The Arlington boys basketball team returned to play after the holiday break with a Lincoln Lutheran holiday tournament Dec. 29-30.
In losses to both Holdrege and Fairbury, AHS' offense showed signs of life, but also went through scoring droughts. Sophomore Trent Koger was looking forward to more practice time in the aftermath.
“I think that will help us out a lot,” he said. “Being in the gym more.”
First, the Eagles dropped a 49-34 game to the Dusters. They trailed just 28-22 at halftime, but a two-point showing during the third period proved costly.
Weston Wollberg led coach Tyler Spitser's team in defeat, scoring a team-best 14 points. He added seven more the next day when Arlington lost a 54-40 game to the Fairbury Jeffs.
A 19-point second-quarter effort pushed the Eagles out ahead of their third-place game opponents, 32-31, but an eight-point second half wasn't near enough to win.
“It's just a little bit frustrating,” Koger said. “Everybody's just trying to figure out what they need to do to be able to score more.”
The sophomore tied with Desmond Cole for the team lead in points against Fairbury — 10. Cole and AHS teammate Darren Olson had first-half success from the 3-point line, combing for four long-range makes.
During the second half, though, the Eagles failed to make a shot from beyond the arc and went just 4-for-14 from the foul line.
“We need to run our offense through more,” Koger said. “Give more ball reversals.”
AHS was scheduled to play Tuesday, too, but the game was postponed by winter weather conditions.
AHS BASKETBALL LINE SCORES
Dec. 30
Fairbury 54, Arlington 40
AHS (2-6) 13 19 6 2 — 40
FHS (6-3) 18 13 13 10 — 54
Scoring: AHS — Desmond Cole 10, Trent Koger 10, Darren Olson 8, Weston Wollberg 7, Kieryn Grothe 4, Tim Halley 1.
FHS — Jax Biehl 22, Blake Starr 12, Jackson Martin 7, Brodie Prellwitz 4, Auggie Judd 4, Drew Watson 2, Ben Starr 1.
Dec. 29
Holdrege 49, Arlington 34
AHS (2-5) 10 12 2 10 — 34
HHS (5-3) 15 13 14 7 — 49
Scoring: AHS — Wollberg 14, Cole 7, Koger 6, Oliver Ladehoff 6, Parker Espinoza 1.
HHS — Garret Johnson 15, Jackson Hinrichs 13, Coy Swanson 9, Cole Guthrie 5, Kegan Steinke 5, Jaxson Karn 2.
