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RANDOLPH - The Randolph Cardinals and Coach Cory Simpson completed another busy and successful week, completing the week with a 2-1 record.
The Cards dropped a tough, 78-43 contest to unbeaten Wausa on Jan. 17 to end the week, but defeated Homer 66-51 the night before and took down Niobrara/Verdigre 68-34 on Jan. 14, all three games were on the road.
“We were kind of wore down and a little ill when we took on Wausa,” Simpson said. “It was our eighth game in 15 days and I think it just kind of caught up with us.”
The Vikings raced out to a 34-10 lead at the end of the first frame and kept their feet on the proverbial gas pedal with a 49-21 lead at the intermission and a 69-35 advantage after three before coasting to the 33-point win.
Logan Lienemann and Brecken Shearer shared scoring honors for Randolph with 10 points each. Luke Harder had nine and Adrian Samano chipped in with seven.
Samano was the player of the night for the Cards in Homer on the way to their eighth win of the season.
Samano recorded the first Randolph double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. He added four assists and four blocks to his night to post a pretty impressive line.
“It was a complete game for us as a team,” Simpson said. “Adrian stepped up huge for us in the game and I couldn’t be happier for him. We need to lock in and play together as a team if we want to get to the next level.”
Lienemann led the Cardinals in scoring with 15 points on the night. Shearer added 13 and Kody Junck had 11.
Junck added four rebounds and four assists to his night. Shearer added five caroms and Jaylen Junck had three steals and a couple of huge offensive rebounds.
Randolph cruised up to take on the Cougars and cruised back to Randolph with the 69-34 win after shaking off a slow start.
“We played four solid quarters against Niobrara/Verdigre,” Simpson said. “Every player had an assists and every player had a rebound. It was a true team effort.”
After the Cardinals led by 12-10 at the end of the first quarter, they exploded for 22 points in the second to head to the break with a 34-17 lead.
Randolph increased the advantage by 11 points in the third and added seven before the final buzzer to come away with the win.
Lienemann poured in 20 points in the contest. Bartels tossed in 17 and Samano tacked on eight.
The Cards continued on the road with a trip to Bloomfield on Jan. 21 and will continue their season with another trip east to take on Winnebago on Jan. 24, Randolph will be home Jan. 28 when the Cardinals will host Wynot.
RAN (8-6) 10 11 14 8 - 43 WAU (12-0) 34 15 20 9 - 76 RANDOLPH: Logan Lienemann 3 2-3 10; Dayton Winkelbauer 0 1-2 1; Jaylen Junck 2 1-2 5; Kody Junck 0 1-2 1; Luke Harder 2 5-7 9; Brecken Shearer 4 0-1 10; Adrian Samano 3 1-2 7.
RAN (8-6) 16 24 14 12 - 66 HOM (2-11) 7 15 15 14 - 51 RANDOLPH: Lienemann 5 3-4 15; Winkelbauer 0 1-2 1; J. Junck 1-1-4 3; Lucas Bartels 2 0-0 5; K. Junck 3 5-7 11; Harder 3 1-6 8; Shearer 5 0-0 13; Samano 5 0-3 10.
RAN (8-6) 12 22 19 16 - 69 N/V (0-12) 10 7 8 9 - 34 RANDOLPH: Lienemann 6 4-4 20; J. Junck 1 1-2 3; Bartels 7 0-0 17; K. Junck 2 1-2 5; Harder 3 0-0 6; Shearer 3 3-4 10; Samano 4 0-0 8.
