Holcomb splits on day one

Lady Longhorns suffer 1st loss

Holcomb fell to unbeaten Riley County Monday night, 51-46, in first round action at the Trojan Classic in Hillsboro. Jordan Jarnigan had a double-double, 12 points and 10 rebounds, in her return from a concussion suffered a week ago against Scott City, but her efforts were not enough for the Lady Longhorns to overcome a cold shooting night. Holcomb shot just 31% from the field and hit just 3 out of 20 three-point attempts, well below their season averages of 46% on field goals and 32% from beyond the arc. Taylor Deniston led all scorers with 17 points and Haley Heydman added 14 for the Longhorns.  Kylee Amos hit just one of her eight three-point attempts and was the only other Holcomb player to score. The Lady Longhorns fall to 9-1 on the season and will play again Friday afternoon at 4:30, with pregame scheduled for 4:15 on KBUF.

Longhorns advance to semi-finals

The Holcomb boys dominated inside the paint and used a big third quarter to turn a close game into a blowout, coasting to a 60-43 win over Hays-Thomas More Prep. The Monarchs used a 9-2 run in the final two minutes of the 2nd quarter to pull to within 5 points at halftime, 29-24; but the Longhorns ran away in the 3rd quarter, building the lead to 17, 46-29. Heath Tucker led the way with 22 points, including hitting 10 of 10 free throws; Dalton Gottschalk had 13 and Trey Sleep followed with 9 points. Freshman Conner Van Cleave, making only his second varsity start, just missed a double-double, finishing with 11 points and 9 boards. As a team, Holcomb out-rebounded TMP 40-18, including 18 offensive rebounds that led to 10 second-chance points. The Longhorns improve to 8-2 and will play again Friday night at 7:30, with pregame on KBUF starting at about 7:15.