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Wildcats defeat Trojans in SubDistrict contest
PENDER — The two neighbors from across the street drove a little over 60 miles to play each other Feb. 24 in the C2-6 SubDistrict Tournament semifinals and it was the team clad in purple that came away with a 60-52 win to advance to the SubDistrict finals.
After trailing by 10 at the half, the Wildcats held the Trojans to just two points in the third quarter to swing the pendulum and head to the final quarter with a 10-point advantage then held on for the eight-point win.
A Mason Baller long ball hit the bottom of the net with 5:50 left in the opening frame to put Cedar Catholic up 6-1 to start the contest.
Austin Sudbeck scored inside to make it 6-3 but the Trojans answered with another bomb, this one from Aaron Wortmann and Cedar was back up by six.
Mason Krause grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back into the bucket then Lammers did the same and the score was tied at 9-9.
Sudbeck scored again inside to start a big run for Hartington-Newcastle to close out the quarter.
That run was aided by Carter Kelly, who hit 1-of-2 charity tosses before Kighter Wortmann scored for the Trojans on a fast break to temporarily give the lead back to Cedar Catholic, 11-10.
Lammers canned a free throw, Kelly swished a pair of gifters and Colton Cavanaugh hit 1-of-2 from the foul line and the Wildcats went up 14-11.
Kelly was fouled in the paint with 43.3 seconds left before the first rest stop and made it 16-11 after converting the free throws then Sudbeck scored inside to end the first with the ‘Cats in front, 18-11.
The ‘Cats, led by Brayden Lammers’ 21 points while shooting a phenomenal 10-for-11 from the field, ended up posting an 18-11 lead after the opening eight minutes.
Cedar Catholic used a 21-5 second period to get back in the game.
Gavin Klug scored the four points in the second quarter for the Trojans on 3-ball and a free throw, then Micah Cattau stole the ball and went in for a layup and Cedar was within a single point with less than two minutes gone before the halftime break.
Lammers answered inside but a Kighter Wortmann drive in the paint, a Baller trifecta and a nifty pass from Baller to Aaron Wortmann along the baseline made it 27-21 in favor of the Trojans and forced HNS coach Tylor Fincher to ask for a timeout with 46.5 seconds remaining before the intermission.
Baller spotted Breiton Whitmire on a fast break, Lammers scored inside then Klug nailed a three and the teams went to the locker room with the Trojans in front 32-23.
The Wildcats returned the favor in the third, outscoring Cedar 22-3 to take a 45-35 lead into the final eight minutes then held on in the fourth for the 60-52 final score.
Lammers poured in his 21, Kelly finished with 15 and Sudbeck tossed in 14.
Kelly pulled down eight boards, Sudbeck, Lammers and Krause each corralled five missed shots.
Baller scored 16 points for Cedar Catholic, Klug had nine, Aaron Wortmann eight while Cattau, Whitmire and Kighter Wortmann each had five.
Will Steffen grabbed six rebounds and Aaron Wortmann handed out four assists.
Cedar (12-13) 11 21 3 17 — 52 HNS (11-13) 18 5 22 15 — 60
CEDAR: Mason Baller 6-14 0-0 16; Gavin Klug 3-11 1-2 9; Aaron Wortmann 3-10 0-0 8; Micah Cattau 2-4 1-2 5; Toby Heine 0-2 0-0 0; Breiton Whitmire 2-4 0-0 5; Kighter Wortmann 2-7 1-2 5; Jared Rutar 1-1 1-1 3; Will Steffen 0-3 1-4 1.
HARTINGTON-NEWCASTLE: Carter Kelly 4-9 6-8 15; Austin Sudbeck 6-13 1-2 14; Will Feilmeier 0-2 2-4 2; Keatyn Arens 0-1 0-2 0; Brayden Lammers 10-11 1-3 21; Mason Krause 2-4 0-1 4; Lincoln Grutsch 1-1 0-0 3; Colton Cavanaugh 0-0 1-2 1.
