Wildcats are to back on track

HARTINGTON - The Hartington-Newcastle boys basketball team finds itself in some unfamiliar

The Wildcats have dropped four straight games heading into Tuesday night’s game at Plainview and the hope is these last few weeks is Just enough time to right the ship.

Last week, the Wildcats (3-11) dropped a tough, 67-50 defeat at Laurel-Concord-Coleridge, the defending D1 champions, and then fell 53-44 at home to Crofton.

So, the hope is a good run starting at Plainview before hosting Winnebago Thursday as the conference tournament gets set to tip off next week. Just what the basketball doctor ordered.

“We need to improve upon our consistency and resilience during critical moments of the game,” HNHS head coach Nick Haselhorst said. “The keys to both games hinged on our ability to make the right decisions, get defensive rebounds, and play with purpose. Against LCC, we were dialed in and made a run in the second half to close within one point, but our energy dropped in the fourth quarter and they pulled away.

“Crofton made a run towards the end of the second quarter on us and we were never really able to regain our composure and recover from it. We gave away too many possessions and were unable to come up with some timely defensive stops down the stretch.”

Against Crofton, Jake Peitz scored 12 points while Bennet Sievers added eight points, Riley Sudbeck dropped seven points and Isaac Bruning hit for six points.

Peitz and Sievers both scored 15 points in the LCC defeat while Bruning added nine points as the Bears used a 22-12 fourth quarter to pull away.

Wildcat Lane Heimes was enthused by the way his team battled the Bears even if they couldn’t quite get out on top.

“We have a lot of effort and are giving it all, it’s Just some plays don’t end up our way,” Heimes said. We need to keep playing, showing up and see what can happen. We know we can play with any team that we’ve played on our schedule. It’s Just a matter if we show up and if we play like our heads are on fire.

“Before the (LCC) game we were all fired up and were really thinking we could beat those guys. Our intensity and focus were there. That was taking steps forward for us. Even though we didn’t win, we learned a lot about ourselves right there.”

Heimes said that he wants his team to continue to play better and come out ready to go each night for the last few weeks before the postseason.

“There are times where we take a step forward and we play really good and think we are going forward and then have a bad game and it takes us back a couple of steps,” he said. “But, I still have hope for the season and I hope our team does, because it’s not over yet.”

SCORING HNS - Jake Peitz, 15; Bennett Sievers, 15; Isaac Bruning, 9; Kobe Heitman, 6; Riley Sudbeck, 3; Lane Heimes, 2. LCC - Cael Hartung, 19; Evan Haisch, 18; Deagan Puppe, 9; Jake Rath, 7; Evan Schmitt, 6; Austin Hall, 6.

REBOUNDS HNS - Bennett Sievers, 7; Riley Sudbeck, 6; Kobe Heitman, 4; Seth Pinkelman, 4; Jake Peitz, 3; Turner Dendinger, 2; Isaac Bruning, 1. LCC - Evan Haisch, 6; Cael Hartung, 5; Jake Rath, 5; Deagan Puppe, 3; Grant Erwin, 2; Evan Schmitt, 2; Austin hall, 2.

ASSISTS HNS - Seth Pinkelman, 3; Isaac Bruning, 2; Kobe Heitman, 2; Jake Peitz, 2; Bennett Sievers, 1; Turner Dendinger, 1. LCC - Evan Schmitt, 1; Cael Hartung, 1; Deagan Puppe, 1.

STEALS HNS - Jake Peitz, 6; Kobe Heitman, 2; Isaac Bruning, 1; Bennett Sievers, 1; Turner Dendinger, 1; Seth Pinkelman, 1; Riley Sudbeck, 1. LCC - Cael Hartung, 4; Evan Haisch, 3; Evan Schmitt, 2; Deagan Puppe, 1.

SCORING HNS - Jake Peitz, 12; Bennett Sievers, 8; Riley Sudbeck, 7; Isaac Bruning, 6; Kobe Heitman, 5; Seth Pinkelman, 4; Lane Heimes, 2. REBOUNDS HNS - Riley Sudbeck, 7; Kobe Heitman, 6; Jake Peitz, 6; Bennett Sievers, 5; Seth Pinkelman, 5; Turner Dendinger, 2; Isaac Bruning, 1; Lane Heimes, 1. ASSISTS HNS - Jake Peitz, 3; Turner Dendinger, 3; Riley Sudbeck, 2; Lane Heimes, 1; Seth Pinkelman, 1. STEALS HNS - Kobe Heitman, 5; Bennett Sievers, 4; Isaac Bruning, 1; Reece Morten, 1; Turner Dendinger, 1; Seth Pin kelman, 1.

Stay in the know!

To get news alerts on your cell phone, get the Cedar County News app in the ITunes store or  in the Google Play Store.