On Tuesday, Jan. 30, the Kimball boys dropped an overtime affair, 79-70, to the Upsala Cardinals, at Upsala High School. Thursday, Feb. 1, saw the Cubs come up short against Royalton, 74-68.
Upsala game
Cubs stats: Peyton Hooper, 8 points, Bryant Knaus, 22 points, 6 rebounds; Owen Mortenson, 27 points, 3 assists; Ronnie Arnold, 4 points; Andray Stang, 3 points, 2 rebounds; Jed Spaulding, 7 points, 22 rebounds, 5 assists. (Kimball led 36-30 at half).
“We jumped out to an early lead in the first half and maintained it until the break (36-30). Owen Mortenson had three treys in the half. In the second half we encountered some foul trouble, which really hurt us. Our defense was poor, as we gave up a number of easy baskets around the rim. At one point, we were down by seven, but we were able to get back into the game when Bryant Knaus hit the tying basket, with seven seconds to play in regulation. In overtime, we ran out of gas and dropped a 79-70 decision,” said Coach Jay Klein.
Royalton game
Cubs stats: Peyton Hooper, 2 points; Bryant Knaus, 23 points, 10 rebounds; Owen Mortenson, 17 points, 3 assists; Brandon Henkemeyer, 9 points, 4 assists; Ronnie Arnold, 6 points; Jed Spaulding, 11 points, 12 rebounds. (Royalton led 32-30 at half).
“We started out very slow and trailed 18-4 in the first part of the game. Our defense tightened up, and we closed the half with a two-point deficit, 32-30. In the second half, the game stayed close and was tied at 64 with about five minutes remaining. We proceeded to make a number of critical turnovers and small mistakes that cost us in the end. We dropped a 74-68 decision to fall to 4-13 on the season,” said Coach Jay Klein.