down as CFX went through the next five minutes without a field goal. J.J. Mullock got a free throw after an offensive board and Cole Buffington got a steal and drive to make it 24-12. Spencer Barnes hit a free throw, but Zach Harmening hit a 3-pointer from the left wing to make it 25-15 with 40 seconds left. Garrett Hinrichs answered with a shot from the right wing for CFX to make it 27-15 and then the officials lent another helping hand to CFX as Dylan Kinsella's last-second shot should have sent him to the line for two shots. But the refs didn't see the CFX defender pushing him with his lower hand and causing him to miss his shot and CFX went into the break up 27-15.
Alex Harmening got a drive and then added a 3rd-chance putback as Worth County cut the lead to under double digits to start the second half. But CFX answered with a 7-0 run as Worth County reverted to their first-quarter form of forcing passes that weren't there; Beck started the run with a 3-point play and then they attacked the basket as Jordan Showalter, quiet all night, scored on a pair of drives to make it 34-18 as the defensive help was nonexistent. The Hornet press was working the way it was designed to as the Tigers were in hurry-up mode when they should have been patient against the zone. But then Worth County settled down and fought back again as Dylan Kinsella beat the press for a layup and then scored from inside to cut it back to 34-22. Showalter hit a free throw and then Beck added a steal to push it back to 15, but Zach Harmening hit a pair of free throws after a fast break with 7 seconds left to make it 37-24 going into the fourth quarter.
Spencer Barnes got a putback to start the fourth quarter, but Eli Mullock hit a free throw, Alex Harmening hit from the left baseline against the press, and Eli Mullock got a steal to make it 39-29. Barnes converted a 3-point play, but then Mullock pushed it right back down the floor against the press and made a basket to make it 42-31. Once the Tigers finally started breaking the press and scoring against it, that seemed to shake the Hornets' self-confidence as they live and die by the press. Todd Harding followed with a 3-pointer and Zach Harmening scored from inside to make it 42-36. But following a CFX turnover, the Tigers hesitated too long before throwing it in during an out of bounds situation and Beck got a steal and a wide open layup; two free throws each by Beck and Showalter made it 48-36 with 1:10 left. Dylan Kinsella got a putback with 36 seconds left and Garrett Hawk got another one with 21 seconds left to make it 48-40, but Nathan Hinrichs hit a pair of free throws with 18 seconds left to make it 50-40. Todd Harding's free throws with 8 seconds left rounded out the scoring.
"I was proud of how we came back in the second half," said Coach Chris Healy. "It took us a while to adjust, but we finally broke their pressure and got some layups. If we can compete with them, we can compete with a lot of teams this year."
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Winter Storm Warning for Worth County
This area in a Winter Storm Warning—life threatening conditions—a major storm!!!!!!!!!!!!
They do expect 10’-15’ drifts for us!!! Needless to say—roads will be closed.
We will see heavier snow this afternoon and they are still expecting a total of 13”+. This means another 6-8” in addition to what we have now. They do expect it to quit after midnight.
However, the wind will blow at a sustained 25-30mph with gusts up to 35mph.
The heaviest wind will be from 2am thru 9am Wednesday morning and may let up some on Thursday, however the temperatures will still be brutal on Thursday. Wednesday night, they are calling for wind chill temperatures at 15 degrees below zero. They expect I-35 to close, east of there is a possibility of freezing rain. Des Moines will have blizzard conditions, there is a possibility of that warning for us. Omaha is now in the same snow area.
If we lose electricity for a prolonged time (thinking 12 hrs. or more & if the linemen can give me an idea as to how long the power will be off) and if anyone can get to a shelter, we will open one at the school. For handicapped people, the WCCC will be taking people. The Sheriff’s office will be taking calls for anyone who needs help.
Think we all need to use common sense and stay at home if at all possible. There is no need to make a bad situation worse for responders to come help anyone who has trouble.
--Pat Kobbe, Worth County Emergency Management Director
They do expect 10’-15’ drifts for us!!! Needless to say—roads will be closed.
We will see heavier snow this afternoon and they are still expecting a total of 13”+. This means another 6-8” in addition to what we have now. They do expect it to quit after midnight.
However, the wind will blow at a sustained 25-30mph with gusts up to 35mph.
The heaviest wind will be from 2am thru 9am Wednesday morning and may let up some on Thursday, however the temperatures will still be brutal on Thursday. Wednesday night, they are calling for wind chill temperatures at 15 degrees below zero. They expect I-35 to close, east of there is a possibility of freezing rain. Des Moines will have blizzard conditions, there is a possibility of that warning for us. Omaha is now in the same snow area.
If we lose electricity for a prolonged time (thinking 12 hrs. or more & if the linemen can give me an idea as to how long the power will be off) and if anyone can get to a shelter, we will open one at the school. For handicapped people, the WCCC will be taking people. The Sheriff’s office will be taking calls for anyone who needs help.
