Boys Town topped Arlington on Monday night, 68-49, ending coach Jake Polk's first boys basketball season with the Eagles.
While the Cowboys advanced further into Class C1-4 Subdistrict Tournament play at Omaha Concordia, AHS concluded its campaign 9-14 overall — a three-win improvement from the year prior.
“Year one was growth,” Polk wrote in response to questions posed by Enterprise Media Group. “Some tangible growth, like more wins and more scoring, but some intangible growth as well, like working on attitude and culture.”
The highlight of the 2023-24 slate, he said, may have been the Eagles' three-overtime victory against Syracuse on Jan. 20.
“That was a fun game and locker room celebration,” Polk said.
The biggest disappointment, however, was Arlington's showing on the defensive side. The coach feels the Eagles must improve “individually” and “cohesively” to earn better results in the future.
On Monday, Boys Town scored 68 points, besting AHS by 19. The Cowboys jumped out to a 20-9 lead through one period and produced a 23-point quarter later in the game.
Polk said Boys Town is athletic and has capable shooters.
“When they get shots to fall, and you don't rebound well when they do miss, they are difficult to matchup with,” he said.
At halftime, though, the Eagles still felt they had a chance down 31-18. Though they trailed, Polk believed AHS could battle back into contention by eliminating a few miscues from the first half, which allowed for some easy Cowboy buckets.
Boys Town won the third period, though, 23-14, pushing its lead to 22 points. Oliver Ladehoff, Kieryn Grothe and Schuyler Logemann made fourth-quarter 3s as Arlington pulled within 18 three times, but it wasn't near enough.
“I thought the guys fought extremely hard and laid it on the line diving for loose balls, and played tough,” Polk said. “We just have to credit Boys Town for making more plays.”
Junior Trent Koger led the Eagles with 17 points, while Ladehoff scored 14. Logemann had seven, too.
“This team has a bright future if they are willing to put in more work, and I truly believe that all Arlington athletics are on the rise,” Polk said. “We, as coaches and teachers, need to continue to cultivate leaders in our young men and women so that they won’t just only be good teammates and athletes, but good people as well.”
AHS' senior-less boys basketball team won't lose any players to graduation this spring.
AHS BOYS HOOPS LINE SCORE
Monday
Boys Town 68, Arlington 49
AHS (9-14) 9 9 14 17 — 49
BT (12-11) 20 11 23 14 — 68
Scoring: AHS — Trent Koger 17, Oliver Ladehoff 14, Schuyler Logemann 7, Kieryn Grothe 5, Owen Ladehoff 4, Jaxson Burns 2.
BT — Darien Whitaker 16, Tyler Segart 13, Marqas Gray 12, Nyree Poteet 9, DaShawn Gomes 8, LaDanian Blackwell 8, Jamal Morris 2.
