Holcomb boys back to state for a second straight season; destroy Hugoton
Conventional wisdom says you don’t want to have to beat the same team three times in a season. Make that conventional myth after the Holcomb Longhorns thrashed the Hugoton Eagles 69 – 28 in the sub-state final at Larned. Hugoton led once, 3 – 2, a minute-and-a-half into the ballgame. Then Trey Sleep hit a 3-pointer to launch a 19 – 2 run to close out the first quarter and the stampede was on. Holcomb led 21-5 at the end of one and 43 – 11 at halftime. Dalton Gottschalk had 14 1st half points for the Longhorns, finishing with 15. The 3rd quarter was the Trey Sleep show has he scored 10 of his game high 17 and Holcomb led 61 – 21 headed into the final 8 minutes. Brandon Stegman hit a pair of treys and added 12 points for the state-bound Longhorns. Parker Titus led Hugoton with 8 points. The Longhorns never let the Eagles get untracked offensively and head coach Chad Novack called it one of his team’s best defensive efforts of the season.
Now the 21-1 Longhorns get ready for their second straight state tournament appearance, first in class 4A-Division 2. Others in the field include Rock Creek (21-1), Girard (20-2), Wichita Trinity (19-3), Thomas More Prep (16-6), Osawatomie (14-8), Parsons (13-9), and Atchison (13-9). First round play begins on Wednesday at the Hartman Arena in Park City.