Think we all need to use common sense and stay at home if at all possible. There is no need to make a bad situation worse for responders to come help anyone who has trouble.
--Pat Kobbe, Worth County Emergency Management Director
Monday, December 7, 2009
Triple Towers Dominate Paint; NEN Boys Win Opener
Northeast Nodaway's boys dominated the paint and won their season opener over Union Star 70-42 last Tuesday in the Platte Valley Conference opener for both teams. According to Coach Charley Burch, the Trojans came out with one of the best teams they had in recent years. However, Northeast used a strong first quarter and a late third quarter run to pull away from the pesky Trojan squad and win. Burch followed the lead of the girls and used a deep bench to finally wear the Trojans down in the latter stages of the game.
Tyler Davis, after only getting four points in the first two and a half quarters, finally got open and scored 19 points in the last 1 1/2 quarters of the game. James Burns played some of his best ball ever as he was pressuring Trojans into turnovers, getting rebounds, blocking shots, making the extra pass, and getting open. "He's been doing everything we've asked him to," said Coach Charley Burch. Bryce Farnan battled foul trouble for most of the game, but was still effective when he was on the court.
Burns opened the scoring with a putback with 7:13 left; Bobby Welch followed with a backdoor layup and Bryce Farnan scored from inside with 4:24 left to put Northeast up 6-0. Union Star was packing things in for most of the game and tried to force Northeast to shoot from outside to beat them. Dylan Klawuhn picked up a carom and scored Union Star's first points, but then Chad Messner hit from outside, Tyler Davis hit a pair of free throws, Messner scored off a fast break, and Colby Wiederholt hit a free throw to make it 14-2.
Klawuhn scored off a steal with 22 seconds left in the first to make it 14-6 and then scored a pair of free throws early in the second to make it 16-8. But then Burns got loose inside as Bryce Farnan got him the ball and then Tyler Davis got an offensive rebound and kicked out to Bobby Welch for a 3-pointer to make it 21-8 with 4:43 left. Davis got open for a drive, Josh Wideman got a free throw, and then Colby Wiederholt hit a 3-pointer from the left wing to make it 27-11 with 3:12 left in the half. But Northeast succumbed to hacking and fouling the rest of the half as Union Star sought to make a game out of it. Free throws by Klawuhn and Nick Palmer and two wide open layups fueled a mild rally that brought Union Star to within 31-19. Northeast hit a pair of free throws, but then Palmer threw up a prayer from just behind half court that went in to make it 33-22 at the break.
The first four minutes of the second half were a slopfest as both teams made a ton of mistakes during the frame. But an Albert Moran 3-pointer that brought Union Star under double digits seemed to wake up Northeast as Tyler Davis finally got loose and the 3-pointers started to fall. Davis connected from inside, Chad Messner nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key, and then James Burns twice fed Davis on the weak side for easy baskets as the Trojans collapsed on Burns and left Davis all alone. Bobby Welch hit a 3-pointer and then Tyler Davis hit a free throw with 9 seconds left to make it 49-27 and put Northeast back in control. "We didn't do anything special," said Coach Burch about the run. "We just kept doing what we were doing and good things started to happen." Chad Messner's 3-pointer to open the fourth capped the 16-0 run that left Northeast in front 52-27.
Union Star could not mount a comeback bid in the fourth quarter as Tyler Davis was on fire, knocking down six straight points for Northeast, who was running their high-low offense to perfection. Bryce Farnan added an inside bucked off a high-low pass from James Burns that made it 60-33 with 4:51 left. Moran's off-balance shot went in to cut it back down to 62-39, but Tyler Davis answered with an inside shot and a putback and Colby Wiederholt gave Northeast its largest lead of the night at 68-39 with a steal. Kevin Stoll came off the bench to grab a putback in the closing seconds for Northeast.
Tyler Davis, after only getting four points in the first two and a half quarters, finally got open and scored 19 points in the last 1 1/2 quarters of the game. James Burns played some of his best ball ever as he was pressuring Trojans into turnovers, getting rebounds, blocking shots, making the extra pass, and getting open. "He's been doing everything we've asked him to," said Coach Charley Burch. Bryce Farnan battled foul trouble for most of the game, but was still effective when he was on the court.
Burns opened the scoring with a putback with 7:13 left; Bobby Welch followed with a backdoor layup and Bryce Farnan scored from inside with 4:24 left to put Northeast up 6-0. Union Star was packing things in for most of the game and tried to force Northeast to shoot from outside to beat them. Dylan Klawuhn picked up a carom and scored Union Star's first points, but then Chad Messner hit from outside, Tyler Davis hit a pair of free throws, Messner scored off a fast break, and Colby Wiederholt hit a free throw to make it 14-2.
