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HARTINGTON — The old Boy Scout motto came in handy last week for the Cedar Catholic Trojans.
The motto, “Always Be Prepared,” was perfect as the team had to prepare for an afternoon game after a major storm was forecast for Tuesday evening.
After getting off to a fast start, the team then had to prepare for a furious Sutton Mustang comeback attempt.
The Trojans did just that as they put together a shutdown defense and unleashed a potent offense to outscore the Clay County visitors 37-26 to earn a 63-50 District championship game win and advance to this week’s State T0urnament.
Cedar jumped out to a quick 7-3 lead at the start of this one, and extended that to 11-6 with just under two minutes left in the first frame before the Mustangs came charging back to cut the deficit to just two points — 11-9 — at the end of the first frame.
A Jacob Steffen lay-in to start the second quarter started a 7-2 Trojan run. Long balls by Nolan Becker and Jaymison Cattau then put Cedar up by nine points, 24-15, before the Mustangs started to find their groove and counter with a run of their own whittling Cedar’s halftime lead down to two points — 26-24.
Sutton continued its offensive surge early in the second half and it took its first lead of the game at 28-26.
The two teams then traded the lead back and forth until long balls from Cattau and Aaron Wortmann stretched the Trojan lead to six points, 41-35. Cedar took control early in the final frame when Cattau dished the ball to Becker for an inside jumper, putting Cedar up by 10, 45-35. Cedar’s defense flexed its muscles late in the frame, collecting three straight steals and turning them into points.
“Our kids were locked in defensively and did a great job of fighting through screens, rebounding, and being disruptive with our ball pressure,” Haselhorst said.
Once Sutton started to get comfortable, Haselhost threw them a curve ball.
“We switched our defenses up situationally which caused Sutton to pause and think and we forced some key turnovers in those moments,” he said.
Going into the game, Haselhorst knew his team would have to stop the long ball if they wanted to win.
“Three-point shooting is one of Sutton’s greatest strengths and a key to the game was to fight through screens and not allow them space to catch and shoot their threes,” he said.
Cedar did just that, allowing the Mustangs to only connect on three three-pointers. Haselhorst said his team has really come together over the past 8-9 games.
He’s excited to see what they can do at State.
“Earning our ticket to the state tournament is a great reward for the kids, it’s a culmination of all their hard work, and a beautiful testament to who they are as people and competitors,” he said.
Cedar 11 15 17 20—63 Sutton 9 15 11 15—50
SCORING
Cedar - Nolan Becker, 26; Aaron Wortmann, 10; Jaymison Cattau, 7; Jacob Steffen, 7; Mason Baller, 6; Hunter Benson, 4; Braeden Reifenrath, 3.
REBOUNDS
Cedar - Braeden Reifenrath, 4; Micah Cattau, 4; Jaymison Cattau, 3; Nolan Becker, 3; Jacob Steffen, 2; Breiton Whitmire, 2; Mason Baller, 1.
ASSISTS
Cedar - Jaymison Cattau, 3; Braeden Reifenrath, 2; Mason Baller, 2; Jacob Steffen, 2; Nolan Becker, 1; Micah Cattau, 1; Breiton Whitmire, 1; Aaron Wortmann, 1.
