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Untitled Document
Knights improving at right time
kirt Manion
news | press
A late-season hot streak capped by a win over a
historic rival has the Lourdes boys’ basketball team primed for the
postseason.
The team wrapped up the regular season Saturday in a
game that could have meant nothing. With district seeding information
having already been submitted, a loss would have been inconsequential for
Lourdes.
Even so, there was plenty to play for due to the
Saturday opponent, the skill level of that opponent and the team’s
need to be ready for postseason.
Lourdes seniors played their final game at home
Saturday against arch rival Falls City Sacred Heart, a team that had beaten
Lourdes earlier in the season and one that entered with a sterling record
at 20-1.
The Knights opened the game by establishing an
eight-point first quarter lead and came on strong late with a 19-9 fourth
quarter that sealed a 58-47 victory.
Senior Derek Wichman led all scorers with 28 points
on 9-of-15 two-point shots, 2-of-2 three-point makes and a 4-of-5 night at
the free throw line.
Caleb Pokorny had 19 and Josh Santo had 11 to lead
the Sacred Heart squad.
The Saturday result for Lourdes, added to other
recent wins over Omaha Brownell-Talbot, 73-55, and Pawnee City, 78-49, have
the Knights entering sub district play on a hot streak.
Coach Joe Tynon said the streak is actually much
longer than three games when it comes to his team’s game-to-game
improvement.
Tynon goes back nine games on the Knight schedule and
finds that the team took steps in the right direction every time it stepped
out on the floor.
“I feel we’ve improved every game in
little aspects,” Coach Tynon said.
Prior to the final nine games, the Knights endured a
tough stretch of games where they went 2-5.
As the team struggled, Coach Tynon pointed to a need
for the Knights to begin to play more completely and more consistently.
These days, Tynon said he believes all of the players
on the squad understand their roles and are now playing at a more
consistent level.
Lourdes, 16-8, opens sub district play against
Weeping Water at 7:45 p.m. Tuesday night at Platteview High School.
A victory would put the Knights in a 6 p.m. Thursday
game, likely against Elmwood-Murdock.
Coach Tynon said the Knights’ final win of the
season prepared the squad for some of what it might see against both
Weeping Water and Elmwood-Murdock.
All three squads employ a zone defense.
Tynon said Weeping Water uses the same zone defense
Sacred Heart favors and noted that there are also many commonalities
between those defenses and the one used by Elmwood-Murdock.
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