The Boone Central/Newman Grove girls and boys basketball teams competed in the 2012 Great Northeast Nebraska Shootout Holiday Tournament at Wayne State College Dec. 27-29. Both Cardinal squads went 2-1 in the tourney, the BC/NG boys placing third and the Lady Cardinals taking fifth.
A solid start. A tough overtime loss to an undefeated foe. A bounceback win, with some payback, for third place.
All in all, an entertaining and productive experience for the Boone Central/Newman Grove Cardinals, now 8-3, in the 2012 Great Northeast Nebraska Shootout holiday basketball tournament at Wayne State College Dec. 27-29.
Playing three tough games in three days immediately following the NSAA five-day practice and competition holiday moratorium, the BC/NG boys defeated Pender in the opening round Thursday, lost to host Wayne in OT Friday and battled back to avenge an earlier loss to Hartington Cedar Catholic in Saturday’s consolation contest.
“This was a very competitive tournament,” said Cardinal Coach Dan Zoucha. “We are still improving and need to address some things defensively in the second part of the season. We are very proud of the effort of this team.”
BC/NG 66, Pender 53
Boone Central/Newman Grove came out firing on all cylinders Thursday and notched a 66-53 first-round victory over Pender.
“We got off to a good start and had very balanced scoring against Pender,” Zoucha said. “We were disappointed as a group that we did not finish the game out better defensively.”
Wayne 65, BC/NG 58 (OT)
In a terrific semi-final clash of Mid-State Conference foes, undefeated Wayne nipped Boone Central/Newman Grove 65-58 in overtime Friday.
Despite playing without an injured Gentrup, BC/NG nearly handed the Blue Devils their first loss. With Grant Anderson scoring seven points, Wayne rallied from behind in the fourth period, outscoring the Cards 13-9 to force OT. In the extra period, Jalen Barry’s eight points were too much for BC/NG to overcome.
“Wayne is a good team – a team with two very good players,” Zoucha noted.
BC/NG 54, HCC 51
Boone Central/Newman Grove shrugged off any hangover affect from Friday’s tough loss and defeated a Hartington Cedar Catholic team that topped the Cards in the season-opener 54-51 for third place Saturday.
With Hedlund scoring eight points, BC/NG raced to a 19-6 lead in the opening quarter and held a 29-18 halftime advantage. HCC rallied after intermission behind 21 points by Trent Jansen, but Hedlund poured in 12 in the final stanza to help the Cardinals fight off the challenge.
“We got our best start offensively and defensively this season. We had great ball movement and were able to prevent HCC from getting into a rhythm,” Zoucha praised.
The Boone Central/Newman Grove Lady Cardinals bounced back from a first-round loss to win two games and place fifth in the 2012 Great Northeast Nebraska Shootout holiday basketball tournament at Wayne State College Dec. 27-29.
Lady Card Coach Mike Kennedy was pleased with the effort by his team, which will take a 6-5 record into the 2013 portion of the schedule.
“Three games in three days is a test of will and our team competed hard in all three games,” Kennedy lauded.
Pender 53, BC/NG 40
A slow start put Boone Central/Newman Grove in an early hole Thursday and the Lady Cardinals could not recover in a 53-40 loss to eventual tournament champion Pender (9-1).
BC/NG 50, L-C-C 45
Boone Central/Newman Grove used an 18-9 second-quarter blitz to key a 50-45 victory over Laurel-Concord-Coleridge in a consolation-bracket contest Friday.
“We played a very good second quarter and put oureselves in good position,” said Kennedy. “They made a run at us late in the game and we responded well to the challenge.”
BC/NG 48, WP-B 47
It took the Lady Cards a half to find their legs and shooting touch Saturday, but a big second half propelled Boone Central/Newman Grove to a 48-47 white-knuckle victory over West Point-Beemer in the fifth-place game of the holiday tournament.
Leading 14-12 after a sluggish first half, BC/NG exploded for 21 points in the third period.
“I am very proud that we found a way to win the game today,” Kennedy commented. “We played a very fine offensive half of basketball in the second half.”
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