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WYNOT —The Wynot Blue Devils hosted the Hartington- Newcastle Wildcats on Friday night in Lewis and Clark Conference basketball action.
The game was a tale of two halves as the Blue Devils dominated the first and the Wildcats outscored the home team in the second. The hole HNS found itself in after intermission was just too deep to climb out of as Wynot earned the 66-52 win.
“We got out to a great start to the game,” Blue Devils coach Lee Heimes said. “Our defense created some turnovers and we converted them. We played together and fought hard; it was a rivalry game.”
Wynot was led by Chase Schroeder and Dylan Heine as each of them amassed 18 points to tie for top scoring honors for the game. Kasen Koch continued his solid work on the inside and helped out with 10 points for the Blue Devils.
Hartington-Newcastle got a trio of three-pointers from Lincoln Grutsch to lead the Wildcats’ scoring with 16 points. Riley Sudbeck had a solid all-around game and finished with 12 points.
Dylan Heine had the hot hand early, draining a pair of treys on his way to 12 first-quarter points. Devin Brummer came off the bench to hit a three-pointer as Wynot raced to a 19-10 early advantage.
Hartington-Newcastle was paced by Riley Sudbeck with a pair of baskets and a three-pointer from Lincoln Grutsch.
In the second quarter, the Wildcats got four points from Colton Cavanaugh and another bucket by Riley Sudbeck. Wynot exploded on a 21-7 run, led by 10 points from Chase Schroeder, five points by Carson Wieseler and four points off a couple of offensive rebounds by Kasen Koch to build a 40-17 halftime advantage.
The third quarter saw the Wildcats try and rally with balanced scoring. Four points by Riley Sudbeck and three points by Brayden Lammers led the charge. Cole Heimes, Ayden Rosener, Lincoln Grutsch and Maximus McCray each contributed a bucket to the 15-10 Wildcat run.
“I was happy with our effort and it was great to see some younger kids get some more playing time,” Hartington- Newcastle coach Tylor Fincher said. “We are playing our best basketball of the season and I am excited going into Districts” Wynot minimized the damage with a field goal each from Kasen Koch, Kotner Koch, Carson Wieseler, Dylan Heine and Chase Schroeder.
The Blue Devils maintained a 50-32 lead going into the final period of play.
The final quarter saw the Wildcats continue to cut into the Blue Devils’ lead. Lincoln Grutsch hit for 10 more points. Austin Sudbeck, Ayden Roesner, Maximus McCray and Riley Sudbeck all scored in the quarter.
Wynot held them off thanks to four more points each from Chase Schroeder and Kasen Koch, along with a three-pointer from Zack Foxhoven. Solid 8-of-9 freethrow shooting helped as Wynot earned the win.
Wynot 19 21 15 16 — 66 Har-New 10 7 15 20 — 52
SCORING
Wynot – Dylan Heine, 18; Chase Schroeder, 18; Kasen Koch, 10; Carson Wieseler, 8; Zack Foxhoven, 3; Devin Brummer, 3; Kotner Koch, 2; Corbin Guenther, 2; Cooper Oligmueller, 2. Hartington-Newcastle – Lincoln Grutsch, 16; Riley Sudbeck, 12; Cole Heimes, 6; Colton Cavanaugh, 6; Ayden Rosener, 4; Brayden Lammers, 4; Maximus McCray, 2; Austin Sudbeck, 2.
