Cardinals Take Third At NVC

CARDINAL RISKEN DAWSON (12) takes a mighty leap toward the ball currently in the possession of Elkhorn Valley's Logan Black (15). The Cards won the consolation match in overtime 49-48 Saturday, Feb 3.

The St. Mary's Cardinal boys took third place in this year's NVC Tournament. Their first game was played Tuesday, Jan. 30 at 6 p.m. against Elgin/Pope John where the Cards took it in a close 59-50 bout.

The opening was a solid start for the Cardinals, taking it 17-12 to begin their NVC play. Quarter two was taken 14-9 in the Wolfpack's favor to even the match.

The scoreboard now read 26-26 and the match was now moving into the second half. Determined to make their way up in the tournament, the Cards let loose and took third quarter by six points. A further three points toward the end gave the Cards the win and the opportunity to move to semi-finals.

Ben Barlow scored high with 25 points, shooting four of six three-pointers for 67 percent and four of nine two-pointers for 44 percent. Barlow also had two rebounds and three steals; Gage Hedstrom had double-digits with 17 points, six rebounds and three steals; Logan Brabec seven points, two rebounds and five steals; James Eby six points; Risken Dawson two points and three rebounds; Sam Barlow two points and one steal; Carson Dannenbring and Max Berg both two rebounds and one steal; and Eli Banks one rebound.

SMHS     17       9      16      17       59

EPPJ       12      14     10      14      50

Two days later, the boys traveled to West Holt to face the Huskies on their own turf in the semi-finals. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, West Holt stopped them dead in their tracks and made their way through the rest of the tourney. 

In the opening, the Huskies took a decent lead, going 13-8. Second quarter was a major hit to the Huskies, with the Cardinals putting up 11 and their opponent only two. 

The Cardinals were sitting good, until third quarter saw them take a three-point loss to nearly even the score. The board now read 31-30, with the Cards having the slight advantage. At the end, the Huskies managed to take back the game with a major 20-11 finale. It was a close game, but this would mark the end of the Card's chance to go for that Championship title.

Gage Hedstrom killed it with 22 points, shooting four of 10 three-pointers for 40 percent and two of 11 two-pointers for 18 percent. Hedstrom also had even rebounds and three steals; Barlow had nine points and five rebounds; Brabec eight points, three rebounds and two steals; Dannenbring two points; Berg and Dawson both one rebound and one steal; and Banks one rebound.

SMHS      8      11      12      11      42

WHHS    13       2      15      20      50

A couple days later, on Saturday, Feb. 3 the Cardinals competed in the consolation match at 3:30 p.m., just before the Championships match was played between West Holt and Summerland. 

The Cardinals kicked the match off with a three-point lead over the Falcons, winning first quarter 9-6. In the next, the Falcons took it 12-8 to turn the game over in their favor. 

Determined to at least take the consolation match, the Cards once again took the lead, this time by one point. The Falcons weren't about to let the Cards win that easy, though, as they took fourth quarter 11-10 to move the match into overtime. It was a back-and-forth match, and this overtime quarter was no exception. In the end, it would be the Cardinals who would claim victory and won the match 49-48 to take the consolation game.

Logan Brabec scored highest with 15 points, shooting four of nine three-pointers for 44 percent. Brabec also had five rebounds and one steal; Barlow had 13 points, five rebounds and one steal; Hedstrom 12 points and nine rebounds; Banks five points, six rebounds and one steal; Dannenbring four points, two rebounds and one steal; and Eby one rebound.

SMHS    9     8      10    10    12     49

EVHS    6     12      8     11    11     48

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