Basketball roundup

Warriors wallop Garden County to wrap up regular season

Leyton finished their regular season on a high note, recording a 60-31 win over district rival Garden County in Oshkosh on Friday.

The Warriors finish their regular season with a record of 15-5 and a mark of 8-1 in the district.

Their next challenge is the D2-11 sub-district tournament at Gering High School, beginning on Tuesday. As the top seed the Warriors will face the winner of Monday’s contest between No. 4 Banner County (7-12) and No. 5 South Platte (0-15). Tuesday’s game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. with No. 2 Minatare (11-7) vs. No. 3 Garden County (10-8) to follow at 7:15 p.m. The championship game is set for 7 p.m. on Thursday.

On Friday the Warriors took and early lead and stepped in front 20-13 after eight minutes. At the half Leyton had a 25-14 lead before dominating the second half 35-17.

Brennen Cruise led three players in double figures against the Eagles with 15 points. Cody McKay added 11 while Dylan Brenner had 10.

Cruise was also busy on the glass as he pulled down 13 rebounds. McKay had 6 boards.

Alex W. Frerichs added 3 steals to 6 points while Brenner and Cruise each had 3 assists.

Creek Valley downed despite strong effort

Creek Valley stumbled in their final regular season contest, with a 66-48 setback to the Wallace Wildcats on Friday night.

Creek Valley concluded with a record of 5-12 while Wallace finished up at 17-4 playing out of District D2-9.

In the opening round of the D1-12 sub-districts, the No. 3 Storm will take on No. 2 Potter-Dix (9-11) on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Hemingford (16-6) earned the top seed and will play No. 4 Morrill (4-17) at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

The finals will take place on Thursday at 6:30. All games will be at Mitchell High School.

While the Storm struggled out of the gate, falling behind 17-8 after the first frame on Friday, they narrowed the gap to 32-26 at the half. The Wildcats extended their advantage, however, in the second half.

“We played solid defense tonight,” said Storm Head Coach Roger Behrends. “If we could have rebounded better we could have won the game. The kids gave a great effort.”

Lane Godfrey led the scoring attack with 15 points for the Storm while two freshmen were close behind. Brett Godfrey and Maverick Widdowson scored 14 and 12 points, respectively.

Colin Brott led the Creek Valley rebounders with 8 while Lane Godfrey grabbed 7 and Widdowson 5.

Brett Godfrey was the Storm assist leader with 3 while older brother Lane led in steals with 4.

Dane McConnell and Brett Godfrey each purloined three Wildcats possessions.

Knigge, Coyotes top Minatare in overtime

Potter-Dix again proved to be a nemesis for the Minatare Indians as the Coyotes won 77-70 in overtime on Friday on the road. Earlier this season the Coyotes handed the Indians their first loss of the year at the MAC Tournament.

After a 9-11 season, the Coyotes have been awarded a second seed in the upcoming D1-12 subdistricts at MItchell. They will face No. 3 Creek Valley (5-12) on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Should the Coyotes survive the Storm they would meet in the finals on Thursday against either No. 1 Hemingford (16-6) or No. 4 Morrill (4-17) at 6:30 p.m.

Though Potter-Dix took a 35-20 lead into the locker room at halftime on Friday, the Indians charged back to tie the contest in the fourth quarter.

But Minatare was no match for the Coyotes in the extra session as the visitors ended the contest on a 9-2 run.

Bryant Knigge was the hot hand for Potter-Dix with 25 points. He was backed up by three other teammates in double figures: Kelsey Rozelle (13), Tyler Magninie (13) and Trace Sharman (10).

The offensive effort was aided by 5 Knigge assists and 4 others from Cameron Purcell.

Sharman led the team in rebounds with 7 while Rozelle added 6. Knigge and Sharman were the top possession changers as each came away with 4 steals.

Peetz drops two over weekend of play

Having already clinched a second seed in the upcoming playoffs, the Peetz Bulldogs dropped a pair of contests over the weekend to finish their regular season at 10-9.

Despite 27 points, 5 assists and 5 steals from Josh Fiscus, the ‘Dogs were on the wrong side of a 68-62 decision to league rival Fleming on Friday. On Saturday, many of the starters were rested as Sedgwick County turned back Peetz 58-41.

The loss dipped the Peetz record to 10-8 while Fleming fell to 6-13. Peetz will still have the second seed when the post season opens this week.

“I take my hat off to Fleming. They played hard and smart. My team did the exact opposite,” said Bulldogs Head Coach Bill Fiscus. “Some nights you just don’t have it and tonight was one of those nights. Time to have a short memory and move on.”

Behind the 27 points by Fiscus, Corbin Heller added 11 and Tre Lewis 9.

The freshmen pair of Lewis and Cody Wilson led the ‘Dogs in rebounds with 9 each. Casey Barrett had 8 boards. Heller added 3 assists.

Casey Barrett led the Bulldogs scoring attack against Sedgwick County with 18 points. Josh Fiscus and Lewis each scored 6. Bradey Holtz picked up a pair of steals and Heller had 4 steals.

The Bulldogs will open their Class 1A Distrcit 4 tournament on Wednesday at Northeastern Junior College. No. 2 Peetz will face No. 7 Pawnee at 5:30 p.m.

Bulldogs edged by Fleming, Sedgwick Co.

The Peetz girls dropped a pair of games this weekend to conclude their season at 9-10.

On Friday, league foe Fleming turned back the Bulldogs 42-38 on the road while home cooking wasn’t enough on Saturday to topple Sedgwick County. The Cougars edged Peetz 29-26.

The Bulldogs will meet Fleming again in round 1 of the Class 1A District 4 playoffs on Tuesday at 4 p.m. All tournament games will be played at Northeastern Junior College.