Bearcats boys defeat Warriors, lose to Gators
By Trent Jerome, coach
KCC 67 — Warroad 64
The KCC boys basketball team headed on the road to take on the Warroad Warriors on Tuesday, Jan. 10. The Bearcats entered the game with a record of 3-4 looking to even up their wins and losses. To start the game, it was a back and forth battle of trading baskets for both teams. The Warriors attacked the rim while the Bearcats did the same by feeding Kaden Vig down low. After getting multiple defensive stops, the Bearcats got out in transition and scored fast break layups to pull away.
The Warriors fought hard to battle back and kept the game fairly close for the remainder of the first half. At halftime the Bearcats led 34 to 24 over Warroad.
Coming out of the half, the Bearcats continued offensive dominance, led by Vig. The KCC defense fed off their offense, which gave them the energy to shut down the Warrior scorers. Brandon Ristad and Chisum Schmiedeberg were true defensive leaders bringing constant hustle and intensity. Over half way through the second half the Bearcats had increased their lead to 18, but Warroad wasn’t giving up yet. Warroad surged back by creating rushed shots for the Bearcats and then the Warriors hit a few quick threes.
With 1 minute remaining the Warriors had brought the score within 1 point, 62-61. The Bearcats called a timeout and drew up a play to feed Vig that allowed the Bearcats to capitalize when they needed it most. The lead was not 3 for the Bearcats and they needed to slow down the red hot Warrior offense. They were able to do just that and sealed the game with free throws at the end. KCC won the game 67-64.
Scoring: Kaden Vig 32, Ty Vig 13, Braden Faken 8, Brody Scalese 8, and Chisum Schmiedeberg 6.
KCC 49 — BGMR 51
On Friday, Jan. 13, the Bearcats headed east to take on the BGMR Gators. To begin the contest, the Gators were quick to capitalize on the offensive end while also using a packed in 2-3 zone to halt the KCC offense. BGMR continued to hit tough shots that allowed them to pull out to an early lead in the ball game. The lead was stretched to 9 over half way through the first half but the Bearcats did not hesitate to surge back.
KCC relied on three-point shoots by Braden Faken and Brody Scalese to propel them back into the game. The Bearcats tied up the game 19-19 with 5 minutes left in the first half. This started a trading of baskets that led to a half time score of BGMR 25 KCC 23.
After the break, the 2-3 zone continued to force the Bearcats to score from the outside. Their shooting kept them in the game while the Gators continued to score around the basket. KCC gained their first lead of the contest 34-33 with 9 minutes left in the second half. The back-and-forth fight continued from that point and neither team was able to pull away. You could tell it was going to be a fight right down to the end. The Gators finally created some separation with under 2 minutes to play and it was time for the Bearcats to kick it in high gear. KCC trapped the Gators, which led to quick turnovers and quick baskets. With 6 seconds left, the Bearcats had a chance to score to send the game into overtime, but were unsuccessful. The Gators defeated the Bearcats 51-49.
Scoring: Kaden Vig 13, Braden Faken 13, Ty Vig 10, Brody Scalese 6, Dylon Warnke 3, Brandon Ristad 2, and Chisum Schmiedeberg 2.
