The second-seeded Fort Calhoun boys basketball team jumped out to a 14-0 lead Tuesday and advanced onto the Nebraska Capitol Conference (NCC) Tournament semifinals.
The aggressive Pioneers (12-3 overall) led seventh-seeded Arlington (8-7) 22-6 after one period and won at home, 55-42. They'll host Conestoga today at 6 p.m. with an opportunity to play in Saturday night's title game on the line. The Eagles, however, compete 6 p.m. today at Syracuse in a consolation game.
“Our kids battle,” FCHS coach TJ O'Connor said. “They come ready to battle and I always appreciate that about them.”
The Pioneers took the fight to AHS early.
“They did punch us in the mouth,” Eagles coach Jake Polk said. “Credit to them for the fight and the punches they threw early because that really was the difference.”
Grayson Bouwman, Adam Elofson, Travis Skelton and Colby Bentley all scored buckets as Calhoun earned a 14-point advantage right off the bat. Trent Koger, a 6-foot-6 junior, finally scored Arlington's first points with just 2:38 left in the opening period.
“Obviously, Trent's a really good player. He's a handful,” O'Connor said. “We knew that going in and we knew that we were going to have to, really, just be aggressive and be physical.”
Dallin Franzluebbers and Koger added two more AHS buckets before the end of the first quarter, but FCHS wasn't done scoring either. Bouwman sunk a shot inside and made a free throw, Eli Tinkham knocked down a corner 3-pointer and Bentley scored just before the buzzer to give the home squad a 16-point advantage.
The Pioneers stretched the lead to as many as 23 points during the second and third quarters before the Eagles gradually chipped away at the advantage. Kieryn Grothe — who finished with the Arlington high point total, 16 — and Jaxson Burns made long-range shots during the fourth period, but it wasn't enough to threaten Fort Calhoun's chances of advancing onto the NCC semifinals.
“Credit to the guys because it wasn't like they subbed at the end or anything like that,” Polk said. “We were playing best-on-best and I think that gives us a little momentum — a little bit more confidence — knowing we can play with them.”
O'Connor noted the Eagles' late push, too.
“I thought we got a little tired late and kind of got a little bit lackadaisical with some things, but, overall, I was pleased with how the kids played,” he said.
Polk appreciated what he saw from the Pioneers as well.
“Fort Calhoun's got a nice record. They've got a nice squad,” he said. “They've got one of the best players in the area in Grayson Bouwman. He's fun to watch. He's not fun to guard, but I thought our guys did a good job on him.”
O'Connor was complimentary of his former school in victory as well.
“They're a really good basketball team. Coach Polk's doing a nice job over there,” he said. “He's got them going in the right direction, so it was good win for us.”
Bouwman scored 16 points during the first-round victory, while Elofson had 14 and Bentley notched 13.
HS BOYS HOOPS LINE SCORE
Tuesday
Fort Calhoun 55, Arlington 42
AHS (8-7) 6 7 15 14 — 42
FCHS (12-3) 22 11 18 4 — 55
Scoring: FCHS — Grayson Bouwman 16, Adam Elofson 14, Colby Bentley 13, Eli Tinkham 5, Travis Skelton 4, Blake Welchert 3.
AHS — Kieryn Grothe 16, Trent Koger 13, Jaxson Burns 5, Schuyler Logemann 3, Dallin Franzluebbers 2, Oliver Ladehoff 2, Killian McIntosh 1.
