Blue Devils control the tempo to tame the Wildcats
HARTINGTON — The cold January night seemed to affect the Wildcat boys in their title game Friday night with Wynot.
Plagued by a very cold start, the Wildcats tried trying to claw their way back into the game all night long, but came up short, falling 49-32 in the Classic Tournament title game.
“Our focus and energy were not near where they needed to be in order to have a chance to win against Wynot, Hartington-Newcastle Coach Nick Haselhorst said. “We were not connected offensively, and this led to several unforced turnovers. A lot of credit needs to go to Wynot for coming out ready to play and for their defensive pressure.”
Both teams wanted an uptempo game and it was fast paced the entire way, which sometimes caused problems for the Wildcats, who ended up committing turnovers on the night.
“We didn’t play that great against Wynot,” Wildcat ace Bennett Sievers said. “It seemed like when we played that we weren’t playing like a team and trying to do our thing. When they pressed us, we threw the ball away and it was more just us making errors.”
Wynot was led by the outside shooting of Anthony Haberman who hit a trio of 3-pointers to take scoring honors with 18 points. Charlie Schroeder had a big second half finishing with 14 points. Trystan Heimes led his team with seven rebounds to lead in that department. Peyton Wieseler and Charlie Schroeder contributed with five boards each.
Hartington-Newcastle was led by Isaac Bruning with 11 points and Seth Pinkelman with eight points. Kobe Heitman led his team with six boards and Seth Pinkelman grabbed five caroms for the game.
The two teams both got off to a slow start. Isaac Bruning had the Wildcats’ only fieldgoal of the first quarter. Wynot got a 3-pointer by Dylan Heine and lay-ins in close by Charlie Schroeder and Garrett Lange to take an 8-3 early lead.
In the second quarter a player from each team got hot. Seth Pinkelman for the Wildcats hit a trey on his way to seven points and Anthony Haberman for the Blue Devils who connected for seven points as Wynot held onto a 23-15 halftime advantage. Trystan Heimes had a pair of offensive put-backs for Wynot and Kobe Heitman aided Hartington with three points.
In the third quarter Riley Sudbeck and Isaac Bruning both drained 3-pointers for the Wildcats. The Blue Devils got seven points in the paint from Charlie Schroeder and a pair of long range three pointers by Anthony Haberman as they increased their lead to 41-26 going into the final period of play.
In the fourth quarter Hartington-Newcastle got a second three pointer by Isaac Bruning and a fieldgoal by Kobe Heitman. Wynot’s Peyton Wieseler and Anthony Haberman both hit from long range as Wynot finished the game for the 49-32 win.
SCORING
Wynot - Anthony Haberman, 18; Charlie Schroeder, 14; Trystan Heimes, 4; Garrett Lange, 4; Dylan Heine, 3; Peyton Wieseler, 3; Jack Kuchta, 2; Colin Wieseler, 1. Hartington-Newcastle - Isaac Bruning, 11; Seth Pinkelman, 8; Kobe Heitman, 5; Turner Dendinger, 3; Riley Sudbeck, 3; Bennett Sievers, 2.
REBOUNDS HNS - Seth Pinkelman, 7; Kobe Heitman, 5;
HNS - Seth Pinkelman, 7; Kobe Heitman, 5; Jake Peitz, 3; Bennett Sievers, 3; Riley Sudbeck, 2; Reece Morten, 1; Dagen Sudbeck, 1; Lane Heimes, 1; Turner Dendinger, 1.
ASSISTS
HNS - Bennett Sievers, 4; Seth Pinkelman, 1; Kobe Heitman, 1; Jake Peitz, 1; Lane Heimes, 1.
STEALS HNS - Riley Sudbeck, 6; Isaac Bruning, 3; Kobe Heitman, 3; Seth Pinkelman, 2; Lane Heimes, 1; Bennett Sievers, 1.
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