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HARTINGTON — Cedar Catholic shook off the sting of its season-opening loss to Boone Central by jumping out early and never looking back, rolling to a 59-40 win over O’Neill on Dec. 12 at the Monsignor Werner Activities Center.
The Trojans built a commanding 31-12 halftime lead and controlled the tempo throughout, turning the Eagles away in their second game of the young season.
Mason Baller delivered a standout performance, pouring in 30 points while shooting 8-for-10 from inside the arc to fuel the Cedar Catholic offense.
Micah Cattau got the Trojans on the board with a 3-pointer in the opening moments, and a Gavin Klug long ball shortly after pushed the early advantage to 6-2. Baller followed with his first basket inside to make it 8-2 as Cedar Catholic seized control.
Ryan Hoebelheinrich converted a traditional three-point play off an inbounds set to extend the lead to 11-4 midway through the opening quarter. Baller continued to score in the paint, and a Kighter Wortmann move inside helped the Trojans stretch the margin to 15-9. Cedar Catholic closed the quarter with free throws from Baller and Cattau to take an 18-9 lead.
The Trojans opened the second quarter with a flurry, highlighted by a baseline jumper from Baller, a Cattau assist to Baller for a layup and another pair of baskets inside that ballooned the lead to 26-9. A Baller 3-pointer late in the half sent Cedar Catholic to the locker room firmly in front, 31-12.
O’Neill trimmed five points off the deficit in the third quarter, but Cedar Catholic responded in the final period to pull away and secure the 19-point victory.
Cattau and Jared Rutar each added six points for the Trojans, while Breiton Whitmire, Hoebelheinrich and Klug finished with five apiece. Baller and Wortmann each grabbed four rebounds, and Cattau dished out five assists.
Cedar Catholic was set to host Crofton on Dec. 16 before breaking for the holidays and the NSAA moratorium.
O’Neill (0-3) 9 3 17 11 — 40 Cedar Catholic (1-1) 18 13 12 16 — 59 CEDAR CATHOLIC: Mason Baller 12-20 2-2 30; Myles Baller 0-1 0-0 0; Gavin Klug 2-5 0-0 5; Micah Cattau 2-5 1-2 6; Toby Heine 0-1 0-0 0; Cooper Hochstein 0-1 0-0 0; Landon Rutar 0-1 0-0 0; Breiton Whitmire 1-3 2-4 5; Ryan Hoebelheinrich 2-3 1-3 5; Kighter Wortmann 1-4 0-0 2; Jared Rutar 2-3 2-2 6; Jake Hoebelheinrich 0-1 0-0 0.
