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Hartington-Newcastle was two baskets away from an appearance in the Clark Division finals of the Lewis & Clark Conference Basketball Tournaments last week, but eventually fell to Winside 44-40 in the semifinals and Plainview 51-46 in the third-place game after disposing of Osmond-Randolph in the opening round, 43-23.
The Wildcats had beaten Winside and Plainview in regular-season match ups, but couldn’t quite get over the hump in the tournament.
Against the Pirates in the thirdplace game, the Wildcats trailed early and spent the rest of the game playing catch-up.
“It was a tough loss,” Hartington-Newcastle coach Tylor Fincher said. “Plainview played well and we were not focused on defense which we usually are - I’m proud of the fight in our boys, we kept fighting.
HNS trailed 12-7 after the first and 32-26 at the break.
The Pirates added four points to the lead in the third stanza before the Wildcats tried to climb back in it in the final eight minutes, falling short by the five-point margin.
Riley Sudbeck and Dayton Sudbeck each recorded double-doubles in points and rebounds led by Riley with 23 points and 13 boards while Dayton had a literal double-double with 15 points and 15 boards.
“When you have two players get a double-double in the same game, the outcome is usually in your favor,” Fincher said.
Lane Heimes tacked on four as did Cole Rosener. Cole Heimes and Dayton Sudbeck each handed out a couple of assists.
In the loss in the semifinals to the “other” Wildcats, Hartington-Newcastle got out to an early lead before Winside heated up in the second half to come back and steal the victory.
“The game was a tale of two halves,” Fincher said. “We played amazing defense in the first half and Winside moved the ball really well in the second half which led to some wide open shots.”
HNS led by a basket after one and the lead grew to nine by the halftime buzzer.
Winside stormed back in the third frame, outscoring Hartington-Newcastle 20-10 to take a one-point lead heading into the final period and held on for the four-point win to send the Wildcats of Hartington-Newcastle to the third-place outing.
Riley Sudbeck led the way with 11 points to lead a fairly balanced attack.
Turner Dendinger had seven, Carsen Hopping had six, Cole Heimes and Dayton Sudbeck scored five points each, and Lane Heimes and Rosener tossed in three apiece.
Dayton and Riley Sudbeck grabbed nine boards while Dayton handed out five assists.
“I thought we played well in the game,” Fincher said. “Just not quite well enough to win.”
HNS shook off a slow start against Osmond-Randolph in the opening-round win in the tournament and got defensive the rest of the way topost the big win to get to .500 on the season at 8-8.
After trailing after the first frame by a point, the Wildcats came up with 10 points in the second quarter to take a 16-13 lead into the break.
The Hartington-Newcastle defense held the Hawks to just 10 points in the second half to pull away for the 20-point win.
Another balanced night scoring for the Wildcats contributed to the win led by Riley Sudbeck with 11, Dendinger’s tossed in eight.
Lane Heimes and Bailey Paden each had six, Hopping and Cole Heimes scored five apiece.
Riley Sudbeck recorded another double-double by grabbing 14 missed shots.
The Wildcats were scheduled to play Wausa at home on Feb. 7 before bringing in Wynot on Feb. 10.
Hartington-Newcastle will finish the regular season at home against Osmond-Randolph on Feb. 17.