Klawuhn scored off a steal with 22 seconds left in the first to make it 14-6 and then scored a pair of free throws early in the second to make it 16-8. But then Burns got loose inside as Bryce Farnan got him the ball and then Tyler Davis got an offensive rebound and kicked out to Bobby Welch for a 3-pointer to make it 21-8 with 4:43 left. Davis got open for a drive, Josh Wideman got a free throw, and then Colby Wiederholt hit a 3-pointer from the left wing to make it 27-11 with 3:12 left in the half. But Northeast succumbed to hacking and fouling the rest of the half as Union Star sought to make a game out of it. Free throws by Klawuhn and Nick Palmer and two wide open layups fueled a mild rally that brought Union Star to within 31-19. Northeast hit a pair of free throws, but then Palmer threw up a prayer from just behind half court that went in to make it 33-22 at the break.
The first four minutes of the second half were a slopfest as both teams made a ton of mistakes during the frame. But an Albert Moran 3-pointer that brought Union Star under double digits seemed to wake up Northeast as Tyler Davis finally got loose and the 3-pointers started to fall. Davis connected from inside, Chad Messner nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key, and then James Burns twice fed Davis on the weak side for easy baskets as the Trojans collapsed on Burns and left Davis all alone. Bobby Welch hit a 3-pointer and then Tyler Davis hit a free throw with 9 seconds left to make it 49-27 and put Northeast back in control. "We didn't do anything special," said Coach Burch about the run. "We just kept doing what we were doing and good things started to happen." Chad Messner's 3-pointer to open the fourth capped the 16-0 run that left Northeast in front 52-27.
Union Star could not mount a comeback bid in the fourth quarter as Tyler Davis was on fire, knocking down six straight points for Northeast, who was running their high-low offense to perfection. Bryce Farnan added an inside bucked off a high-low pass from James Burns that made it 60-33 with 4:51 left. Moran's off-balance shot went in to cut it back down to 62-39, but Tyler Davis answered with an inside shot and a putback and Colby Wiederholt gave Northeast its largest lead of the night at 68-39 with a steal. Kevin Stoll came off the bench to grab a putback in the closing seconds for Northeast.
Bluejay Girls Force 36 Turnovers, Down Union Star
Northeast Nodaway girls played a swarming defense which created 36 Union Star turnovers as they won their opening matchup 76-21 last Tuesday. The Bluejays were a totally different team with Hallie Oelze back at full strength from ACL surgery as the team went from a solid team able to score 50 points a night to a team able to create turnovers, run up and down the floor, and go 11 deep if needed. The scary thing about it was that Oelze did not even start against the Trojans. Jacqueline Schulte led the scoring for Northeast, scoring 21 points in three quarters of work, matching the entire Trojan point total. Everything else was spread out, with eight different people scoring between 4 and 10 points for Northeast. Post player Blair Schmitz only had five points, but drew a tough assignment, that of guarding 5'11" Jerika Wilkerson. She succeeded in that role, holding her to four points in almost three quarters of work; most of Wilkerson's points came after Schmitz came out along with the rest of the starters late in the third and early in the fourth.
Jacqueline Schulte opened the scoring with a shot from the top of the key at the seven minute mark. From there, Northeast denied the ball all over the court and Union Star could not even get the ball inbounds. Michelle Schulte scored off an Emily Bryant steal; Jacqueline got a steal and layup after a tip from Blair Schmitz, and Kristin Sherry got another layup after Jacqueline got a steal and lobbed it to her for the easy layup. Emily Bryant leaped high in the air and got a big rejection during the run.
Hillary Todd connected from the left wing to stop the 8-0 run, but Coach Ryan Davis began putting in some fresh legs to start another. Rachel Runde connected from the left baseline, Jacqueline Schulte hit a free throw after Emily Bryant knocked a ball loose and was able to deflect it to her, Schulte scored again after a Hallie Oelze steal, and Oelze picked up another steal and drive to make it 15-2 with 3:25 left. Michelle Schulte hit from the baseline and then scored off a steal, Jacqueline Schulte hit a driving layup as she flipped it in over three defenders, and Northeast used perfect timing to end the frame as Rachel Runde threw a high-low pass to Jessica Redden for a layup at the buzzer to make it 23-6.
Hallie Oelze opened the scoring in the second quarter with a steal and drive with 6:01 left to open the scoring for Northeast. Wilkerson got loose for one of the few times on the evening for Union Star, but then Oelze dropped a three-pointer from the right wing. Jacqueline Schulte cut backdoor for a layup and Blair Schmitz hit a free throw to make it 31-10 with 2:51 left. Hannah Todd scored from the top of the key with 1:56 left, but Jacqueline Schulte hit two free throws, Emily Bryant scored from the left wing, and Taylor Dougan got a steal and drive to make it 37-10 at the break.
