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WYNOT — Wynot dropped two of three games in nonconference boys basketball action last week, falling to Cedar Catholic and Winnebago while picking up a decisive win over Niobrara-Verdigre.
Tuesday at the Msgr. Werner Activity Center, the Blue Devils stayed within striking distance for three quarters, but Cedar Catholic pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 54-44 win.
Mason Baller led the Trojans with a game-high 22 points, including three 3-pointers. Aaron Wortmann added 12 points. Wynot was led by Kotner Koch with 12 points and Devin Brummer with 11.
Defense controlled much of the first quarter as the teams were tied 11-11 after one. Cedar got 3-pointers from Baller, Gavin Klug and Wortmann, while Wynot countered with six points from Koch and baskets from Nixen Heimes and Brummer.
Wynot struggled offensively in the second quarter, getting a 3-pointer from Brummer and a basket from Lane Heimes. Cedar Catholic had seven points from Baller in the period and a 3-pointer from Klug to take a 24-19 halftime lead.
The Trojans held off a Wynot push in the third quarter, maintaining a 35-32 advantage entering the fourth. Baller scored five points in the quarter and Wortmann and Breiton Whitmire each had a layup. Wynot got seven points from Killian Steinhaus and a 3-pointer from Braylon Hans.
Cedar Catholic sealed the win at the free throw line in the fourth, going 11-of-12 at the stripe while outscoring Wynot 19-14 in the period. Brummer scored six points in the quarter for Wynot, and Cash Lenzen and Lane Heimes each added a basket.
Wynot bounced back Thursday with a 70-33 win over Niobrara-Verdigre in a run-and-gun game in which the Blue Devils’ transition attack proved too much for the Cougars.
Brummer led all scorers with a season-high 33 points, knocking down nine 3-pointers. Heimes finished with 12 points, including two 3-pointers, as nine Wynot players scored.
Niobrara-Verdigre was led by Skye Denney, Jhett Denney and Kash Nielsen with seven points each.
Wynot jumped out to a 16-7 firstquarter lead behind two 3-pointers from Heimes and one each from Cash Lenzen and Brummer. The Blue Devils extended the margin to 32-15 at halftime as Brummer hit four more 3s in the second quarter and Lenzen added a pair of baskets.
Wynot continued to widen the gap in the second half, leading 48-22 going into the fourth. Brummer hit two more 3-pointers in the third, then added his eighth and ninth treys of the night early in the fourth before heading to the bench. Dylan Wieseler came off the bench to score five points as Wynot rolled to the 70-33 win.
The Blue Devils closed out the week Friday at home, falling to Winnebago 56-53 in overtime in a back-and-forth game that came down to the final possessions.
Wynot led 33-24 after three quarters and took an eight-point advantage into the fourth, but Winnebago rallied to force overtime. The teams traded baskets throughout the extra session, with the game tied three times before the Indians closed it out at the free throw line.
Koch led Wynot with a game-high 17 points. Brummer scored 14 points, including three 3-pointers.
Winnebago placed three players in double figures, led by Adrian LaPointe and Rahikim Free-Bass with 12 points each. Preston Blackhawk added 10 points.
Wynot’s defense limited Winnebago to a 3-pointer from Isaac Hunter and a basket from Aaron LaPointe in the opening quarter. The Blue Devils built a 12-6 lead behind 3-pointers from Brummer, Killian Steinhaus and Heimes, along with two inside baskets from Koch.
Scoring slowed in the second quarter as Wynot added baskets from Braylon Hans and Nixen Hans and made enough free throws to take a 2114 halftime lead. Winnebago’s points in the quarter came on an and-one from Adrian LaPointe and a basket from Osi Earth.
