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WEST POINT — Cedar Catholic parlayed a couple of wins and a loss in the Mid-State Conference Tournament into some third-place hardware as the Trojans head into the final weeks of the regular season.
An opening-round win over Battle Creek 57-54 in Albion on Jan. 29, followed by a 49-36 loss in the semifinals to Boone Central on Feb. 2 at Guardian Angels Central Catholic and an impressive 56-44 win over Wayne in the third-place game earned the Trojans third and left them with a 12-6 record.
In the third-place game against the Blue Devils, Cedar Catholic shook off the semifinals loss to the Cardinals and pounced on Wayne from the onset.
“We were very proud of the kids’ response from the loss the prior day,” Trojans coach Nick Haselhorst said. “It was a quick turnaround and the kids came out ready to play with focus and intensity.
“We played with great defensive intensity, we out-rebounded Wayne 33-13 and the ball didn’t stop moving on offense.”
Cedar Catholic led 16-12 after the first frame and the advantage increased to 37-19 by the intermission.
The Blue Devils outscored the Trojans 25-19 in the second half, but the game was already in hand.
Nolan Becker poured in 25 points on the afternoon on 9-for-14 shooting from the field and a 7-for-8 performance from the charity stripe.
Alex Kuehn added 10 points while Jaymison Cattau and Hunter Bensen each contributed five.
Becker also added nine boards to his day. Cattau and Kuehn each snared seven caroms.
In the semifinals against the Cardinals, the Trojans had trouble scoring.
“Boone did a nice job of mixing up its defenses on us and it allowed them to steal several possessions from us,” Haselhorst said. “The ball stuck to our hands too much and we didn’t have the ball movement and player movement that’s necessary to attack their defense.
“Our defense kept us in the game, but Boone Central is talented and they made a run in the third quarter, which we didn’t have an answer for.”
Cedar Catholic led after the first period, be it by a single point, but the Trojans were up 8-7.
Boone Central went up by five at the intermission before taking control of the game in the third frame.
Cattau led a fairly balanced attack with 10 points, Becker added nine and Kuehn put in seven. Kuehn and Becker each grabbed five rebounds, Braeden Reifenrath handed out three assists and Kuehn had a couple of steals.
In the opening round against the Braves, a strong second half got Cedar Catholic rolling after trailing 22-15 at the break.
“We had a sleepish first half where we didn’t do a good job of closing out possessions and we missed several close-range shots,” Haselhorst said. “The kids responded with greater urgency in the second half and we fought back to take control of the fourth quarter and eventually held on for the win.”
After scoring 15 points in the first half, the Trojans erupted for 42 second-half points on the way to the three-point win.
Becker had another strong offensive showing, pouring in 20 points in the contest; Kuehn added 10 and Cattau and Ty Thoene each contributed nine.
Reifenrath, Hunter Bensen and Jacob Steffen each chipped in three points.
Kuehn and Becker led the way on the glass by grabbing eight missed shots; Cattau got his hands on seven rebounds.
The Trojans took on Elkhorn Valley at home Feb. 6 before another game with the Braves Feb. 8, also in Hartington. Cedar Catholic will travel to Pierce Feb. 9 to take on the Bluejays.
Cedar 16 21 10 9 —56 Wayne 12 7 10 15—44
CEDAR (12-6): Alex Kuehn 4-9 2-2 10; Jaymison Cattau 1-4 3-6 5; Nolan Becker 9-13 7-8 25; Ty Thoene 1-1 1-5 3; Mason Baller 0-1 2-2 2; Braeden Reifenrath 1-3 2-2 4; Hunter Bensen 2-3 0-0 5; Jacob Steffen 1-1 0-0 2.
WAYNE (15-5): Caiden Backer 4-9 0-0 10; Drue Davis 3-9 0-0 8; Colson Nelsen 6-10 0-1 14; Jace Jorgensen 0-4 4-4 4; Gavin Redden 2-7 0-0 5; Kaleb Moormeier 1-4 0-0 3. Cedar 8 11 9 8 - 36 Battle Creek 7 17 17 8 - 49 CEDAR: Kuehn 3-9 0-1 7; Cattau 3-8 1-2 10; Becker 4-14 1-2 9; Baller 1-4 0-0 3; Reifenrath 1-1 1-1 3; Bensen 1-2 0-0 3; Jared Rutar 0-0 1-2 1.
BOONE CENTRAL (14-5): Jaxon Lipker 1-2 1-1 3; Parker Borer 1-6 0-0 2; Kolton Rasmussen 4-11 1-1 10; Austin Wiese 4-5 0-0 12; Ben Reilly 5-9 1-1 11; Brant Benes 2-2 0-0 5; Jude Spann 0-1 0-0 0.