Northeast's most productive quarter was the third. Blair Schmitz, who had been missing almost everything up to that point, finally got untracked as she scored a layup off an Emily Bryant steal. Jacqueline Schulte scored from the left wing, Emily Bryant scored off a steal, Schulte connected from the left wing, and then Jacqueline Schulte and Kristin Sherry made the highlight play of the night. Sherry got behind the Trojan defense in transition and then Jacqueline Schulte, on the dribble, led her perfectly with a long bounce pass that threaded the needle past two defenders to the wide-open Sherry, who got the easy layup.
Even when Hannah McGinnis hit a pair of free throws to stop the ten-point Northeast run, that didn't help matters; Northeast pushed the ball right back down the floor after the made free throws and Kristin Sherry got open in transition for a shot from the top of the key to start another run. Jacqueline Schulte followed with a pair of free throws, Michelle Schulte scored a transition three after Kristan Judd swung the ball over to her, and Jacqueline Schulte scored off a steal to make it 56-12. The Union Star coach burned the last of his timeouts, but that did not help matters. Jessica Redden tipped an errant pass and Blair Schmitz collected the steal and layup, Emily Bryant got consecutive steals, and Taylor Dougan hit a 3-pointer from the right wing to cap the 18-0 run, leaving Northeast up 65-12.
Wilkerson finally started getting loose at the end of the third quarter, scoring off a pair of lob passes, hitting a pair of free throws, and picking up an errant carom for a layup as part of an 8-3 Trojan run that made it 68-20. But Northeast made an adjustment as Rachel Runde began helping out perfectly on Wilkerson in the post and Northeast closed out on an 8-1 run. Runde cut through on a backdoor layup, Emily Bryant scored from the right wing after Runde got a steal, Jessica Redden cleaned up after a missed shot in transition, and Runde drove the middle of the paint and did a perfect jump stop from 15 feet out to account for the points.
Jacqueline Schulte opened the scoring with a shot from the top of the key at the seven minute mark. From there, Northeast denied the ball all over the court and Union Star could not even get the ball inbounds. Michelle Schulte scored off an Emily Bryant steal; Jacqueline got a steal and layup after a tip from Blair Schmitz, and Kristin Sherry got another layup after Jacqueline got a steal and lobbed it to her for the easy layup. Emily Bryant leaped high in the air and got a big rejection during the run.
Hillary Todd connected from the left wing to stop the 8-0 run, but Coach Ryan Davis began putting in some fresh legs to start another. Rachel Runde connected from the left baseline, Jacqueline Schulte hit a free throw after Emily Bryant knocked a ball loose and was able to deflect it to her, Schulte scored again after a Hallie Oelze steal, and Oelze picked up another steal and drive to make it 15-2 with 3:25 left. Michelle Schulte hit from the baseline and then scored off a steal, Jacqueline Schulte hit a driving layup as she flipped it in over three defenders, and Northeast used perfect timing to end the frame as Rachel Runde threw a high-low pass to Jessica Redden for a layup at the buzzer to make it 23-6.
Hallie Oelze opened the scoring in the second quarter with a steal and drive with 6:01 left to open the scoring for Northeast. Wilkerson got loose for one of the few times on the evening for Union Star, but then Oelze dropped a three-pointer from the right wing. Jacqueline Schulte cut backdoor for a layup and Blair Schmitz hit a free throw to make it 31-10 with 2:51 left. Hannah Todd scored from the top of the key with 1:56 left, but Jacqueline Schulte hit two free throws, Emily Bryant scored from the left wing, and Taylor Dougan got a steal and drive to make it 37-10 at the break.
Northeast's most productive quarter was the third. Blair Schmitz, who had been missing almost everything up to that point, finally got untracked as she scored a layup off an Emily Bryant steal. Jacqueline Schulte scored from the left wing, Emily Bryant scored off a steal, Schulte connected from the left wing, and then Jacqueline Schulte and Kristin Sherry made the highlight play of the night. Sherry got behind the Trojan defense in transition and then Jacqueline Schulte, on the dribble, led her perfectly with a long bounce pass that threaded the needle past two defenders to the wide-open Sherry, who got the easy layup.
Even when Hannah McGinnis hit a pair of free throws to stop the ten-point Northeast run, that didn't help matters; Northeast pushed the ball right back down the floor after the made free throws and Kristin Sherry got open in transition for a shot from the top of the key to start another run. Jacqueline Schulte followed with a pair of free throws, Michelle Schulte scored a transition three after Kristan Judd swung the ball over to her, and Jacqueline Schulte scored off a steal to make it 56-12. The Union Star coach burned the last of his timeouts, but that did not help matters. Jessica Redden tipped an errant pass and Blair Schmitz collected the steal and layup, Emily Bryant got consecutive steals, and Taylor Dougan hit a 3-pointer from the right wing to cap the 18-0 run, leaving Northeast up 65-12.
