Cedar on a seven win streak

WEST POINT — Seven was heavenly for the Cedar Catholic boys basketball team.

That is the number of consecutive wins the Trojans put together as they have yet to taste defeat in 2021.

Cedar is now 10-3 on the season and rated sixth in the State by the Omaha World Herald.

Last week, the Trojans won 74-49 at Creighton, beat hosts Wayne 55-53 in overtime and then wrapped things up with a 61-46 roll over of Guardian Angels Central Catholic on Saturday.

“Creighton has an All-State player in John Mitchell, and we gave him a lot of defensive attention and he still scored 25 points,” Cedar head coach Matt Steffen said. “Our kids played exceptionally well offensively with four of our players finishing in double figures.”

Myles Thoene (20 points), Mac Kuehn (18 points), Carson Arens (14 points) and Jaxson Bernecker (14 points) led the Trojans effort in Creighton.

Cedar got off to a slow start at Wayne, falling behind 13-6 after the first frame and trailing 20-12 at the halftime break. The Blue Devils extended their lead to 37-25 after three quarters, but Cedar owned the fourth quarter.

The Trojans came from behind to knot the score at 47-47 and send the game into overtime thanks to a 22-10 fourth-quarter run.

Myles Thoene hit a game-winning, running triple at the buzzer for the win.

“That was cool, and it was a really good team win,” Thoene said. “We were down by 12 in the third quarter and against a team like Wayne, which is a really good team. To be able to fight back and win was huge. There were a lot of things that came into play.”

Thoene said he relished being in a position to lift his team to the win.

“To be in overtime and have the ball and an opportunity to go ahead and fire up the shot. There are a lot of things people won’t see just by looking at the score. It was an exciting night to get a win like that. I didn’t sleep like I normally would. It was better than what I (daydreamed) about. We were just running around. It was really fun.”

The victory was payback for a 31-29 defeat to the Devils at the Great Northeast Nebraska Shootout.

Myles Thoene scored 21 points, Tate Thoene put in 12 points and Carson Arens provided 11 points in the Wayne win.

The first half of Saturday’s game was close, as Cedar took a 28-25 lead into the halftime break.

Cedar pulled away in the final frame for the 61-46 win.

“Our kids seemed a little fatigued in our game against GACC, but we found enough energy to get our third win on the road this week,” Steffen said.

Myles Thoene scored 22 points, Tate Thoene added 18 points and Bernecker pitched in with 15 points to key the Trojans victory.

For Myles Thoene, it was a week where he passed the 1,000-point barrier to join an elite club. He broke the milestone in the Wayne win.

“We are extremely proud of Myles,” Steffen said. “He is a great teammate and leader. He has worked hard to be the player that he is.”

Myles Thoene admits the mark makes him feel like he’s a mix between being a good player and just getting older.

“We have become more confident as a team,” he said. “It is not a oneperson thing — it is the entire team playing better. It’s our flow and chemistry. We are more confident in ourselves.”

A lot of that comes from the rout over the defending state champions from Laurel-Concord-Coleridge earlier this month.

“Everything we do starts from our defense and in that game, we played pretty good defense,” he said. “Our intensity is high, and we are ready to go. That seems to be the biggest difference too in the last couple of games — bringing that same intensity every game and our offense comes from our defense. That’s how we have been able to beat winning teams.”

And that includes the game-winner against Wayne, the first walk-off buzzer-beater in his career.

Cedar was supposed to take on one of the top teams in South Dakota Monday, but the game against Dakota Valley was once again cancelled because of the weather.

SCORING Cedar - Myles Thoene, 21; Tate Thoene, 12; Carson Arens, 11; Jaxson Bernecker, 9; Carter Arens, 2; Hunter Thoene, 1. Wayne - Tanner Walland, 23; Daniel Judd, 9; Colton Vovos, 6; Brandon Bartos, 4; Sedjro Agoumba, 4; Alex Phelps, 3; Andrew Jones, 2; Nolan Hunke, 2.

REBOUNDS Cedar - Jaxson Bernecker, 9; Myles Thoene, 4; Carson Arens, 2; Hunter Thoene, 2; Carter Arens, 2. Wayne - Colton Vovos, 8; Tanner Walland, 7; Alex Phelps, 4; Daniel Judd, 4; Brandon Bartos, 3; Andrew Jones, 2; Nolan Hunke, 2.

ASSISTS Cedar - Tate Thoene, 1; Myles Thoene, 1. Wayne - Alex Phelps, 1; Brandon Bartos, 1; Sedjro Agoumba, 1.

STEALS Cedar - Tate Thoene, 6; Jaxson Bernecker, 3; Carson Arens, 2; Blake Arens, 1; CarterArens, 1; Myles Thoene, 1. Wayne - Tanner Walland, 4; Alex Phelps, 1; Colton Vovos, 1; Daniel Judd, 1.

SCORING

Cedar - Myles Thoene, 22; Tate Thoene, 18; Jaxson Bernecker, 15; Mac Kuehn, 2; Carter Arens, 2; Jay Steffen, 2. GACC - Cody Steffen, 12; Brendon Rief, 8; Nate Niewohner, 7; Ben Ulrich, 5; Kolten Kralik, 5; Reese Schlecht, 5; Branden Duhsmann, 1.

REBOUNDS Cedar - Jaxson Bernecker, 7; Carson Arens, 6; Myles Thoene, 4; Mack Kuehn, 3; Tate Thone, 2; Grant Arens, 2; Blake Arens, 1; Dagen Joachimsen, 1; Carter Arens, 1.

ASSISTS Cedar - Carson Arens, 5; Myles Thoene, 3; Mac Kuehn, 2; Hunter Thoene, 2; Jaxson Bernecker, 2; Tate Thoene, 1; Dagan Joachimsen, 1; Ethan Becker, 1.

STEALS Cedar - Tate Thoene, 6; Dagen Joachimsen, 1; Carter Arens, 1; Myles Thoene, 1

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