Boys record 11-9 after great weekend of basketball games

    The Chase County Longhorns got off to a terrible start in North Platte Friday Feb. 2.
    Seven minutes into the game the Longhorns found themselves trailing St. Pats 2-17. Jensen Olsen hit a three pointer at the end of the quarter to only trail by 12.
    The second quarter evened out with both teams scoring nine, leaving the Horns trailing 14-26 at the break.
    The Irish out-rebounded the horns on the defensive boards 27-11 while the Longhorns were better on the offensive boards by a difference of 12-3.
    The Horns had trouble shutting down the inside game of the Irish, giving up 24 points in the paint.
    NPSP increased it’s lead in the third quarter by four and then the offense of the Longhorns came to life.
    It looked as if the Irish fatigued in the fourth quarter and CCS took full advantage of it, cutting the deficit from 16 to just three with 1:17 left in the game.
    That was as close as the Longhorns could get. The Irish hit some big free throws as CCS was forced to foul with time running down. The Horns lost 37-44 but showed the heart of champions.
    Brecken Erickson and Sutton Tickle led the scoring for St. Pats with 16 apiece. Jensen Olsen and Cameron Lempke each scored 13 for the Horns.
    On Saturday, the Gering Bulldogs came to town with a deceptive 5-13 record. Many of the losses came from class A and B schools.
    The bulldogs started off hot , hitting a trio of three pointers to start the game. They also moved the ball around very smoothly.
    Once the Longhorns settled in and started to run their offense, it turned into an evenly matched, very physical game.
    The Longhorns trailed 11-15 at the end of one, but tied it up at halftime with 32 apiece.
    After turning the ball over 12 times in the first half, the Horns showed more control with only 6 turnovers in the second half.
    The Horns led by one after the third and poured it on in the fourth, outscoring Gering 20-12, to take a 67-58 win.
    Cameron Lempke had a game to remember, scoring 28 points while pulling down seven rebounds and having two steals. Jensen Olsen had a great night also with a double-double of 17 points to go with 10 rebounds.
    The leading scorers for Gering were Jackson Howard with 12 and Trent Brunner, 10.
    Monday, the boys welcomed Gothenburg to town. The Swedes have a 14-5 record and are riding a three game winning streak.
    In what looked to be one of the most complete performances the boys basketball team has put together this season, the Longhorns upset Gothenburg, 52-50.
    The Longhorns finally got off to a quick start, keeping pace with Gothenburg and leading at the end of one, 14-13.
    Showing great patience, the Longhorns worked the ball around Gothenburgs zone defense to find the high percentage shots and then made the shot.
    CCS took a 26-23 lead into the half. The Swedes came out in the third quarter and erased the deficit, tying the game at 38  going into the final period.
    After a couple of lead changes, the Longhorns got ahead and stayed there to the end.
    CCS had good ball control, only turning it over eight times to Gothenburgs’ 10.
    Cameron Lempke led all scoring with 18 points. Lempke was also credited with seven rebounds and two steals.
    Jensen Olsen was also in double figures, scoring 13.
    Leading scorer for Gothenburg was Braeden Anderson with 11 and Landon Mroczek with 10.