Diane Stamm | The Imperial Republican Colin O’Neil nails a three pointer over the outstretched arms of a Hitchcock County defender.

    The Chase County boys basketball team is headed to Cozad for the C1-11 subdistrict.
    CCS will be the fourth seed in the subdistrict and take on the hosting Haymakers in the first round Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. CT.
    Gothenburg and Holdrege, the second and third seeds, respectively, will play the following game with the winners meeting next Thursday for a berth in a district final.
    The Longhorns have improved to 9-12 with a 3-1 week last week.
    Chase County traveled to Hitchcock County (11-9) last Tuesday.
    Behind 11 first quarter points from Kade Anderson, CCS jumped out to a 16-7 lead. The Longhorns only allowed one basket by Hitchcock County in the games first seven minutes.
    As Hitchcock County’s Trent Kisker got hot, the Falcons kept pace with CCS, leaving the Longhorns leading 29-17 at halftime.
    Chase County it three 2s and one three pointer in the third quarter, but used 6-8 free throw shooting to keep the Falcons at bay.
    With CCS hanging on to a 44-33 lead, the fourth quarter got interesting. The Longhorns only scored one basket in the quarter’s first four minutes and found their lead down to two, 47-45 with 3:48 remaining, then tied with the Falcons at 49-49 with two minutes to go.
    Kisker, who finished with 22 points, helped Chase County’s cause when he fouled out with 1:49 on the clock.
    Easton Fries converted an and-one opportunity, but CCS left the door open by sending Hitchcock County to the free throw line. The teams traded free throws until Chase County locked down the 55-53 win.
    Anderson led CCS with 24 points while Fries scored 12. Anderson also had a team high eight rebounds and seven assists.
    The Longhorns followed up the win with a home match-up against Class D1 No. 3 Dundy County Stratton Friday.
    CCS got off to a nice start in the game behind two three pointers by Tristan Jablonski. The Longhorns led 10-6 after the game’s first three minutes, but had a 4:30 dry spell over the final five minutes of the quarter that left CCS trailing 12-19.
    Chase County was within two points, 21-23, with 5:20 left in the first half, until another long cold streak gave the Tigers a chance to pull away. The Longhorns headed into halftime trailing 23-36.
    Five different players scored for CCS in the third quarter, but baskets were spread out as Chase County struggled to score.
    The lid came off the basket in the fourth quarter. Trailing 33-52 to start the game’s final eight minutes, the Longhorns nibbled away at their deficit behind eight points from Jablonski and seven points by Jensen Olsen.
    Chase County’s 23-point quarter wasn’t enough to catch up and the Longhorns lost 56-67.

    DCS had its running game going. CCS was outscored 4-16 in transition points, but did out score the Tigers 16-14 in points off turnovers.
    Jablonski led CCS with 14 points and Olsen finished with 13 points. Anderson had 11 rebounds.
    Chase County hit the ground running Saturday in a 72-45 romp at Cambridge.
    The Longhorns took a 10-point lead in the game’s first four minutes and held the Trojans to five first quarter points.
    After being outscored 4-7  early in the second quarter, Chase County settled into a grove and outscored Cambridge 9-4 over the final 3:40 of the first half.
    Coming out of the locker room with a 34-16 lead, the Longhorns’ offense was hitting on all cylinders in the third quarter, including eight-straight points by Colin O’Neil.
    CCS coasted in the fourth quarter for the win.
    Olsen scored 20 points and had 10 rebounds to lead the Longhorns. Fries finished the night with 17 points and Anderson scored 11.
    Chase County had an effective field goal percentage of 62.5% and made 5-9 three point attempts. The Longhorns held a 32-4 advantage in transition points and led Cambridge 19-5 i points off turnovers.
    CCS picked up its third win in six days with a 60-54 victory at Bridgeport Monday.
    A game recap will be available in next week’s paper.