March 28, 2024

Second-half run costs Panthers against Cyclones

HARLAN – The Creston boys basketball team couldn’t hang on to a third quarter lead, falling to Harlan 57-45 Tuesday night.

The Panthers led by three points at the half, but Harlan opened up an 11-4 run midway through the third quarter to take a 42-35 lead.

Creston was able to cut the deficit to just four points – 46-42 in the fourth – but the Cyclones put the icing on the cake, finishing the game on an 11-3 run.

Head coach Taylor Phipps knew the Panthers had plenty of positives to take away from the defeat, but nonetheless knows his players want to win.

“(I) was really proud of our effort and (we) definitely took some steps in the right direction,” said Phipps. “But, bottom line is we still came away with the loss so they’re disappointed in that but they’ll be ready to go on Friday.”

Evan Jacobson once again led the Panthers offensive effort, scoring 16 points in the first half. Jacobson ultimately finished the game with 21 points.

Phipps was proud of his teams effort in the first half. The Panthers went into the halftime intermission up 25-22.

“We played really we’ll in the first half,” said Phipps. “You know we were controlling the tempo of the game, playing hard on both ends of the floor. (We were) playing tough, physical defense, started knocking down a few more shots.”

Cael Kralik had just two points in the first half, but finished the game with 11 after posting nine points in the second half.

Brance Baker knocked down a pair of 3-pointers for his six points while Cole Higgins contributed seven points on the evening.

The swing in the second half came at the hands of good shooting on the part of the Cyclones.

“I think that they kind of in the second half when they made their run they just had some kids step up and make some shots,” said Phipps. “We were still playing some good, hard defense and they just knocked down some shots that we had forced them to miss earlier in the game. So just credit to their kids for stepping up and knocking them down in the second half.”

Shane Chamberlain was one of those Cyclones who featured a big second half. Chamberlain scored 13 points in the second half, completing the contest with a game-high 22 points.

Deren Schmitz also out together a nice second half outing for Harlan, scoring 10 of his 16 after the break.

Overall, Phipps was impressed with Creston’s effort, but knows they need more to get wins.

“Our communication on the defensive end was really really good,” said Phipps. “I think Evan kind of got it going on offense so that got us going a little bit, but we just need to be able to execute in the second half when the games on the line.”

UP NEXT – Creston, now 1-4, will host a consistently powerful Kuemper Catholic team on Friday.

“They have a strong tradition there, so we know they’re going to come ready to play and play extremely hard,” said Phipps. “They play tough man-to-man defense and they look to trap and put pressure on the ball. So we will need to be able to handle that and move the ball quick.”

JV boys fall

Camden Petersen scored 15 points to lead the junior varsity Panthers as they fell to Harlan 62-39.

Jefrrey Dillenburg added eight points, Gavin Gillam and Ashton Wills scored six apiece, as Devin Baker and Spencer Lane each scored two each.

“We cut the lead to nine right before halftime before Harlan hit a long shot to extend it back to 12,” coach Todd Jacobson said. “Turnovers against their press and offensive rebounds hurt our chances to claw back into it in the third quarter.”

Crest (FG FT PTS) – Totals – 17 4-6 45. Evan Jacobson 7 4-4 21, Cael Kralik 5 0-0 11, Cole Higgins 3 0-0 7, Brance Baker 2 0-0 6. 3-point goals – 7 (Jacobson 3, Baker 2, Kralik 1, Higgins 1). Fouls – 11. Fouled out – None.

Har (FG FT PTS) – Totals – 24 5-8 57. Shane Chamberlain 9 1-1 22, Deren Schmitz 7 2-4 16, Brett Sears 5 0-0 10, Jacob Hansen 1 2-2 4, Jared Moser 1 0-0 3, Logan Klaassen 1 0-1 2. 3-point goals – 4 (Chamberlain 3, Moser 1). Fouls – 6. Fouled out – None.