Boys Basketball Team Wins SWC Runner-Up Honors
by Harlin Welch and Brian Delimont
February 01, 2010
Round 1: Ainsworth--58; Cozad--49
Coach’s comments: “Being able to get the number two seed was huge for us since it allowed us to have home games the first two rounds if we won against Cozad. We came out against the Haymakers and played pretty solid the first couple of quarters and took a nice lead into the locker room at the half.
“We expressed to the boys that it was important to have a good third quarter and try to put them away. We definitely were not able to do this, and Cozad was able to cut our lead to just four points. It seemed like we got really hesitant on offense after we missed a few shots and just really got out of rhythm. In the end we were able to hold on, but it wasn’t easy.
“This win guaranteed us two more games in the tournament, which was big for us.”
| AHS Player | Points | 2-pt. | 3-pt. | FTs | O-Rbnd | D-Rbnd | Assts | Steals | TOs | Blocks | Fouls |
| Mitch Spanel | 3 | 1/2 | 0/9 | 1/2 | -- | 4 | 3 | 1 | -- | -- | 2 |
| Eric Rempfer | 1 | 0/2 | 0/1 | 1/2 | 3 | 2 | -- | 2 | 2 | -- | 2 |
| Nick Martin | 8 | 1/5 | 2/4 | -- | 1 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | -- | -- |
| Drake Fiala | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Matt Walton | 5 | 2/3 | 0/3 | 1/3 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | -- | -- |
| Jared Lentz | 15 | 1/2 | 3/7 | 4/4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | -- | -- |
| Ben Hunt | 22 | 9/18 | -- | 4/8 | 8 | 5 | -- | -- | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Cody Nilson | 4 | 1/1 | 0/1 | 2/2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -- | 4 |
| Reilly Hoch | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 | -- | -- | 1 | -- | 1 |
| Justin Imm | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Round 2: Ainsworth--53; Broken Bow--45
Coach’s comments: “We were excited to have the opportunity to get another shot at Broken Bow after they embarrassed us earlier in the season when they beat us by 25 points. Broken Bow is a high pressure defense team that goes hard every play, and our boys knew this was going to be a chore. We were able to make several big shots in the first half and took a nice lead at intermission. We once again stressed that we need to put four quarters together and play a complete game.
“In the third quarter when we extended our lead, I think a lot of people thought it was over. Broken Bow was able to force a lot of turnovers in the fourth quarter and also made some big shots and was able to cut the lead to three points. Our boys could have folded at that point, but to their credit, we made several big free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
“This was a nice win for our program, and to get back to the conference championship game is a credit to our boys.”
| AHS Player | Points | 2-pt. | 3-pt. | FTs | O-Rbnd | D-Rbnd | Assts | Steals | TOs | Blocks | Fouls |
| Mitch Spanel | 15 | 4/8 | 2/4 | 1/3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | -- | 4 |
| Eric Rempfer | 0 | 0/2 | -- | -- | 2 | 1 | -- | 1 | -- | -- | 2 |
| Nick Martin | 12 | 2/2 | 2/6 | 2/2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | -- | 3 |
| Drake Fiala | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Matt Walton | 7 | 1/3 | 0/1 | 5/6 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | -- | 2 |
| Jared Lentz | 1 | -- | 0/2 | 1/3 | 1 | -- | 2 | 1 | 3 | -- | -- |
| Ben Hunt | 16 | 6/14 | -- | 4/6 | 6 | 9 | 3 | -- | 5 | -- | 2 |
| Cody Nilson | 2 | 1/2 | -- | 0/1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | -- | 3 |
| Reilly Hoch | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Justin Imm | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Championship: Ainsworth--44; Minden--49
Coach’s comments: “Having already played Minden and knowing they are a rated team, we knew we would have to have a great effort on both ends of the court to give ourselves a chance at winning. We started out with a couple of three pointers by Mitch, but it was pretty short-lived, and we found ourselves down by eight points after the end of the first period. Minden just has so many shooters that if you have a lapse on defense, they are going to make you pay. We were down by 13 at the half but felt that if we could hit some shots and cut down on the mistakes on the defensive end, we could get back in the game.
“In the third quarter, we made a couple of small runs, but they were able to answer them for the most part. The fourth quarter was a different story, however. Our boys played with more heart in that fourth quarter than we have seen out of them all year. Nick Martin and Jared Lentz hit several three pointers down the stretch, and before we knew it, the game was all tied up and we had the ball. Minden was able to hit a big three pointer to regain the lead, and we had a couple of open looks to tie it that rimmed out.
“Even though we lost this game, I couldn’t have been more proud of our team’s effort. I think this game is going to go a long ways in building our confidence. We are definitely becoming a much improved basketball team at the right time of the season.”
| AHS Player | Points | 2-pt. | 3-pt. | FTs | O-Rbnd | D-Rbnd | Assts | Steals | TOs | Blocks | Fouls |
| Mitch Spanel | 11 | 1/4 | 3/8 | -- | 1 | 2 | 3 | -- | -- | -- | 2 |
| Eric Rempfer | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 2 | 1 | 1 | -- | -- |
| Nick Martin | 14 | 1/1 | 4/10 | -- | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -- | 1 |
| Drake Fiala | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Matt Walton | 2 | 0/2 | 0/2 | 2/2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | -- | 3 |
| Jared Lentz | 11 | 1/1 | 3/7 | -- | -- | 1 | 1 | -- | 2 | -- | -- |
| Cody Hollenbeck | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Skyler Jacobsen | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Ben Hunt | 6 | 3/7 | -- | -- | -- | 3 | 4 | -- | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Cody Nilson | 0 | -- | 0/1 | -- | -- | 2 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 |
| Reilly Hoch | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Justin Imm | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