Wilkerson finally started getting loose at the end of the third quarter, scoring off a pair of lob passes, hitting a pair of free throws, and picking up an errant carom for a layup as part of an 8-3 Trojan run that made it 68-20. But Northeast made an adjustment as Rachel Runde began helping out perfectly on Wilkerson in the post and Northeast closed out on an 8-1 run. Runde cut through on a backdoor layup, Emily Bryant scored from the right wing after Runde got a steal, Jessica Redden cleaned up after a missed shot in transition, and Runde drove the middle of the paint and did a perfect jump stop from 15 feet out to account for the points.
Tiger Boys Defuse Explosive NN Squad, Claim Consolation
Worth County's boys won 52-40 over an explosive North Nodaway squad as they claimed the consolation prize of the Albany Tournament. The Tigers were able to contain one of the quickest guards in the area in Jason DeMott and were able to use their new-found size to get the better of the matchup between the two teams. The question for the game was whether or not Worth County could keep up with a five-guard lineup from North Nodaway which created all sorts of matchup problems for Princeton, which lost to the explosive Mustang squad by 20 points. The answer for this game was, yes -- they could. And they did despite being set back by a whole host of questionable calls by the officials.
Zach Harmening, who had gotten eight steals against Polo, was the victim of referees' whistles as they called him for a blocking foul even though he was perfectly set to take a charge. They then sent him to the bench with two fouls four minutes into the game with a ticky-tack foul when he had all ball on a rebounding situation. Despite this, the Tigers built a 6-0 lead as Alex Harmening got behind the Mustang defense, Cole Buffington got loose underneath, and Eli Mullock got a putback.
North Nodaway was playing a 2-3 zone and daring Worth County to take the quick 3-pointer so that they could run the other way with it after getting the long rebound. The Mustangs would throw up a lot of quick three-pointers themselves as all five of their starting guards and Jesse Birkenholtz off the bench were gunslinging and then crashing the boards hard. Consequently, as Coach Chris Healy told his players, the Mustangs were getting a lot of second-chance points that kept them in the game. Worth County countered with a 1-3 zone with one player guarding DeMott man to man. The tactic worked despite plenty of interference from the officials, who would call ticky-tack fouls if Tiger players barely touched DeMott. On the other hand, Alex Harmening was scratched just below the eye and drew a cut which forced him to the bench, and no foul was called.
Dylan Kinsella opened the second quarter by picking up the first four of his 14 points by grabbing a pair of putbacks to put the Tigers up 12-8. But the sloppy play returned for the Tigers, who were not swinging the ball around, but who were caught up in North Nodaway's game plan of gunslinging shots. And the second chance points continued to mount for North Nodaway as Jesse Birkenholz grabbed an offensive carom and hit two free throws to make it 13-12. That prompted a time-out from Coach Healy, who told his players that they needed to pick things up. They responded and got much better ball movement as they were able to take control of the game. Zach Harmening jumped a pass for a steal to jumpstart the Tiger run; Dylan Kinsella had a pair of inside shots over the smaller Mustang players, and Jordan Harding got a putback as Worth County went back ahead 20-13.
Todd Harding continued the run with a steal and then Dylan Kinsella scored his tenth point of the quarter with an inside shot to make it 24-13. Aided by the officials, who failed to call an obvious backcourt violation on the Mustangs on the play, Trey Adamson got a putback for North Nodaway to stop the run. But Worth County led 27-17 at the break.
Aaron Wallace opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer for North Nodaway to make it 27-20, but J.J. Mullock scored from inside and then followed with a fast break. Alex Harmening jumped a pass and converted a 3-point play and then picked up an errant carom on the next play, Zach Harmening jumped into a Mustang defender to draw a foul and hit both free throws to put the Tigers up 38-20; they had scored 11 points in just under two minutes during their run. The teams then traded buckets during the rest of the period until Cole Buffington scored from inside with 14 seconds left to give the Tigers their biggest lead of the night at 44-24.
Worth County and North Nodaway traded buckets for the rest of the evening before the Mustangs made a meaningless 7-0 run in the last two minutes to make the score closer. Cole Buffington took advantage of a much smaller defender for a bucket in the period; Todd Harding and Zach Harmening added a pair of free throws each, while Eli Mullock scored off a backdoor layup to account for the scoring for Worth County in the period.
Zach Harmening, who had gotten eight steals against Polo, was the victim of referees' whistles as they called him for a blocking foul even though he was perfectly set to take a charge. They then sent him to the bench with two fouls four minutes into the game with a ticky-tack foul when he had all ball on a rebounding situation. Despite this, the Tigers built a 6-0 lead as Alex Harmening got behind the Mustang defense, Cole Buffington got loose underneath, and Eli Mullock got a putback.
