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HARTINGTON — After opening the week on a sour note with a loss to Wynot, the Cedar Catholic Trojans recovered to get back on the train and won a couple of games to improve to 9-4 on the season.
Cedar has now won seven of their last eight games.
The Trojans defeated Pierce 49-38 Friday and Dakota Valley, S.D. 71-64 the night before after dropping the game to the Blue Devils 60-50 on Jan. 14 in Wynot.
After the Wynot loss and the win over a very good Dakota Valley team, Cedar was ready for some home cooking and welcomed a game in the Msgr. Werner Activities Center against Mid State Conference opponent, Pierce.
“We expected a ‘grind it out’ type of game with Pierce, they rarely give away free opportunities to score the ball,” said Trojan coach Nick Haselhorst. “We found some points in transition and attacked the offensive glass well to give us some second chance points in the first half.”
The Trojans used ball movement and effort on the boards to build a 27-22 lead over the Bluejays then got serious about both ends of the court in the third frame.
“We rotated well defensively, strung together some consecutive stops,” Haselhorst said. “Then we passed the ball well and scored on consecutive possessions in the third quarter to take control of the game.”
Cedar Catholic outscored Pierce 14-5 in the third to take a 41-27 lead into the final eight minutes then held on for the 11-point advantage at the final buzzer.
Nolan Becker and Jaymison Cattau had 13 and 11 points respectively to lead the Trojans. Mason Baller added nine.
Becker, Braeden Reifenrath and Cattau combined for 22 rebounds led by Becker with eight and Cattau and Reifenrath with seven apiece. Cattau dished out four assists.
After the ugly loss for the Trojans in the game before at Wynot, Haselhorst and company were anxious to get back on the court and work on some issues.
“I thought the players responded admirably to what transpired at Wynot,” Haselhorst said. “This is not taking a thing away from Wynot, in fact, they played faster than we did and Wynot’s great focus and intensity was the difference in that game.
“We had a tall task in front of us , but we also knew we had a chance. We played fearless and with the amount of pride, toughness and fight that is expected.”
Cedar Catholic was ready from the opening tip, taking an 18-14 lead after the first quarter and increasing it to 39-30 heading into the halftime locker room.
The Panthers dipped into the lead in the third quarter but the Trojans responded and held on for the 71-64 win.
“Dakota Valley is a great team,” said Haselhorst. “We knew they would respond and make a run at us in the second half, but we continued to execute, regained the lead and took control of the fourth quarter.”
Becker heated up the gym in North Sioux City with a team-high 24 points on the night. Aaron Wortmann poured in a season-high 21 on 9-for-18 shooting from the field.
Baller added 13 including three shots made from beyond the arc with Kighter Wortmann tossing in eight.
Aaron Wortmann also grabbed seven missed shots.
Cedar Catholic was set to take on O’Neill St. Mary’s Jan. 21 in Hartington and will hit the road Jan. 24 when the Trojans travel to Wayne for a matchup with the MidStates Conference leading Blue Devils and Jan. 25 when they head to West Point to take on Guardian Angels Central Catholic.
Pierce (4-8) 1012 5 11 — 38 Cedar (9-4) 15 12 14 8 —49 CEDAR: Mason Baller 3-7 1-2 9; Hunter Bensen 1-2 0-0 3; Jaymison Cattau 4-12 1-1 11; Braeden Reifenrath 3-6 2-2 8; Nolan Becker 5-16 2-3 13; Breiton Whitmire 1-2 0-0 2; Aaron Wortmann 1-1 1-3 3; Kighter Wortmann 0-1 0-0 0. Cedar (9-4) 18 21 14 18 – 71 Dakota Vlly (8-2) 14 16 18 16 —64 CEDAR: Baller 5-8 0-0 13; J. Cattau 1-4 0-0 3; Reifenrath 0-3 0-0 0; Becker 9-19 6-7 24; Whitmire 1-3 0-1 2; A. Wortmann 9-18 1-2 21; K. Wortmann 3-6 2-2 8.
