Longhorns lose back-to-back games to Haxtun, Hershey

    Home court advantage didn’t give the Chase County boys’ basketball team the edge it needed last week in losses to Haxtun, Colorado and Hershey.
    The first quarter was hectic Jan. 25 against Haxtun (9-4), ranked 10th in Colorado Class 1A. CCS only gave up one field goal in the first two minutes of the game, but trailed 4-5 thanks to Haxtun free throws. As the teams traded baskets, CCS trailed 12-15 with 1:30 left in the first quarter. Haxtun finished with a three-point run and held a six-point advantage at the end of the first quarter.
    Kade Anderson’s three pointer quickly cut the Longhorns deficit in half, but a seven-point run by the visitors pushed CCS into a 15-25 hole. A Keenan Cole basket with 4:27 left in the half was Chase County’s only other points of the quarter. The Longhorns trailed 17-29 at halftime.
    Chase County’s defense half Haxtun to two third quarter field goals. CCS went on an seven-point run and closed the gap to 26-33. Haxtun finished the quarter with four points to increase its lead back to 11.
    CCS didn’t make it easy for Haxtun in the fourth quarter. The Longhorns scored the first four points of the quarter to cut Haxtun’s advantage to 30-37. Haxtun hit two field goals, which CCS followed with to baskets of its own. Five points by Cole kept CCS within five points, 37-42, with 2:30 left in the game. Haxtun added two more baskets, but with 1:42 left in the game, both teams started heading to the charity stripe. Down the stretch Haxtun made 5-8 free throws. Cole and Jensen Olsen carried the CCS offensive load over the final minutes. Each made a basket and they combined to make 2-4 free throws to round out the  41-51 loss.
    Anderson led the Longhorns with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Cole finished with 12 points.
    CCS hosted Hershey Saturday in a rematch of the team’s SPVA first round game Jan. 15.
    The Longhorns grabbed a 5-0 lead to start the game, but saw it disappear as Hershey went on an 8-2 run. CCS battled back and used a buzzer beating three pointer by Anderson to tie the game at 13 at the end of the first quarter.
    Hershey scored the first four points of the second quarter. Chase County had an answer and scored six-straight points. The Longhorns’ 19-17 lead didn’t last long. Hershey scored the final 14 points of the half, leaving CCS trailing 19-31 at halftime.
    Hershey scored the first five points of the second half. Olsen broke a nearly eight minute dry spell with a field goal with 4:50 on the clock. Emmitt Zuege and Anderson combined to make 3-4 free throws around a Tysen Lempke bucket, but Hershey had the last laugh in the third quarter with its own buzzer beating three pointer.
    Down 26-43 heading into the fourth quarter, CCS got a shot in the arm from three consecutive conventional three point plays by Anderson and Cole. Back-to-back 3s by Bernhardt left CCS trailing 45-53 with a minute left in the game. The Longhorns couldn’t get any closers, however, and lost the game 46-59.
    Bernhardt finished with a team-high 12 points.
    Cole led the Longhorns with seven rebounds, but CCS couldn’t take advantage of an 18-5 edge in offensive rebounds.
Up next
    With their two-game home stand behind them, the Longhorns will have two road trips ahead of them. CCS went to Yuma, Colorado Tuesday. Chase County will travel to North Platte St. Pat’s (15-2) Thursday.
    Hitchcock County (10-8) will play at CCS Feb. 8.
Class C2 Boys’ Point Standings—1. Hartington Cedar Catholic (15-3), 46.3889; 2. Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family (17-0), 46.2941; 3. Norfolk Catholic (14-2), 45.9375; 4. Freeman (17-1), 45.8889; 5. Grand Island Central Catholic (13-3), 45.5000; 6. Doniphan-Trumbull (14-1), 45.4667; 7. Howells-Dodge (15-2), 45.2941; 8. Hastings St. Cecilia (15-4), 44.5789; 9. Amherst (15-3), 44.3889; 10. Laurel-Concord-Coleridge (14-4), 43.9444; 19. Bridgeport (11-7), 42.2778; 22. Bayard (12-7), 42.0526; 25. Perkins County (11-6), 41.4706; 32. Chase County (6-13), 40.2632; 46. Hershey (7-11), 38.5556. C2-12 Subdistrict in bold.