North Nodaway was playing a 2-3 zone and daring Worth County to take the quick 3-pointer so that they could run the other way with it after getting the long rebound. The Mustangs would throw up a lot of quick three-pointers themselves as all five of their starting guards and Jesse Birkenholtz off the bench were gunslinging and then crashing the boards hard. Consequently, as Coach Chris Healy told his players, the Mustangs were getting a lot of second-chance points that kept them in the game. Worth County countered with a 1-3 zone with one player guarding DeMott man to man. The tactic worked despite plenty of interference from the officials, who would call ticky-tack fouls if Tiger players barely touched DeMott. On the other hand, Alex Harmening was scratched just below the eye and drew a cut which forced him to the bench, and no foul was called.
Dylan Kinsella opened the second quarter by picking up the first four of his 14 points by grabbing a pair of putbacks to put the Tigers up 12-8. But the sloppy play returned for the Tigers, who were not swinging the ball around, but who were caught up in North Nodaway's game plan of gunslinging shots. And the second chance points continued to mount for North Nodaway as Jesse Birkenholz grabbed an offensive carom and hit two free throws to make it 13-12. That prompted a time-out from Coach Healy, who told his players that they needed to pick things up. They responded and got much better ball movement as they were able to take control of the game. Zach Harmening jumped a pass for a steal to jumpstart the Tiger run; Dylan Kinsella had a pair of inside shots over the smaller Mustang players, and Jordan Harding got a putback as Worth County went back ahead 20-13.
Todd Harding continued the run with a steal and then Dylan Kinsella scored his tenth point of the quarter with an inside shot to make it 24-13. Aided by the officials, who failed to call an obvious backcourt violation on the Mustangs on the play, Trey Adamson got a putback for North Nodaway to stop the run. But Worth County led 27-17 at the break.
Aaron Wallace opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer for North Nodaway to make it 27-20, but J.J. Mullock scored from inside and then followed with a fast break. Alex Harmening jumped a pass and converted a 3-point play and then picked up an errant carom on the next play, Zach Harmening jumped into a Mustang defender to draw a foul and hit both free throws to put the Tigers up 38-20; they had scored 11 points in just under two minutes during their run. The teams then traded buckets during the rest of the period until Cole Buffington scored from inside with 14 seconds left to give the Tigers their biggest lead of the night at 44-24.
Worth County and North Nodaway traded buckets for the rest of the evening before the Mustangs made a meaningless 7-0 run in the last two minutes to make the score closer. Cole Buffington took advantage of a much smaller defender for a bucket in the period; Todd Harding and Zach Harmening added a pair of free throws each, while Eli Mullock scored off a backdoor layup to account for the scoring for Worth County in the period.
Highest Point Total in Last Two Years for Tiger Boys
The question for Worth County's boys after an opening-round 48-35 loss to Stanberry was where their scoring would come from this year. They had lost Kyler Hiatt and Jonny Hughes to graduation and were not close to finding the answer before Wednesday night. They seemed to have balanced scoring, but not enough of it against the 3rd-seeded Bulldogs. But they seem to have come up with an answer -- get balanced scoring and get a little more of it, along with a stingy defense as they beat Polo 65-41 in the elimination round of the Albany Tournament. The Tigers put up some eye-popping numbers on defense, as Zach Harmening came within one of the school record with 8 steals (several different players hold the record with 9), and Wyatt McClain came off the bench to perch himself atop the new athletic website's charge chart by taking three charges for the night.
Worth County was plagued by foul problems all night, but more than made up for it with their deep bench as Coach Chris Healy used all of his varsity players against Polo. Consequently, despite the high point total, only two players reached double figures -- Zach Harmening with 12 points and Todd Harding with 11.
Alex Harmening hit a floater in the lane with 6:33 left to put Worth County up 3-0 in the first quarter. After Justin Hazleman hit from the left wing to make it 3-2, Zach Harmening converted a 3rd-chance bucket, Dylan Kinsella got a putback, and Jordan Harding scored off a Bryce Ross steal to make it 9-2. Both teams put on a press, but Worth County's was much more effective as they were able to get steals and drives all night long.
Josh Junco began slashing to the basket effectively and Polo rallied to cut Worth County's lead to 11-9 with 1:15 left. But after Cole Buffington scored from inside, Wyatt McClain came off the bench to take the first of his three charges and Buffington ran the floor and got behind the Panther defense as J.J. Mullock got him the pass with 6 seconds left to make it 15-9. Duncan Parker's shot from the right side at the buzzer made it 15-11.
Polo kept it close through much of the second quarter as Worth County began struggling on offense as they were a little out of control and they were hacking and fouling too much on defense, leaving Polo in the double bonus. But all of a sudden, Garrett Hawk got open from the right baseline for a 3-pointer to spark a rally late in the half; Polo then overextended on their press, leaving Todd Harding open for another three-pointer. After Wyatt McClain took his second charge of the night, Zach Harmening scored off a putback with 33 seconds left to make it 32-19. Garrett Hawk connected from the baseline with 7:42 left in the third to continue the Tiger rally and then Zach Harmening got a steal and drive to give Worth County its biggest lead of the night so far at 37-19.
