Bearcats fall to Eagles and Chargers in basketball action
By Trent Jerome, coach
KCC 42 — Eagles 75
On Thursday, Feb. 2, the Bearcats Boys Basketball team took on the Sacred Heart Eagles in Hallock for a home contest. The Sacred Heart Eagles entered the game with a record of 15-2 and the Bearcats record was 7-6. KCC was set to play the game without Kaden Vig, point guard Chisum Schmiedeberg and sixth man Brody Scalese. Sacred Heart came out firing to start the game and their offense could not be stopped.
The Bearcats answered with a couple early three pointers from Ty Vig but could not get much going inside of the arc. The Eagles continued to score on three levels while they forced the Bearcats to take tough jumpers. Brandon Ristad and Ty Vig were the only KCC players to record first-half field goals. KCC trailed at the break 38-13.
After the half, the Bearcats found more success on the offensive end. However, the Eagles continued their powerful scoring so the lead did not diminish at all. Braden Faken played aggressively for the Bearcasts trying to do everything he could to cut into the huge Sacred Heart lead. The Bearcats put up 29 second-half points but that was not enough to win the contest. Sacred Heart defeated the Bearcats 75-42.
Scoring: Ty Vig 12, Brandon Ristad 7, Braden Faken 5, Kellen Johnson 5, Dylon Warnke 4, Ashton Knutson 3, Oliver TerWee 3, Andrew Knutson 3.
KCC 49 — GG 58
The following day, Friday, Feb. 3, the Bearcats headed to take on the Grygla-Goodridge Chargers. Kaden Vig and Brody Scalese were still absent, but Chisum Schmiedeberg was back in the lineup. The Bearcats were victorious in the first matchup between these teams and they were hoping to do it again.
The Chargers offense showed up ready to play right from the tip off. Talented guard play by G-G allowed for them to score from deep and helped them get to the rim for easy layups. The Bearcats were trying to feed Ty Vig on the inside to get the offense going but found more success with kick out three pointers. Braden Faken, Andrew Knuston and Kellen Johnson hit three pointers to help keep the game close through the first portion of the first half.
But the last 5 minutes of the first half became all GG as they poured on the score. The Chargers went into half leading the game 35-19 over the Bearcats.
KCC made their halftime adjustments and were ready to battle their way back into the game. The Bearcats came out of break running a different defense that forced the Chargers to take tough three point shots. This allowed for the Bearcats to get stops that they could turn into points on the other end. Andrew Knutson continued to have success on the offensive end which also helped to get his teammates going around him. KCC continued to chip away at the lead as their zone was able to force more stops down the stretch. After big three pointers from Kellen Johnson and Ty Vig, the Bearcats were within striking distance of the Chargers. Another bucket from Kellen Johnson brought the score to KCC 49 G-G 51 with minutes remaining. G-G responded with a clutch three point basket to pull back away from the Bearcats. The next KCC trip came up empty so they had to put the Chargers on the line for free throws. G-G knocked down the free shots and were successful in winning the game. The final score was KCC 49, G-G 58.
Scoring: Ty Vig 13, Chisum Schmiedeberg 9, Andrew Knutson 8, Kellen Johnson 8, Braden Faken 8, Dylon Warnke 3.
