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FREMONT — Things seem to be coming together for the Cedar Catholic Trojans as the basketball season goes into the heart of the season this month.
The Trojans won three straight games this past week, taking the fifth-place game in the Northeast Shootout over Winnebago, 67-61, on Dec. 30, then winning two games in the Knight Classic hosted by Archbishop Bergan Jan. 2 over Council Bluffs St. Albert, 51-50, and Jan. 4 over the Knights, 6649, to improve to 6-3.
Cedar Catholic got things going early against the Knights in the Knight Classic.
“The kids prepared the right way, they were locked in and ready to play from the jump,” Trojan coach Nick Haselhorst said. “Bergan blitzed us with multiple defensive pressures and we passed the ball well and capitalized on our opportunities. Offensively, we were efficient scoring at all three levels and we played with the right defensive intensity all night.”
After opening with a 23-10 lead after the opening quarter and added a bucket to the advantage at the break.
The Trojans added four points to the lead in the third and coasted to the 17-point win.
Nolan Becker had the hot hand while pouring in 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the field and 8-of-11 from the charity stripe.
Jaymison Cattau tossed in 13 while Mason Baller added seven.
Cattau and Becker shared rebounding honors with eight boards each.
Cattau also contributed five assists and five steals.
The Trojans used an explosive fourth quarter to turn away St. Alberts in the first round of the Knight Classic.
“We kept battling and believing in ourselves the entire game,” said Haselhorst. “Nothing came easy for us and we earned everything we received. St.Alberts is very well coached and their defensive pressure was frustrating our players for most of the first half.”
The Falcons exploded in the second quarter, breaking a 9-9 tie at the beginning of the frame and taking a 30-18 lead into the break.
The Trojans got things going in the second half.
“We matched their defensive intensity in the second half,” said the coach.
“We started getting through screens better and being disruptive on the ball. Our increased production on defense led to some easy scores and suddenly we gained the momentum and continued to respond with enough plays to sneak out with a win,” Coach Haselhorst said.
Cedar Catholic nibbled a point off the advantage in the third then outscored St. Alberts 20-8 in the final eight minutes to claim the win.
Becker led the Trojan offense with 18 points, Braeden Reifenrath contributed 13 and Cattau tacked on nine.
Becker just missed a double-double after grabbing nine rebounds, Cattau pulled down seven missed shots and dished out four assists.
Mason Baller and Cattau each had three steals.
Cedar was coming off of a seasonhigh 79 points when they took the court with Winnebago in the fifthplace game of the NE Neb. Shootout.
The Trojans continued to be offensive, hitting 56% of their shots from the field, while the defense held the Indians to 39.7% in the contest.
“This was a fun game for the kids to play in. Offensively, we were efficient with our ball movement and player movement. They shot the 3-ball very well. They hit a lot of step-back 3-pointers to keep them in the game, but we were able to withstand their 3-point barrage,” said Haselhorst.
The Trojans outscored Winnebago in every quarter except the third. Cedar Catholic led 19-15 after the first and 28-22 at the intermission.
The Indians trimmed a bucket off the lead in the third, but the Trojans used a 20-18 advantage in the final eight minutes to earn the win and the fifth-place hardware.
Becker put in 23 points to lead Cedar Catholic, Cattau and Reifenrath each tossed in 13. Becker did complete the double-double in this game after pulling down 11 rebounds.
The Trojans return to the court Jan. 9 when they host Laurel-Concord- Coleridge followed by a trip to Wynot on Jan. 14.
Cedar (6-3) 23 11 16 16 - 66 AB (5-4) 10 9 12 18 - 49
CEDAR: Mason Baller 1-9 4-4 7; Jaymison Cattau 5-11 2-2 13; Braeden Reifenrath 2-3 0-0 5; Nolan Becker 10-16 8-11 28; Breiton Whitmire 2-2 0-0 6; Aaron Wortmann 3-5 0-0 6; Kighter Wortmann 0-1 1-2 1. Cedar (6-3) 9 9 13 20 - 51 SA (11-13) 9 21 12 8 - 50 CEDAR: Baller 1-2 0-0 3; Hunter Bensen 1-1 0-0 2; J. Cattau 3-8 2-2 9; Reifenrath 6-10 1-1 13; Becker 5-11 8-8 18; Whitmire 0-2 1-2 1; A. Wortmann 1-5 0-0 2; K. Wortmann 1-4 0-0 2; Will Steffen 0-1 1-2 1. CC (6-3) 19 9 19 20 - 67 WB (4-7) 15 7 21 18 - 61 CEDAR: Baller 4-7 0-0 9; J. Cattau 4-9 3-4 13; Reifenrath 6-10 1-2 13; Becker 10-15 3-7 23; Micah Cattau 1-2 0-0 2; Whitmire 1-4 0-0 2; A. Wortmann 2-3 0-0 5.