Polo scored the next five points as the hacking and fouling returned, but Dylan Kinsella got behind the Polo defense for a layup following a pass from Jordan Harding, Todd Harding made the first of two free throws and J.J. Mullock put back the second after it went astray, and then Bryce Ross scored from inside to make it 44-24 with 1:31 left. Toby Poje hit a pair of free throws for Polo, but Todd Harding got a steal and put a fake on a defender for a layup and then Wyatt McClain took his third charge of the night to set up Worth County's final bucket of the night with 12 seconds left. The ball was knocked out of bounds with 0.7 seconds left and Coach Chris Healy called timeout to set up a final play. Eli Mullock, who had not scored all night, grabbed an alley oop pass from half court and put it in to beat the buzzer and put Worth County up 48-26. The Polo coach protested that Mullock had traveled, to no avail. J.J. Mullock got a fast break feed from Alex Harmening to start the fourth quarter to put the Tigers up 50-26.
Polo made a mild rally to make it 50-31, but J.J. Mullock got behind the Polo defense to start another Worth County run. Zach Harmening followed with a steal, Todd Harding got a layup off another Harmening steal, and Garrett Hawk posted up inside to make it 58-31 with 4:31 and put the game out of reach. Polo scored the next seven points to make it 58-38 with 3:23 left, but Dylan Kinsella scored from inside with 2:19 left, J.J. Mullock got alone for a backdoor layup off a drive by Todd Harding, and Harding connected for a 3-pointer to account for the final score.
Worth County was plagued by foul problems all night, but more than made up for it with their deep bench as Coach Chris Healy used all of his varsity players against Polo. Consequently, despite the high point total, only two players reached double figures -- Zach Harmening with 12 points and Todd Harding with 11.
Alex Harmening hit a floater in the lane with 6:33 left to put Worth County up 3-0 in the first quarter. After Justin Hazleman hit from the left wing to make it 3-2, Zach Harmening converted a 3rd-chance bucket, Dylan Kinsella got a putback, and Jordan Harding scored off a Bryce Ross steal to make it 9-2. Both teams put on a press, but Worth County's was much more effective as they were able to get steals and drives all night long.
Josh Junco began slashing to the basket effectively and Polo rallied to cut Worth County's lead to 11-9 with 1:15 left. But after Cole Buffington scored from inside, Wyatt McClain came off the bench to take the first of his three charges and Buffington ran the floor and got behind the Panther defense as J.J. Mullock got him the pass with 6 seconds left to make it 15-9. Duncan Parker's shot from the right side at the buzzer made it 15-11.
Polo kept it close through much of the second quarter as Worth County began struggling on offense as they were a little out of control and they were hacking and fouling too much on defense, leaving Polo in the double bonus. But all of a sudden, Garrett Hawk got open from the right baseline for a 3-pointer to spark a rally late in the half; Polo then overextended on their press, leaving Todd Harding open for another three-pointer. After Wyatt McClain took his second charge of the night, Zach Harmening scored off a putback with 33 seconds left to make it 32-19. Garrett Hawk connected from the baseline with 7:42 left in the third to continue the Tiger rally and then Zach Harmening got a steal and drive to give Worth County its biggest lead of the night so far at 37-19.
Polo scored the next five points as the hacking and fouling returned, but Dylan Kinsella got behind the Polo defense for a layup following a pass from Jordan Harding, Todd Harding made the first of two free throws and J.J. Mullock put back the second after it went astray, and then Bryce Ross scored from inside to make it 44-24 with 1:31 left. Toby Poje hit a pair of free throws for Polo, but Todd Harding got a steal and put a fake on a defender for a layup and then Wyatt McClain took his third charge of the night to set up Worth County's final bucket of the night with 12 seconds left. The ball was knocked out of bounds with 0.7 seconds left and Coach Chris Healy called timeout to set up a final play. Eli Mullock, who had not scored all night, grabbed an alley oop pass from half court and put it in to beat the buzzer and put Worth County up 48-26. The Polo coach protested that Mullock had traveled, to no avail. J.J. Mullock got a fast break feed from Alex Harmening to start the fourth quarter to put the Tigers up 50-26.
Polo made a mild rally to make it 50-31, but J.J. Mullock got behind the Polo defense to start another Worth County run. Zach Harmening followed with a steal, Todd Harding got a layup off another Harmening steal, and Garrett Hawk posted up inside to make it 58-31 with 4:31 and put the game out of reach. Polo scored the next seven points to make it 58-38 with 3:23 left, but Dylan Kinsella scored from inside with 2:19 left, J.J. Mullock got alone for a backdoor layup off a drive by Todd Harding, and Harding connected for a 3-pointer to account for the final score.
