ORIGINALLY WRITTEN
AREA BOYS BASKETBALL
Canton-Galva 65, Bennington 52- The Eagle boys opened a season of high expectations with a win over Bennington Friday night in Canton.
The first half ended in a 31-31 tie. The Eagles used an 18-9 third-quarter advantage behind seven points from Travis Myers to jump on top 49-40 on the way to the 13-point win.
Seth Moddelmog led all scorers with 21 points, including two 3-point baskets and 5-for-5 free-throw shooting. He hauled in a team-high six rebounds.
Canton-Galva connected on eight of 19 3-point baskets, including three by Derek Bair.
The Eagles committed 19 turnovers.
“Our biggest concern right now is taking care of the ball,” coach Chuck Kern said. “Even though we’re pushing the ball in transition, 19 turnovers are too many.”
Canton-Galva hit eight 3-point shots while Bennington managed only one successful attempt.
The Eagles hit 14 of 18 free throws while the Bulldogs went 15-of-21 from the line.
“We attacked the basket well and it paid off with trips to the free throw line,” Kern said.
Myers added 12 points for Canton-Galva (1-0).
Goessel 50, Moundridge 32- Goessel had little trouble winning its first game of the season Friday night against Moundridge.
Leading only 10-8 after one quarter, Goessel outscored the Wildcats 14-8 in the second quarter for an eight-point lead at halftime.
Garrett Hiebert, who led all scorers with 21 points, hit eight of 10 field goal attempts and five of six free throws. Travis Buller added 10 points.
The Bluebirds connected on 20 of 47 (42.6 percent) field goal attempts, including two of 10 from the 3-point line.
Moundridge shot only 25.6 percent (11 of 43) from the field while committing 22 turnovers.
Goessel won the rebounding battle, 28-24; Hiebert led the Bluebirds with 12.
“We played very good defense tonight, creating 22 turnovers for Moundridge,” Goessel coach Justin Coup said. “Our depth was an asset tonight and should be for the year.
“Garrett Hiebert played big tonight,” he added. “I believe we saw good and bad things tonight but a great start for the season.”
Southeast of Saline 63, Centre 55 (2 OT)- The Cougars lost a heartbreaker at home Friday night in double overtime.
The game was tied at 47 after regulation and at 53 after the first overtime. But the Trojans used a 10-2 advantage in the second overtime to secure the victory.
Dustin Burnett poured in 22 points to lead the Cougars, connecting on 10 of 29 field-goal attempts. Bryant Gutsch added 13 points, hitting six of 12 attempts.
The Cougars sank one of 17 shots from behind the 3-point line, but made six of eight free throws. SES made 10 of 20 free throws.
Burnett led the Cougars with 12 rebounds. Alfonse Klenda added 11 and Kevin Mueller 10.
Peabody-Burns- No information was received by press time.
AREA GIRLS BASKETBALL
Southeast of Saline 63, Centre 44- The Cougars dropped a 19-point decision on the road Friday night. Centre trailed 12-11 after one quarter, but SES used a 24-8 second quarter to take a 36-19 lead by halftime.
Selena Seifert led the Cougars with 12 points, hitting five of 18 (26 percent) from the field.
Jackie Klenda added nine points while Teaira Turner and Krista Heiser both added five.
Centre won the battle of the boards, 51-39. Heiser led with 10 rebounds and Alyssa Luna pulled down eight.
Centre hit only two of 12 3-point attempts while SES made seven of 14. Centre hit six of 10 free throws while SES connected on 14 of 32.
The Cougars committed 33 turnovers.
Canton-Galva 53, Bennington 32- The Eagles opened the season with an impressive 21 point win over the Bulldogs Friday night in Canton.
Canton-Galva outscored Bennington in all four quarters, leading 24-16 at halftime.
Dani Bair led all scorers with 19 points followed by Holly Koehn with 16.
Berean Academy 52, Peabody-Burns 45- Jessi Hilliard scored 25 points, including 18 in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough as the Warriors fell to Berean in the season opener.
Peabody-Burns jumped to a 7-0 lead but eight points from the free-throw line in the second quarter led Berean to an 18-12 halftime advantage.
With Berean leading 30-22 after three quarters, the final period turned into a shootout as Peabody-Burns outscored Berean 23-22.
Hilliard added three rebounds and three steals to point production while Elaina Newell added eight points, four rebounds and four steals.
“This was a good first game for us,” said Peabody-Burns coach Darren Schroeder. “It definitely showed us our strengths and weaknesses at this point.”
Goessel-No information was received by press time.
