Warriors End Season With Loss To Mead

Mike Motz, Sun-Telegraph

Leyton's Warrior Boys Basketball team, regrouped after a loss to Bridgeport in their Subdistrict final game, and traveled to neutral-site Lexington on Tuesday, February 28, for a District Final match up against the 18-and-8 Mead Raiders.

The first quarter opened with both teams' offenses hesitant, while they probed for openings and the defenses played close. It was back and forth scoring for the first half of the period, then the Raiders offense got into a groove and reeled off a string of points to give the Mead boys a 15-to-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Mead dialed up the defense and capitalized on Leyton mistakes to go on a run. The Warriors were unable to hit any shots, inside or out, while Mead kept rolling and kept scoring. At the end of the quarter, Leyton had been shut out from putting any points on the board, while the Raiders led 24-to-8.

Leyton finally got something going offensively in the third period, but they were nearly matched in scoring by the Raiders, and the score was 34-to-20 at the end of the third quarter. The Warriors tried to rally in the fourth period, but the second quarter deficit proved far too much to overcome, and Leyton ended their season with a 21-and-4 record. The Warriors were only able to muster eight points in the first half, and their offensive shutout in the second period made it impossible to recover and rally against Mead. Senior Dillon Juelfs led the scoring with 20 points

The Mead team moved on and was scheduled to match up against North Platte St. Pat's on Wednesday of this week.The Leyton team will miss several senior starters next year, including leading scorer Dillon Juelfs who averaged 16 points per game this season. The will also miss the 11 points per game of senior guard Cort Rummel and 15.8 points per game from senior forward Justin Ernest. The Warrior program is strong and has depth, so look for the experience of a District Final game this season to help with the development of the team for next year and the future.