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HARTINGTON — Cedar Catholic came a single point from earning a trip to the finals, but responded the next day to win the third-place trophy in the Mid-State Conference Tournament last week.
The Trojans defeated Ponca in the consolation game 46-31 after taking Wayne to overtime in the semifinals before falling 55-49.
In the opening round, Cedar Catholic took care of O’Neill, 66-52.
Ponca and Cedar Catholic had just played each other back on Jan. 28 in a game played in Hartington when the Trojans prevailed, 63-54.
The Trojan defense stepped up and held the Indians to just 31 points and got enough offense to take the game by the 46-31 final score.
“This game with Ponca tested our resiliency after a hard fought game the night before,” said Cedar coach, Nick Haselhorst. “We just played them two weeks ago and sometimes it’s a mental hurdle to turn around and play that opponent again. Our kids were ready for the challenge and we stood tall in a physical game.”
Ponca led 8-6 at the end of the first quarter, but the Trojans turned the tables in the second frame and took a slim 17-15 lead into the intermission.
Cedar Catholic added a bucket to the lead in the third and held the Indians under double digits for the fourth straight quarter in the fourth to run away with the win by the 46-31 final.
Jaymison Cattau led Cedar Catholic with 14 points, Braeden Reifenrath tacked on 11 and Mason Baller had six.
Baller and Aaron Wortmann dished out three assists each and Nolan Becker swiped five steals.
The game with the Blue Devils was a rematch as well with Wayne turning away the Trojans 55-38 in a game played in Wayne back on Jan. 24. The Blue Devils won in this game, but it took a lot more effort.
“This was a hard fought game by both teams, we focused on our defensive intensity all night and it gave us a chance to seize control in the fourth quarter,” said Haselhorst. “We had multiple stops in a row but we were unable to capitalize offensively during those possessions and kept the door open for Wayne to take advantage.”
The Trojans flipped the game in the second half to erase a three-bucket deficit after the halftime huddle, trimming one bucket off in the third and two in the fourth.
Jaymison Cattau completed the comeback when he evened the score at 44-44 on his long three-pointer with just 7.5 seconds left on the clock to send it into overtime.
Then the Blue Devils got hot, reeling off an 8-0 run to open the extra stanza.
“Wayne was three for three on their first three possessions,” the coach said. “That didn’t allow us enough time to fight our way back.”
Cattau again led the way with 18 points, including four buckets from beyond the arc. Becker added 15 and Baller tossed in eight.
In the opener with the Eagles, Cedar Catholic used a big fourth quarter to break a 45-45 tie when the fourth started.
“We made a nice run in the fourth quarter to extend our lead,” said Haselhorst. “We rebounded the ball throughout the game and took control once we limited our turnovers and consecutive stops and scores.”
Cattau again poured in 18 points, Becker added 15, Aaron Wortmann tacked on 12 and Baller contributed 11.
Becker completed a double-double with 18 rebounds and also handed out six assists.
Cedar was set to head to Tilden on Feb. 11 to take on Elkhorn Valley and will be back on the court Feb. 13 with a trip to Battle Creek to take on the Braves.
Cedar (15-6) 6 11 16 13 - 46 Ponca (14-7) 8 7 9 7 - 31 CEDAR CATHOLIC: Mason Baller 2-4 1-3 6; Hunter Bensen 1-3 0-0 2; Jaymison Cattau 5-11 0-2 14; Braeden Reifenrath 4-8 0-4 11; Nolan Becker 0-5 2-4 2; Micah Cattau 1-1 0-0 3; Breiton Whitmire 1-2 0-0 2; Aaron Wortmann 2-6 0-0 6; Kighter Wortmann 0-1 0-0 0; Jared Rutar 0-1 0-0 0. Cedar (15-6) 10 9 13 12 5 - 49 Wayne (18-3) 14 11 11 8 11 - 55 CEDAR CATHOLIC: Baller 3-5 1-1 8; Bensen 0-1 0-0 0; Keyton Arens 0-1 0-0 0; J. Cattau 7-24 0-0 18; Reifenrath 1-2 1-1 3; Becker 7-12 0-0 15; Whitmire 0-2 0-0 0; A. Wortmann 2-5 0-0 5; K. Wortmann 0-1 0-0 0. O’Neill (9-10) 18 10 17 7 - 52 Cedar (15-6) 17 15 13 21 - 66 CEDAR CATHOLIC: Baller 4-5 1-1 11; Bensen 1-3 0-0 2; J. Cattau 8-19 0-1 18; Reifenrath 1-3 3-6 5; Becker 6-11 2-4 14; M. Cattau 1-3 0-1 2; Whitmire 1-1 0-0 2; A. Wortmann 5-7 0-0 12; K. Wortmann 0-5 0-0 0.
