Cougars are Omaha Nation Holiday Tournament Champions!

By Clare Wiltse, Sports Contributor

The Cougar boys basketball team picked up two wins and the Omaha Nation Holiday Tournament Championship

“It was a huge accomplishment for our team. We even received a 10th place ranking in the Omaha World Herald,” said Coach Derek Lahm.

Northeast opened with a 53-44 win over Emerson-Hubbard in he first round.  They took the crown with a 57-44 over the host Omaha Nation team.

A fast start got the Cougars out to a  15 point first quarter lead against E-H.  They led 29-11 at the half and although they were outscored in the second half they were never challenged.

The Cougars got a strong inside game from Cole Christoffersen and Alec Anderson as Cole had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds while Alec had a team-high 19 points and pulled down 9 boards.

Northeast made 58% of their shots (19 of 33).  They were good on 2 of 3 from behind the arc.

LDNE 22 7 6 18 -53
E-H  7 4 11 22 -44

2pt 3pt FT Rb F TP
Riecken 1 0 4-4 7 1 6
O’Connor 4 0 1-1 2 0 9
Hegy 2 0 4-7 5 3 8
Ferguson 0 1 0 0 3 3
Ronnfeldt 0 0 0 0 1 0
Anderson 5 1 4-7 9 1 17
Hardeman 0 0 0 1 1 0
Christoffersen 5 0 0-3 10 2 10
Totals 17/30 2/3 13/24 36 13 53

A strong second half propelled the Cougars to 13 point win over Omaha Nation.  The Chiefs took a 17-14 lead after one period.  The Cougar fought back to take a two point lead at the half, 29-27.  After intermission LDNE had a 28 to 17 scoring advantage.

The team shot a scorching 79% for the game.  They made 19 of 22 two point shots and 4 of 7 three point shots.

Coach Lahm had praise for senior forward Marcus Hegy.  “Marcus had a huge game for us down the stretch. He finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds.” Hegy had 3 big three-pointers to spark the offense.

Alec Anderson continued as the main offensive threat.  He scored 19 points on 8 for 10 shooting.  He had 6 rebounds.

LDNE 14 15 12 16 -57
Omaha Nation 17 10 9 8 -44

2pt 3pt FT Rb F TP
Riecken 1 0 0 3 3 2
O’Connor 0 0 0 0 1 0
Christiansen 4 0 0 1 5 8
Hegy 2 3 2-4 10 2 15
Ferguson 0 1 2-2 0 0 5
Anderson 8 0 3-3 6 1 19
Hardeman 1 0 0 2 0 2
Christoffersen 3 0 0-2 7 3 6
Totals 19-22 4-7 7-11 30 13 57

Heading into the New Year, Coach Lahm praised the teamwork of his (6-1) Cougars. “Our team has really bought into sacrificing personal accolades for the good of the team. We just need to keep focused to improve every opportunity we are given whether it be practice or a game.”

They will be tested with three games this week.  Wakefield and Tekamah-Herman come to Lyons.  The true test comes Saturday afternoon when they take on (7-1) Mead in a road game.