Warriors heading back to Lincoln

Despite some sluggish first-half moments, Leyton proved toughest when it mattered.

With a 35-21 win over the Cody-Kilgore Cowboys in Hay Springs Tuesday night the Class D-2 District 6 champion Leyton Warrriors earned their third consecutive trip to state.

The Warriors, who finished fourth in last year's tournament, will open their quest for a state title in Lincoln on March 13, when they face Falls City Sacred Heart (23-4) at Lincoln Southeast.

Though Leyton never trailed and was deadlocked only once (at 2-2), the Cowboys remained within roping distance much of the way with an effective two-three zone. But the Warriors defense was stingy, too. In the second quarter Cody-Kilgore could manage to score but a single free throw.

The Warriors dug in even more in the final frame when the Cowboys entered the period down by just 2 points. Leyton gave them nothing. The Warriors sealed off the lanes inside and forced their opponents into wild outside chances. When the Cowboys had a rare opportunity in close, the shots were necessarily rushed. Not even a single foul shot fell for Cody-Kilgore in the final eight minutes.

Meanwhile, with the scent of Lincoln getting ever stronger, Leyton began to strike.

"Coach told us to get it inside and we starting doing that in the fourth quarter," said Brennen Cruise, referring to the urging of coach Gary Oltmann. "They had a little height on us but we outworked them."

It was still anybody's game when the horn called an end to the third-quarter break. The defending D-2 District 6 champs held just a 23-21 lead entering the fourth. Kody-Kilgore's Dustin Gourd had a chance to tie the game with a pair of free throws 37 seconds in, but missed both. The Cowboys never rode so high again.

"We didn't do anything different really," said Alex W. Frerichs of the Warriors dominant fourth. "A lot of it was that our shots starting falling."

The drive to Lincoln began with Dylan Brenner, who rifled a pass through the zone to Cruise. Though two Cowyboys quickly converged on him, Cruise's pump fake pulled the defenders off their feet. When the Leyton senior went up for real, the defense was left behind on the floor.

McKay was next. He found a soft spot in close and sank a layup. Then it was Cruise again, putting back his own miss. McKay then followed for two more buckets.

McKay's second came after Jared Westman fired a bullet inside to the junior who found himself all alone under the net. Brenner ended the 12-0 quarter with a pair of free throws.

"I think our slow start had to do with some bad passes and less about the zone," said McKay. "But our defense really started to crack down at the end."

As McKay hit the final field goal of the night, so too did he hit the first. Cruise was McKay's accomplice, assisting on the game's opening hoop. Dawson Gourd, however, managed to give the Cowboys their only taste of the lead soon after.

Though it was far too early to know and much work still lay ahead, the ensuing basket by Frerichs put Leyton ahead to stay. Cruise was again the abettor as he found "A Dub" wide open underneath.

Offensively McKay was in top form even while the Warriors struggled to penetrate the zone. Cruise and Westman handled the zone in the opening quarter by draining threes over the top.

But easy baskets were few and far between for the first three periods.

McKay followed Frerichs on the scoreboard, but the shots came nearly two minutes apart. Over another long period near the end of the frame, each team traded just a pair of treys.

Cruise and Westman's bombs were answered by Gourd and Austin Wobig. At the end of eight minutes Letyton led 14-10.

The second quarter was quiet for both teams as the Warriors outdid their opponents by a 4-1 count to take an 18-11 halftime lead. McKay accounted for all the Warriors scoring with a bucket from the floor and a pair of foul shots.

Frerichs took charge of the Warriors offense in the third. He opened the stanza with a two pointer just 15 seconds in for a 9-point advantage at 20-11. Though he later hit a trey, the Cowboys finished the third on an 8-0 run, courtesy of the Gourd brothers.

Dawson was responsible for 5 with a jumper from just inside the arc and another from just outside. Dustin bent the twine from three with 35 seconds left to get the 'Boys within 2 at 23-21.

But the Cowboys never scored again.

"There is something like an ugly win and this was an ugly win. But we'll take it," said Oltmann.

McKay led all scorers with 16 points while Frerichs and Cruise each had 7. Westman and Brenner each picked up 3 assists to aid the offense.

McKay was also tough at the other end of the floor as he had 9 rebounds including 8 defensive boards. Cruise pulled down 7 rebounds. Brenner, Cruise and McKay each had a pair of steals.

Linescore

Cody-Kilgore 10 1 10 0 - 21

Leyton 14 4 5 12 - 35

Warriors Scoring

Cody McKay 16

Alex W. Frerichs 7

Brennen Cruise 7

Jared Westman 3

Dylan Brenner 2