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LAUREL — Call it a scoring trend or simple good fortune, but 63 became a magic number for Laurel-Concord-Coleridge last week.
The Bears scored exactly 63 points in back-to-back games, turning the trick once at home and once on the road to post a pair of wins and improve to 3-1 on the young boys basketball season.
LCC opened the week with a 63-48 home victory over Homer on Dec. 9, then followed it up with a 63-53 road win at Tri County Northeast on Dec. 12.
Against the Wolfpack, the Bears pulled away with steady production across the final three quarters. After an even first eight minutes, LCC outscored Tri County Northeast 16-14, 16-11 and 17-14 the rest of the way to secure the 10-point victory.
Cade Johnson dominated inside with a game-high 29 points, while Drey Puppe added 21. Parker Hoeppner finished with six points and Dayton Korth chipped in four.
Puppe recorded a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Johnson and Tanner Thompson each pulled down seven rebounds, while Korth, Thompson and Johnson handed out three assists apiece. Puppe also led the Bears defensively with seven steals.
Earlier in the week, LCC set the tone early against Homer. The Bears raced out to a 19-7 first-quarter lead and carried a 34-17 advantage into halftime. LCC extended the margin to 25 points after three quarters before coasting to the 15-point win. Puppe led the Bears with 23 points against Homer. Johnson also reached double figures with 12, while Parker Hoeppner and Thompson each scored nine. Johnson grabbed nine rebounds, while Puppe and Korth collected eight apiece. LCC was scheduled to host Ponca on Dec. 16 before closing out the pre-Christmas portion of its schedule at home against Plainview on Dec. 19.
LCC (3-1) 14 16 16 17 — 63 TCNE (0-3) 14 14 11 14 — 53 LCC: Parker Hoeppner 2-5 0-0 6; Dayton Korth 2-9 0-2 4; Paxton Hoeppner 0-4 1-2 1; Talon Carson 0-7 0-0 0; Drey Puppe 8-24 4-8 21; Tanner Thompson 1-6 0-4 2; Cade Johnson 10-22 6-10 29. HOM (0-4) 7 10 13 18 — 48 LCC (3-1) 19 15 21 8 — 63 LCC: Parker Hoeppner 3-9 0-0 9; Dayton Korth 0-3 0-0 0; Paxton Hoeppner 0-1 0-0 0; Talon Carson 3-11 0-0 8; Drey Puppe 10-19 3-6 23; Ian Sohler 1-2 0-0 2; Tanner Thompson 3-8 3-4 9; Cade Johnson 6-11 0-4 12; Turner Thompson 0-3 0-0 0; Luke Erwin 0-3 0-0 0.
LCC’s Drey Puppe gets a shot up as Homer’s Steve Harris tries to defend him during action here last Tuesday. Darin Epperly | Laurel Advocate
