Holcomb swept at Cimarron to begin the season

Courtesy of Benjamin Hutchinson
Cimarron, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–The Holcomb Longhorns were swept by the Cimarron Bluejays in the season opener on Friday night. The Lady Longhorns fell 52-43, while the boys fell 64-59 in overtime.

Holcomb started strong defensively only allowing two missed shots and forcing five turnovers in the first three minutes of the game. Halle Jones had five points in that span and the Longhorns jumped out to an 8-0 lead. The Bluejays called a timeout and came out and went on a 11-0 run. Holcomb would tie it up at 11 at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter the Longhorns hit some big three-pointers, but every time the Bluejays got a transition basket on the other end, the Cimarron would have a lead at halftime 21-19. In the second half, the Bluejays started to take advantage of their height, with Sonday and Miller and pounding it inside. Cimarron would have a lead at the end of the third quarter 40-30. Holcomb hit some three pointers early in the fourth to cut a 12 point lead to seven, but they could not buy a bucket down the stretch to get it closer. The Bluejays get the win over the Longhorns 52-43.

For Cimarron, Miller and Sonday were the offense till the fourth quarter. Two Holcomb freshman Magana and Galliart had good nights in their first varsity action. Cimarron shot 0-4 from three and 23-44 from inside and 6-10 from the free throw line. They had 15 turnovers and 31 rebounds, seven of those were offensive boards. The Bluejays were led by McKayla Miller with 29 points and 13 rebounds for a double double, and Caitlyn Sonday with 17 points and 8 rebounds.

The Lady Longhorns shot 9-27 from three and 5-21 from inside and 6-9 at the free throw line. They had 10 turnovers and 15 rebounds, with four of those were offensive boards. Holcomb was led by Halle Jones with 17 points, Jera Kruleski with 10 points and six rebounds, Bella Galliart had eight points and four rebounds, and Sammie Magana finished with six points. The Longhorns are 0-1 and play next on Tuesday in the Bluejay Invitational against Meade.

Holcomb 0-1 and play next on Tuesday in the Bluejay Invitational against Meade.

The Holcomb boys started slow and were down 8-1 after three minutes. Their defensive stepped up and only allowed two more points in the first quarter. But the offense was only able to make one field goal in the first quarter. Cimarron led 10-6 at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter was more of the same and the Longhorns were down 19-15 at halftime. The big first half stats saw just three made field goals for Holcomb and 9-20 at the free throw line. It continued to be a defensive game in the third quarter and the Bluejays led 29-23 going into the fourth quarter. Just six made field goals for Holcomb in the first three quarters. In the fourth quarter fouls started to stack up on both sides. But Cimarron started to build a larger lead and with five minutes to go. Drayton Knoll who had been the bright spot offensively for Holcomb got called for a foul and his emotion got the best of him so he got a technical as well and fouled out. Cimarron was in the double bonus and went 3-4 at the foul line and took an 11 point lead 39-28. Holcomb did not quit and fought back in it down three with 2:45 to go 42-39. The Bluejays responded with a 4-0 run to go ahead 46-39 with two minutes to go. Back-to-back three pointers by Devon Hardy and Dalton Long and an old fashioned three-point play from Damon Mesa cut it to one at 49-48 with just over a minute to go. Chris Palacios fouled out down the stretch for Holcomb as the fouls started to hurt Holcomb, who was not as deep as Cimarron. Hardy missed a thre-pointer to tie the game in the final 20 seconds, but missed free throws by the Bluejays gave Holcomb another chance. Hardy would drain a buzzer beater to tie the game at 53-53 to send it to overtime. The Longhorns lack of experience and depth started to show in overtime and the Bluejays were able to find a way to win 64-59.

Cimarron shot 5-12 from three and 13-34 from inside and 22-42 from the free throw line. They had 23 turnovers and had 32 rebounds, six of those were offensive boards. The Bluejays were led by Trace Kopper with 22 points and five rebounds, Zac Lopez with 13 points and seven rebounds, and Lane Beery and Samuel Allen each with 10 points.

The Longhorns shot 3-23 from three and 15-42 from inside and 20-36 at the free throw line. Holcomb had 29 turnovers and 40 rebounds, with 14 of those were offensive boards. They were led by Kaden Hardy with 16 points and five rebounds, Drayton Knoll with 12 points, Dalton Long with nine points, and Damon Mesa with eight points and 11 rebounds.

The Longhorns are 0-1 and play next on Tuesday in the Bluejay Invitational against Meade.