Null One of Few Bright Spots vs. Albany
Lauren Null was one of the few bright spots for Worth County against Albany last Wednesday night as she posted a career-high 10 points in a losing effort against the Warriors. The Tigers lost 40-23 in the second round of the Albany tournament as they were eliminated for the second year in a row. Depending on how you look at it, the Tigers either took a step forward or a step back. Last year, Worth County fought North Nodaway to the bitter end before being ousted; however, they gave up the first 11 points in the game against Albany and never made it closer than seven the rest of the way. On the other hand, Worth County lost by nearly 30 to the Warriors last year; the fact that they played them to within 17 suggests that they made some strides despite the loss.
Worth County dropped an embarrassing 72-8 decision to Jefferson to open the tournament; "We couldn't handle Jefferson's half-court pressure," said Coach April Healy. It seems that everyone is having trouble handing Jefferson's stifiling defense -- Stanberry, one of the teams to beat this year, only managed to run their half-court offense once against the Eagles in the last 12 minutes in losing to Jefferson in the championship round by 11.
The Albany game started out as a slopfest -- both teams were having trouble solving the other's defensive scheme. But Worth County had much the worse problems as they seemingly forgot that they were no longer playing Jefferson. Consequently, they were dribbling without a purpose and not squaring up before shooting. Consequently, they did not score their first points of the game until the 54 second mark of the first period, when Ashley Reynolds posted up a defender and drew a foul to make it 11-2. Free throws by Lauren Null after a good take to the basket with 4:10 left in the second made it 13-6 and Worth County countered Erin Teel's inside shot with a fast break from Kiley Reynolds as Ashley's little sister caught the Warriors napping and took it in for a score with 2:13 left to make it 15-8. "Brooke Gilland and Kiley Reynolds played hard on defense," said Coach Healy. "Kiley really gave us some quality minutes off the bench."
Trailing 17-8 at the break, Worth County started moving the ball better on offense, getting some good ball reversals. But the shots were not falling and the nature of the game is when one thing gets corrected, another problem rears its head. The Tigers left Megan Poppa all alone on defense from 8-12 feet out in the third quarter and she connected on three straight baskets to push Albany's lead to 25-10. Brooke Gilland, who rebounded well in the quarter, grabbed a putback to make it 25-12, but then Albany responded by scoring the last six points to make it 31-12. Worth County tried unsuccessfully to put on a press to try to get the ball back and Albany grabbed their biggest lead of the game at 35-12 at the 6:37 mark of the fourth quarter.
It was then that Lauren Null got going to notch a career high for her. She scored off a backdoor layup, a shot from the right side, and a drive to the basket as the Tigers finally started running their plays and the shots started falling for them. Null then got into double digits with 50 seconds left with a putback to account for the final score as the Tigers had their most productive offensive output of the year so far and gave themselves something to build on in winnable games against North Nodaway and West Nodaway this week.
Worth County dropped an embarrassing 72-8 decision to Jefferson to open the tournament; "We couldn't handle Jefferson's half-court pressure," said Coach April Healy. It seems that everyone is having trouble handing Jefferson's stifiling defense -- Stanberry, one of the teams to beat this year, only managed to run their half-court offense once against the Eagles in the last 12 minutes in losing to Jefferson in the championship round by 11.
The Albany game started out as a slopfest -- both teams were having trouble solving the other's defensive scheme. But Worth County had much the worse problems as they seemingly forgot that they were no longer playing Jefferson. Consequently, they were dribbling without a purpose and not squaring up before shooting. Consequently, they did not score their first points of the game until the 54 second mark of the first period, when Ashley Reynolds posted up a defender and drew a foul to make it 11-2. Free throws by Lauren Null after a good take to the basket with 4:10 left in the second made it 13-6 and Worth County countered Erin Teel's inside shot with a fast break from Kiley Reynolds as Ashley's little sister caught the Warriors napping and took it in for a score with 2:13 left to make it 15-8. "Brooke Gilland and Kiley Reynolds played hard on defense," said Coach Healy. "Kiley really gave us some quality minutes off the bench."
Trailing 17-8 at the break, Worth County started moving the ball better on offense, getting some good ball reversals. But the shots were not falling and the nature of the game is when one thing gets corrected, another problem rears its head. The Tigers left Megan Poppa all alone on defense from 8-12 feet out in the third quarter and she connected on three straight baskets to push Albany's lead to 25-10. Brooke Gilland, who rebounded well in the quarter, grabbed a putback to make it 25-12, but then Albany responded by scoring the last six points to make it 31-12. Worth County tried unsuccessfully to put on a press to try to get the ball back and Albany grabbed their biggest lead of the game at 35-12 at the 6:37 mark of the fourth quarter.
It was then that Lauren Null got going to notch a career high for her. She scored off a backdoor layup, a shot from the right side, and a drive to the basket as the Tigers finally started running their plays and the shots started falling for them. Null then got into double digits with 50 seconds left with a putback to account for the final score as the Tigers had their most productive offensive output of the year so far and gave themselves something to build on in winnable games against North Nodaway and West Nodaway this week.
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