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HARTINGTON - Cedar Catholic rolled to three big wins last week, two of them here at the Monsignor Werner Activities Center and one on the road, to improve to 15-6 on the season as the campaign winds down.
The Trojans defeated Pierce, 39-31, on Feb. 9 in Pierce after taking care of Battle Creek, Feb. 8, 56-47, and Elkhorn Valley, Feb. 6, 53-35.
The game with the Bluejays was a defensive battle from the opening tip.
“Points were hard to come by. it was a typical Pierce defensive game with limited possessions on offense,” Cedar Catholic coach Nick Haselhorst said. “Pierce always does a great job of taking away what you do best on offense.”
The Trojans went cold in the second quarter after opening the game with a 13-10 lead at the end of the first eight minutes.
Cedar Catholic managed just three points in the second but turned up the defense after the intermission.
“We were able to increase our defensive ball pressure in the second half,” Haselhorst said. “We made a run in the fourth quarter to take control of the game. We closed the game out with some key defensive stops and free throws in the final four minutes.”
The Trojans outscored the Bluejays 13-8 in the third and 10-5 in the fourth for the win.
Nolan Becker paced the Cedar Catholic offense with 16 points. Alex Kuehn added seven and Braeden Reifenrath chipped in five.
Jaymison Cattau pulled down 11 rebounds in the game, Becker added four and dished out three assists.
Kuehn and Cattau each had a couple of blocks defensively.
A rather hot opening quarter against the Braves stoked the Trojan fire as Cedar Catholic and Battle Creek opened the game with a 33-point first frame.
By the half, Cedar Catholic was clinging to a 25-23 lead.
“This game was back and forth up until the fourth quarter, we got off to a good start in the first quarter,” Haselhorst said. “Then we had some turnovers which led directly to points for them, we allowed 17 points in the first quarter, which was too many. We challenged the kids and they responded with a much better second quarter.”
Battle Creek sat in a matchup zone for much of the game.
“Their zone kept us out of rhythm until the fourth quarter,” Haselhorst said. “”We began to figure it out and had much better ball movement and player movement in the fourth.”
The Cedar advantage slipped to a single point at the end of the third, but a 20-12 fourth period spelled victory for the Trojans.
Cattau led the way offensively for the Trojans pouring in 18 points on the night.
Becker was right on his heels with 13, Braeden Reifenrath, Ty Thoene and Hunter Bensen each chipped in six.
Becker grabbed eight missed shots, Cattau and Kuehn each pulled down six rebounds.
A strong second quarter and taking care of the basketball guided the Trojans past the Falcons on Feb. 6.
“We were ready for the challenges Elkhorn Valley brought to the table and proved so by playing with purpose on both offense and defense,” Haselhorst said. “We knew they would be ready to play and we allowed some offensive rebounds in the first quarter, which they capitalized on and it allowed them to stay in the game. When we began to win the rebound battle, we took control of the game.”
A one-point lead after the first eight minutes grew to eight points by the halftime buzzer then increased to double digits at the end of the third period.
“We did an excellent job of passing and moving without the ball on offense,” the coach said. “Defensively, we did an outstanding job communicating and played with an intensity they could not match. We kept the ball in front of us and contested their shooters.”
The Trojans had a season-low, five turnovers in the entire game.
Becker led three Cedar Catholic players in double figures with 14 points in the game. Reifenrath added 12 and Kuehn tossed in 11.
Cattau and Bensen each chipped in five and Jacob Steffen added four.
Becker just missed a double-double with nine rebounds, Kuehn pulled down seven caroms.
The Trojans are set to take on a very hot Norfolk Catholic team in the regular season finale on Feb. 16 at the Msgr. Werner Activity Center before hosting the C2-8 SubDistrict Tournament Feb. 20 and 22.
Official pairings are not out yet, but it appears the Trojans will take on Osmond/Randolph in the opening round with Laurel-Concord-Coleridge and Crofton on the other side of the bracket.
Cedar Catholic defeats Pierce Pierce 10 8 8 5 — 31 Cedar 13 3 13 10 — 39 P=POINTS, R=Rebounds, A=Assists, S=Steals, B=Blocks.
CEDAR (15-6): Alex Kuehn 3-7 1-2 7P, 3R, 1A, 1S, 2B; Jaymison Cattau 1-8 0-0 3P, 11R, 2A, 1S, 2B; Nolan Becker 6-13 4-4 16P, 4R, 3A, 1B; Mason Baller 1-2 0-0 3P, 1R, 1S; Braeden Riefenrath 2-2 0-0 5P, 4R, 1A, 1B; Hunter Bensen 0-3 0-0 0P, 3R, 1S; Jacob Steffen 1-2 1-2 3P, 2R. Cedar Catholic defeats Battle Creek Battle Creek 17 6 12 12 - 47 Cedar 16 9 11 20 - 56 BATTLE CREEK (8-11): Blake Borchers 5-9 1-6 11P, 2A; Cameron Korth 0-2 0-0 0P, 2R; Jaxon Kilmurry 3-11 0-0 6P, 1R, 6A, 4S; Isaac Rudloff 1-2 0-0 3P, 1R; Xander Larson 0-0 0-0 0P, 1S; Gavin Korth 6-10 0-2 15P, 4R, 1A, 2S; MJ Wragge 2-5 2-2 6P, 2R, 1A, 2S; Jaxon Mettler 2-10 0-2 5P, 2R, 1A 2S; Parker Strom 0-0 1-2 1P. CEDAR CATHOLIC: Kuehn 2-7 0-0 4P, 6R, 1A, 2S, 1B; Cattau 6-11 2-4 18P, 6R, 3A; Becker 6-11 1-2 13P, 8R, 6A, 1S; Ty Thoene 3-3 0-0 6P, 3R, 1A; Sam Kuehn 0-0 0-0 0P, 1R, 1A; Baller 0-1 0-0 0P; Reifenrath 3-6 0-1 6P, 2R, 3A, 1B; Bensen 2-2 1-2 6P, 1R; Steffen 1-1 1-4 3P, 5R, 1A. Elhorn Vlly 10 12 6 7 — 35 Cedar 11 19 9 14 — 53 ELKHORN VALLEY (13-6): Kellyn Ollendick 6-15 6-12 19P, 4R, 1A, 1S, 1B; Jarett Werner 0-2 0-0 0P, 2R, 1A; Dawson Hansen 2-4 2-6 7P, 7R, 1S, 3B; Jack Qualset 0-1 0-0 0P, 1S; Korbin Werner 3-14 0-5 7P, 7R, 4A, 1B; Drew Hansen 0-4 0-0 0P, 5R; Logan Black 0-1 2-2 2P, 2R, 1S, 1B. CEDAR CATHOLIC: A. Kuehn 3-8 5-7 11P, 7R, 1A, 1B; Cattau 2-5 0-0 5P, 3R, 3A, 1S, 1B; Becker 5-10 3-6 14P, 9R, 3A, 2S, 1B; Thoene 1-4 0-0 2P, 2R, 4A, 2S, 1B; Baller 0-1 0-0 0P, 1R, 1A; Reifenrath 4-8 4-4 12P, 3R, 1A, 1S; Bensen 2-6 0-0 5P, 2R, 1A; Steffen 2-1 2-2 4P, 1R.
